To fill out NWMLS Form 35, you enter the buyer and seller names and property address exactly as they appear on the Purchase and Sale Agreement, set three timeline numbers (initial inspection period, seller’s response period, and buyer’s reply period), check every inspection type you might want to perform, and decide upfront whether the seller can demand proof of an inspector’s recommendation before you claim additional inspection time. The blanks look simple. The consequences of leaving the wrong one empty, or checking the wrong box, run all the way to losing your earnest money.
Getting a Copy of the Form
Form 35 is a proprietary Northwest Multiple Listing Service document. There is no public download page with a blank, fillable version. Your real estate broker supplies it through NWMLS member channels and transaction management platforms. If you are buying without an agent, you will need a licensed broker to provide the form or an attorney to draft equivalent contingency language.
NWMLS revises the form periodically in coordination with Washington Realtors. Ask your broker to confirm you are working from the current version. Older editions may lack updated provisions around additional inspections and the disclosure of inspection reports.
Header and Party Information
Enter the buyer’s and seller’s legal names exactly as written on the Purchase and Sale Agreement, along with the full property address. Check the spelling against county tax records. Mismatches between the addendum and the underlying agreement can create title problems later, and correcting them mid-transaction is slower and more awkward than getting it right the first time.
The Three Timeline Blanks
Three numbers do most of the work on Form 35. Each has a default that applies if you leave the blank empty, and each deserves a deliberate choice rather than a shrug.
- Initial inspection period. The number of days after mutual acceptance during which you must complete inspections and deliver notice. Defaults to 10 days.
- Seller’s response period. The number of days the seller has to respond to a repair request. Defaults to 3 days.
- Buyer’s reply period. The number of days you have to accept the seller’s response, negotiate further, or terminate. Defaults to 3 days.
The clock starts at mutual acceptance, meaning the moment both parties have signed the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Form 35 attached. If mutual acceptance happens Friday evening and you have a 10-day window, Saturday is day one. Calendar it from the signature, not from the day you schedule the inspector.
In competitive markets, sellers often push for shorter inspection periods, sometimes as few as 5 days. Before you agree, confirm your inspector can actually schedule the visit, deliver a written report, and give you time to review it and deliver notice before the clock runs out. A 5-day window that looks reasonable in the offer can be nearly impossible in practice once you are coordinating a specialist follow-up or waiting on a sewer scope appointment.
The default response and reply periods (3 days each) work for many transactions, but they may not align with a compressed closing date or a holiday weekend. Fill in numbers you have thought about, not numbers you inherited by leaving the field blank.
Inspection Type Checkboxes
Form 35 includes checkboxes for the categories of inspection you plan to conduct. Check every box that applies: general structural, sewer scope, radon, pest, environmental hazards, and any other category the property might reasonably warrant. If you do not check a box, you may lose the right to terminate based on findings in that category. Adding an inspection type after mutual acceptance requires the seller’s consent, which you may not get.
A general home inspection covers the readily accessible systems: foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, windows, and visible structural components. It does not automatically include specialized evaluations. Sewer line camera scopes, radon tests, oil tank searches, pest inspections, and environmental testing for lead paint or asbestos are each separate services and each their own checkbox. In Washington, a standard home inspection typically runs roughly $425 to $725 depending on square footage, with sewer scopes and radon tests adding around $200 to $250 each.
The form prohibits invasive testing, such as cutting into walls, digging into the foundation, or removing finishes, unless the seller provides written consent. If damage occurs during even a standard inspection, you are responsible for restoring the property.
The Additional Inspections Setup
Paragraph 5 lets you claim additional time when your general inspector recommends that a specialist evaluate a specific item, such as a structural engineer for a cracked beam or an electrician for an outdated panel. The claim must rest on the inspector’s recommendation, not on your own second thoughts, and you must deliver notice before the initial inspection period expires. The additional period defaults to 5 days from the date you deliver notice, and you can negotiate a different number in the blank provided.1NWMLS. Inspection Addendum to Purchase and Sale Agreement – Form 35
At the drafting stage, the checkbox to watch is the seller’s option to demand written proof of the inspector’s recommendation. The seller can require this upfront by checking the box on Form 35 at the time of the offer, or later by delivering Form 35C after mutual acceptance.2Washington Realtors. At the Intersection of the 2023 Forms Revisions and Best Practices Know which box is checked when you sign, because if the seller demands proof and you cannot produce a written recommendation from your inspector, the additional inspection claim fails.
Pre-1978 Homes and the Lead Paint Window
Form 35 does not govern lead paint testing. For homes built before 1978, federal law gives you a separate 10-day window to test for lead-based paint, independent of the Form 35 timeline.3US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards The seller must disclose known lead hazards and provide an EPA pamphlet. You and the seller can agree in writing to shorten or extend the period, and you can waive the right to test, though in a home of that age waiving a lead inspection is a serious gamble. If you are financing with an FHA loan, chipped or peeling paint in a pre-1978 home must be stabilized before closing regardless of what the inspection addendum says.
What the Blanks Are Setting Up
Once mutual acceptance happens, the numbers and boxes on Form 35 drive a fixed sequence. Within the initial inspection period, you must deliver one of four notices: approve and waive, disapprove and terminate (which refunds your earnest money), request repairs or modifications through Form 35R, or claim additional inspection time under Paragraph 5.1NWMLS. Inspection Addendum to Purchase and Sale Agreement – Form 35 If you deliver nothing, the contingency is conclusively waived and you are obligated to purchase as-is.
If you request repairs, the seller’s response period and your reply period run in sequence from the timeline blanks you filled in. Silence at either stage waives the contingency. Inaction never terminates the deal; it always waives. If you want out, you must deliver a written notice of disapproval within the deadline.
Form 35 also includes a neighborhood review provision that runs concurrently with the inspection period. It lets you investigate factors outside the physical property, such as noise, traffic, nearby development, and school districts, and terminate with a refund of earnest money if you disapprove and deliver timely notice.1NWMLS. Inspection Addendum to Purchase and Sale Agreement – Form 35 Treat it as a separate checklist item during the same window. Drive the neighborhood at different times, check permit records for adjacent lots, and talk to neighbors before the deadline passes.
Filling-Stage Mistakes That Void the Contingency
Most Form 35 disasters trace back to choices made when the form was drafted or in the days right after signing.
- Leaving blanks empty without understanding the defaults. Ten, three, and three are reasonable in many transactions and dangerous in others. Fill in numbers on purpose.
- Skipping inspection checkboxes. An unchecked box may cost you the right to terminate based on findings in that category, and adding categories later needs the seller’s consent.
- Ignoring the Paragraph 5 proof box. If the seller checks it, line up a written recommendation from your inspector before you claim additional time.
- Calendaring from the wrong date. The period starts at mutual acceptance, not at the inspection appointment.
- Sending the inspection report unprompted. Sharing any portion of the report with the seller without the seller’s written request waives the entire inspection contingency. Describe the issues in your repair request. Do not attach the report unless the seller asks in writing.1NWMLS. Inspection Addendum to Purchase and Sale Agreement – Form 35
- Assuming silence terminates the deal. It does the opposite. Deliver written notice for every action you want to take, every time.