Do you have to disclose a broken appliance when selling a house in Indiana? Yes, in most sales. The state's seller form asks about each appliance by name, so the form will ask you about the dishwasher that quit draining a month before you list your Speedway house. On the revision we read (R8 / 7-25), the form lists the dishwasher by name, and it tells you to answer every question truthfully.
That can feel like bad news right before you list. Take a breath. The form we read has a box for each appliance, and the law lays out what to do if one breaks later.
We explain the rule here. How to fill in your own form is a call for your real-estate agent or a lawyer, not for us.
Find your situation:
- You know it's broken when you fill in the form: the form we read has a line for that appliance and a "Defective" column. Its first instruction is to answer truthfully.
- You truly don't know if it works: the form we read has an "Unknown" column for that.
- The house doesn't have one, or it's rented: on the form we read, that's the "Not Applicable / Rented" column.
- It broke after you handed over the form: the form we read says to tell the buyer in writing right away. The law also says to disclose a material change at or before closing.
- You're selling for an estate, or a lender is selling after a foreclosure: the disclosure law doesn't cover those sales.
- You're the buyer and a changed form shows a defect after your offer is accepted: you may have two business days to cancel.
Is a seller's disclosure required in Indiana?
Yes, for homes with up to four units, with some exceptions. Indiana Code 32-21-5 covers those sales, and it tells the Indiana Real Estate Commission to adopt a form. Most sellers use that one. The form's number is State Form 46234.
The law itself doesn't name appliances. It lists the big things, like the foundation, the roof and the water and sewer systems, and then lets the Commission add other areas it thinks fit. On the revision we read (R8 / 7-25), the Commission's form adds a block headed "A. APPLIANCES".
Read the exact wording
"The Indiana real estate commission established by IC 25-34.1-2-1 shall adopt a specific disclosure form that contains the following: (1) Disclosure by the owner of the known condition of the following: (A) The foundation. (B) The mechanical systems. (C) The roof. (D) The structure. (E) The water and sewer systems. (F) Additions that may require improvements to the sewage disposal system. (G) Other areas that the Indiana real estate commission determines are appropriate."
Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-10, the seller has to fill in and sign the form and give it to the buyer before an offer is accepted.
What the form asks about appliances
On that revision, the block has 16 lines:
- Built-in Vacuum System
- Clothes Dryer
- Clothes Washer
- Dishwasher
- Disposal
- Freezer
- Gas Grill
- Hood
- Microwave Oven
- Oven
- Range
- Refrigerator
- Room Air Conditioner(s)
- Trash Compactor
- TV Antenna / Dish
- Other
For each one you mark a column. On the copy we read, the choices were "Not Applicable / Rented", "Defective", "Not Defective" and "Unknown". Check the labels on your own form. The form's instructions tell you to answer every question truthfully, and to report every condition you know about, no matter how or when you learned of it. So don't mark "Unknown" for something you know is broken.
"Instructions to the Seller(s): (1) Answer every question truthfully. (2) Report all known conditions affecting the property, regardless of how you know about them or when you learned."
State Form 46234, revision R8 / 7-25. We read it on a third party's copy of a finished form, so there is no copy to link.
The Commission adopted a newer revision in March 2026, as the Professional Licensing Agency's rule page shows. We haven't been able to read it yet, so go by the list and the boxes on the form your agent gives you.
What the law means by "defect"
The law gives the word its own meaning. Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-4, a defect is a problem of one of three kinds. It would badly hurt the home's value. It would put the health or safety of the people who live there at real risk. Or it would cut short the normal life of the place if nobody fixes it.
The form still asks about each appliance, one by one. How to mark yours is where your agent or lawyer comes in.
Read the exact wording
"As used in connection with disclosure forms required by this chapter, "defect" means a condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the property, that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of the property, or that if not repaired, removed, or replaced would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the premises."
Is Indiana a disclosure state for property sales?
Yes, but not for every sale. The disclosure law covers a sale, a trade, an installment contract or a lease with an option to buy. It applies only to homes with four units or fewer.
Read the exact wording
"This chapter applies only to a sale of, an exchange of, an installment sales contract for, or a lease with option to buy residential real estate that contains not more than four (4) residential dwelling units."
The same section lists sales the law leaves out. The list includes:
- Court-ordered sales: an estate, a foreclosure sale, a bankruptcy or a divorce.
