The Utah Real Estate Purchase Contract, which everyone calls the REPC, is six pages long and written in plain enough English that a buyer can read every word of it before signing. Once you know which boxes carry the money, the whole thing takes about twenty minutes to understand.
This guide walks through the form in its own order, section by section, using the version posted on the Utah Division of Real Estate's state-approved forms page, which is marked effective December 4, 2024. It is general information about a public form, not legal advice for your transaction. If a clause matters to your deal in a way this page does not cover, a Utah real estate attorney can read your actual contract.
The one sentence at the top that explains everything
The form opens with a short paragraph that most people skip. It says the REPC is legally binding, that Utah law requires real estate licensees to use this form, and that buyer and seller "may agree to alter or delete its provisions or to use a different form."
Read together, those two ideas tell you how Utah residential deals work. Your agent does not draft your contract. Your agent fills in blanks and checks boxes on a standard document, and anything unusual gets added through an addendum rather than by rewriting the form. That is why a Provo condo offer and a Lehi new-build offer look nearly identical on paper: the fight is over the blanks.
It also means that when someone says "that's just how the REPC works," they are usually right. The defaults are printed. What you control is what you write in.
Page one: the deposit, the property and what comes with it
Earnest Money Deposit
The first blank is the deposit. The buyer agrees to deliver it no later than four calendar days after Acceptance, and once the brokerage receives it, the brokerage has another four calendar days to put it in its real estate trust account. Line 2.1(a) carries a warning in plain words: "Under certain conditions described in the REPC, this deposit may become totally nonrefundable."
The amount is negotiable. The form sets no minimum or maximum.
Section 1: Property, Included Items and Water
Section 1 identifies the property by address and county tax ID number, then does something buyers often miss: it defines "Property" to include the land, a long list of fixtures, and water rights or water shares.
1.1 Included Items is a printed list of what stays unless excluded: plumbing, heating and air conditioning, solar panels, ovens, ranges and hoods, dishwashers, ceiling fans, water heaters, water softeners, light fixtures and bulbs, bathroom mirrors, all window coverings including curtains and rods, screens, storm doors, satellite dishes, installed TV mounting brackets, wall and ceiling speakers, affixed carpet, garage door openers with their remotes, the security system, fencing and landscaping. If you are a seller who planned to take the dining room chandelier or the mounted TV brackets, Section 1.3 is where you say so, before signing.
1.2 Other Included Items has checkboxes for washers, dryers, refrigerators and microwaves. Checked items transfer by separate bill of sale. There is also a box for whether other personal property (a trampoline, a riding mower) is being bought by separate written agreement.
1.4 Water Service matters more here than in most states. The price includes whatever water rights or shares are the legal source of the home's culinary and irrigation water, and they transfer at Closing. Anything excluded has to be listed. On older lots in Springville, Spanish Fork, Mapleton or the Provo bench, irrigation shares can be real assets. Our guide to selling in the south valley covers how those shares show up in practice.
Section 2: the price and how it gets paid
Section 2.1 breaks the price into five lines:
| Line | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Earnest money deposit | Credited to the price at Closing |
| (b) | Additional earnest money | Optional; see Section 8.4 |
| (c) | New loan | Buyer and lender may adjust this line |
| (d) | Seller financing | Only with the Seller Financing Addendum |
| (e) | Cash at settlement | The balance; also adjustable |
The total of the five lines is the purchase price. Lines (c) and (e) "may be adjusted as deemed necessary by Buyer and the Lender," which is why your loan amount can move without anyone renegotiating the price. If an FHA or VA loan applies, line (c) points to the separate FHA/VA Loan Addendum. Our guide to FHA, VA and USDA loans in Utah County explains what that addendum adds.
2.2 Sale of Buyer's Property is a single IS / IS NOT checkbox: is the purchase conditioned on the buyer selling a home they already own? If checked, a separate addendum applies. That addendum is not one of the forms on the Division's state-approved list, so its terms come from whatever document your agent attaches. If you are trying to buy and sell at once, our guide to the move-up problem covers how sellers react to that box.
Section 3: three words people use interchangeably and the form does not
The REPC separates Settlement, Closing and Possession, and the gaps between them are where move-in plans go wrong.
Settlement (3.1) happens when both sides have signed and delivered every required document to each other or to the escrow office, and have paid in whatever money they owe (other than the loan itself). It must happen by the Settlement Deadline in Section 24(d).
Closing (3.2) means Settlement is done, the lender has delivered the loan money, and the documents have been recorded with the county recorder. The form gives those last two steps up to four calendar days after Settlement. In Utah County, recording happens at the Utah County Recorder, 100 East Center Street in Provo.
Possession (3.3) is a checkbox: upon Recording, a number of hours after Recording, or a number of calendar days after Recording. Possession is keyed to Recording, not to signing. A buyer who signs on a Friday morning should not schedule a moving truck for Friday afternoon unless the deal will record that day. If the seller needs to stay longer, the form says any rental before or after Closing "shall be by separate written agreement."
Section 4: who pays for what
4.1 Prorations. Property taxes for the current year, HOA dues and rents are split as of the Settlement Deadline unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. Our explainer on property tax in Utah County covers why the current year's tax bill is not known until November.
4.2 Special Assessments. HOA capital assessments or city special improvement district assessments approved before the Settlement Deadline are paid by seller, buyer, split equally, or "other." Leave this blank and you have left a real number unassigned. In a newer Utah County subdivision with an active HOA, ask before you sign whether anything is pending.
4.3 Fees and costs. Each side pays its own escrow fees unless agreed otherwise. Rental deposits and prepaid rents go to the buyer. 4.3(c) covers "change of ownership fees," which many Utah HOAs charge at transfer under names like reinvestment fee or community enhancement fee. The form makes you choose who pays it. Our HOA guide covers the association documents you receive in Section 7.
4.3(e) Real Estate Brokerage Compensation is the newest-feeling part of the form. The seller may agree to contribute a percentage of the price or a dollar amount to the buyer's brokerage. "If no amount is entered, then Seller has not agreed to compensate Buyer's Brokerage in the REPC." The total from all seller-side sources cannot exceed what the buyer agreed to pay their brokerage in their written buyer-broker agreement. It sits alongside the national practice changes that took effect on August 17, 2024, which ended offers of buyer-agent compensation on the MLS.
4.3(f) authorizes the escrow office to pay off the seller's mortgages, liens and brokerage compensation out of the seller's proceeds.
Section 5: who represents whom
This section confirms the agency relationships that were disclosed earlier: the seller's agent and brokerage, the buyer's agent and brokerage, and whether anyone is acting as a limited agent for both sides. If one agent or one brokerage represents both buyer and seller, this is where it shows. Our guide to choosing a real estate agent in Utah Valley covers what limited agency means for your negotiating position.
Section 6: title
The seller promises to convey marketable title by general warranty deed, and the buyer accepts title subject to whatever is in the title commitment, as reviewed and approved during due diligence.
Two subsections reflect Utah Valley's rental-heavy market. 6.1(a) says the buyer takes the property subject to long-term leases (30 days or more) and property management agreements that will not expire before Closing. 6.1(b) does the same for short-term rental bookings. If you are buying a home with a tenant in the basement apartment, you are buying the lease too.
6.2 Title Insurance puts the cost of the buyer's owner's policy on the seller, using the most current ALTA Homeowner's Policy through the agency that issued the commitment. Our guide to title insurance and closing costs explains the difference between that policy and the lender's.
Section 7: what the seller must hand over
By the Seller Disclosure Deadline, the seller delivers a list of documents: a signed property condition disclosure, the lead-based paint disclosure if the home was built before 1978, the title commitment, CC&Rs and HOA rules, the HOA's latest minutes, budget and financial statement, any leases, short-term booking schedules and management agreements, evidence of water rights, written notice of known environmental problems and building or zoning code violations, and a FIRPTA notice if the seller is a foreign person.
That list is the backbone of what Utah sellers disclose, and it is contractual rather than statutory. Our guide to seller disclosures in Utah explains what the law requires on top of it and what it lets a seller leave out.
Section 8: the four conditions that protect the buyer
This is the section that decides whether the buyer can walk away.
8.1 Due Diligence Condition. An IS / IS NOT box. If it applies, the buyer can investigate almost anything: the disclosures, physical condition, hazardous substances and geologic conditions, square footage, roof, foundation, systems, appliances, insurance and flood insurance cost, water source, property lines, regulatory restrictions, HOA dues and utility costs, nearby registered sex offenders, "and any other matters deemed material to Buyer." The buyer pays for the inspections and for any damage they cause.
By the Due Diligence Deadline, the buyer must either cancel in writing (earnest money comes back without the seller's further signature) or resolve objections in writing with the seller. Do neither, and the condition is deemed waived and the earnest money becomes non-refundable, except as Sections 8.2(a) and 8.3(b)(i) allow.
8.2 Appraisal Condition. If checked, the buyer can cancel by the Financing and Appraisal Deadline after receiving written notice that the property appraised below the price, with a copy of that notice, and get the deposit back. Our guide to inspections and appraisals covers what a low appraisal means in a non-disclosure state.
8.3 Financing Condition. Either no financing is required, or the purchase is conditioned on the buyer getting the loan. If financing applies, the buyer may cancel after the Due Diligence Deadline and before the Financing and Appraisal Deadline if not satisfied with the loan terms, and a dollar amount written into a blank goes to the seller, with the rest returned to the buyer. That blank is easy to overlook and worth filling in deliberately. If the deadline passes and the loan still never funds, either side can cancel and all of the earnest money goes to the seller as liquidated damages.
8.4 Additional Earnest Money. An optional second deposit, due by the later of the Due Diligence or Financing and Appraisal Deadline. A buyer can use it to show commitment without putting more money at risk before the inspection is done.