- Lender sales: a bank selling a house it took back in a foreclosure.
- Sales by a fiduciary: someone who runs an estate, a trust or a guardianship.
- Tax sales and government transfers.
- A brand-new house: the first sale of a home nobody has lived in.
- A move into a living trust.
- Family and co-owner transfers: from one co-owner to another, or only to close family in a straight line, such as a seller's spouse, parent, child or grandchild.
Buying one of those? You may get no form at all, so your own checks matter more. Start with what a home inspector does and doesn't check on appliances.
What happens if sellers don't disclose something?
It turns on what the seller knew. A seller who didn't know about a problem isn't liable for leaving it off. A seller who knew and hid it doesn't get that protection. What a buyer can do next is a question for a lawyer. Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-11, an owner isn't liable for a mistake or a gap on the form when two things are true. First, the owner didn't actually know about the problem, or relied on a report from a public agency or a licensed pro. Second, the owner wasn't careless in getting that report and passing it on.
Read the exact wording
"The owner is not liable for any error, inaccuracy, or omission of any information required to be delivered to the prospective buyer under this chapter if: (1) the error, inaccuracy, or omission was not within the actual knowledge of the owner or was based on information provided by a public agency or by another person with a professional license or special knowledge who provided a written or oral report or opinion that the owner reasonably believed to be correct; and (2) the owner was not negligent in obtaining information from a third party and transmitting the information."
In 2013 the Indiana Supreme Court said a seller can be liable for fraud on the form if the seller actually knew an answer was false when filling it in (Johnson v. Wysocki).
Read the exact wording
"In such transactions, the seller may be liable for fraudulent misrepresentations made on the Disclosure Form when he or she had actual knowledge that the representation was false at the time he or she completed the form."
The form is not a warranty
A mark in the "Not Defective" column isn't a promise. Indiana Code 32-21-5-9 says the form is not a warranty by the owner or the owner's agent. It can't take the place of an inspection or a warranty, either. The form we read says the same thing in its own words.
Read the exact wording
"A disclosure form is not a warranty by the owner or the owner's agent, if any, and the disclosure form may not be used as a substitute for any inspections or warranties that the prospective buyer or owner may later obtain."
What if an appliance breaks before closing?
If it broke after you handed over the form, the law says that alone isn't a violation. It then gives you a job to do before closing. Indiana Code 32-21-5-12 says an owner doesn't violate the disclosure law when the form turns out wrong because of something that happened after it was handed over. Then comes the duty. At or before closing, the owner has to disclose any material change in the home's physical condition, or certify that it's about the same as when the form was given.
Read the exact wording
"An owner does not violate this chapter if the owner subsequently discovers that the disclosure form is inaccurate as a result of any act, circumstance, information received, or agreement subsequent to the delivery of the disclosure form. However, at or before settlement, the owner is required to disclose any material change in the physical condition of the property or certify to the purchaser at settlement that the condition of the property is substantially the same as it was when the disclosure form was provided."
The form we read is stricter on timing than the law. Its instructions tell the seller to notify any buyer in writing right away, as soon as a fact changes one of the answers.
"(7) If you learn any fact prior to closing that changes one or more of your answers to this form after you have completed and submitted it, immediately notify any potential buyer of the change in writing."
State Form 46234, revision R8 / 7-25. We read it on a third party's copy of a finished form, so there is no copy to link.
Is a dead dishwasher a "material change"? The law doesn't say. Ask your agent or lawyer. Ask soon.
What the buyer can do with a changed form
A changed form can reopen the deal. Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-13, this covers a buyer who gets a form, or a changed form, after the offer is accepted. If it shows a defect, the buyer has two business days to cancel in writing. The buyer isn't liable for backing out and gets any deposits back.
Read the exact wording
"Notwithstanding section 12 of this chapter, if a prospective buyer receives a disclosure form or an amended disclosure form after an offer has been accepted that discloses a defect, the prospective buyer may after receipt of the disclosure form and within two (2) business days nullify the contract by delivering a written rescission to the owner or the owner's agent, if any. (b) A prospective buyer is not liable for nullifying a contract under this section and is entitled to a return of any deposits made in the transaction."
Should you just fix it?
A repair doesn't change what the form asks. If you fix the dishwasher, keep the receipt and ask your agent how to show it.
Here's how repair calls from this site work.
Not sure the appliance is even part of the sale? See do appliances stay with the house in Indiana.