Sections 9 through 12: addenda, condition and the walk-through
Section 9 lists attached addenda. The Division's state-approved list includes the FHA/VA Loan Addendum, Seller Financing Addendum, Assumption Addendum, a blank addendum, a lead-based paint addendum and an addendum for holding earnest money with a title company instead of a brokerage.
Section 10 covers a one-year home warranty (whether one is included, who orders it, who pays and a cost cap) and then the two condition clauses. 10.2 is the buyer's as-is acknowledgment. 10.3 is the seller's side: disclose known material defects a reasonable inspection would not reveal, complete the disclosure form, deliver the home in substantially the same condition as at Acceptance, broom-clean and empty, and repair moving damage.
Section 11 lets the buyer do a final walk-through no earlier than seven calendar days before Settlement, only to confirm that included items are present and agreed repairs were made. Skipping it does not waive your right to receive the property as represented.
Section 12 limits what the seller can do while under contract: no substantial alterations, no new liens or title changes, no new or changed leases or management agreements, and no new short-term rental bookings after the Seller Disclosure Deadline without the buyer's written consent.
Sections 13 through 22: the boilerplate that is not boilerplate
A few of these clauses decide real disputes.
14 Complete Contract. The REPC, its addenda and the seller disclosures are the whole agreement. A verbal promise from the seller about the sprinklers is not part of it. Get it in writing.
15 Mediation. A checkbox: disputes either shall go to mediation first, or may at the parties' option. The cost is shared equally.
16 Default. If the buyer defaults, the seller can keep the earnest money as liquidated damages, sue to force the sale, or return the money and pursue other remedies. If the seller defaults, the buyer can take back the deposit plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, sue to force the sale, or take back the deposit and pursue other remedies.
17 Attorney fees. The winner of litigation or binding arbitration gets costs and reasonable attorney fees, but not for mediation.
18 Notices must be in writing, signed and received by the other party, their agent or their brokerage by the deadline. A text message from your agent is not a signed notice.
19 No Assignment. The buyer cannot assign the contract without the seller's consent, except to an entity the buyer holds an interest in, such as a family trust or LLC.
20 Risk of Loss. The seller carries the risk of fire, flood, earthquake and similar damage until Closing. If repairs would exceed 10 percent of the price, either side may cancel and the buyer gets the deposit back.
21 Time Is of the Essence. Every date is absolute, performance is due by 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time on the date, "days" means calendar days, and counting starts the day after the triggering event. Extensions must be in writing and signed by all parties. The same clause notes that these dates do not bind lenders, title companies and appraisers, who are not parties to the contract. That last line explains a great deal of stress in the final week.
Sections 23 through 25: acceptance and the four dates
23 Acceptance happens when a party has signed the offer or counteroffer and that signing has been communicated to the other side or their agent.
24 Contract Deadlines holds four dates, written as calendar dates rather than day counts: Seller Disclosure, Due Diligence, Financing and Appraisal, and Settlement. These four lines run the whole transaction, and our companion guide to REPC deadlines and earnest money builds them into a working calendar.
25 Offer and Time for Acceptance sets the moment the offer lapses if the seller does not respond. The bottom of the page carries the seller's choice: accept, counteroffer by addendum, or reject.
What survives Closing
Several sections say their provisions "shall survive Closing," meaning they still bind after the deed records. Among them: possession terms (3.3), prorations (4.1), special assessments (4.2), escrow fees, rental deposits and change-of-ownership fees (4.3), lease and booking terms (6.1), both condition acknowledgments (10.2 and 10.3), mediation (15) and attorney fees (17). If a problem surfaces in the spring after a November closing, these are the clauses a mediator or court will read.
Reading your own offer in ten minutes
Before you sign, find these blanks and say each answer out loud:
- The earnest money amount, and Section 8.3(b)(i)'s dollar figure the seller keeps if you cancel over loan terms.
- Every IS / IS NOT box in Section 8. Are due diligence, appraisal and financing conditions all on?
- Section 4.2 and 4.3(c): who pays pending assessments and HOA transfer fees.
- Section 4.3(e): what the seller is contributing to your brokerage, if anything.
- Section 3.3: when you get the keys, measured from Recording.
- Section 1.3 and 1.4: what is excluded, and what water comes with the lot.
- Section 24: the four dates, checked against a real calendar.
If you are buying for the first time, our step-by-step guide to buying a home in Provo puts this contract in the larger sequence, from pre-approval to keys.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the REPC in Utah?
Can I write my own contract instead of using the REPC?
When does a Utah REPC become binding?
Is the earnest money refundable under the REPC?
Does the REPC say who pays the buyer's agent?
Who pays for title insurance in a Utah purchase?
What does 'as-is' mean in the Utah REPC?
What happens if the house is damaged before closing?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- State Approved Forms, Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah County Recorder, Utah County. Checked October 19, 2026.
- NAR Settlement FAQs, National Association of Realtors. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Real Estate Purchase Contract (effective Dec. 4, 2024), Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- FHA/VA Loan Addendum, Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Deposit of Earnest Money with Title Insurance Company Addendum, Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Lead-Based Paint Addendum, Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
