Washington Resale Certificate Guide: RCW 64.90.640 and RCW 64.34.425 Requirements for Title Companies, Agents, and Boards

When a unit in a Washington common interest community sells, the association must produce a resale certificate — a comprehensive disclosure document that tells the buyer what they are purchasing into.

This is not a courtesy. It is a statutory requirement with specific content mandates, fee caps, and delivery deadlines.

This guide covers both Washington resale certificate statutes, the full list of required disclosures, and the operational realities that title companies, real estate agents, escrow officers, and boards need to understand.

What a Resale Certificate Is

A resale certificate is a point-in-time disclosure package that provides a prospective buyer with:

• The financial status of the specific unit (outstanding balances, assessments, late fees)
• The financial health of the association (reserves, budget, delinquency, pending special assessments)
• The governance status of the association (insurance, litigation, restrictions, governance policies)
• Required statutory disclosures specific to Washington law

It is typically requested by the listing agent, buyer's agent, or title company during the transaction process, and must be delivered within a statutory deadline.

Washington's Dual-Statute Framework

Washington is unusual in having two active resale certificate statutes that apply to different communities:

Which statute applies to your community?

• Communities formed after July 1, 2018 are governed by WUCIOA from inception — use RCW 64.90.640
• Communities formed before July 1, 2018 that are condominiums created under RCW 64.34 — may use either statute, but WUCIOA provisions are phasing in (full compliance by January 1, 2028)
• All communities must comply with WUCIOA governance provisions as of January 1, 2026 (SB 5129), but the resale certificate transition follows the 2028 timeline

In practice, most boards and title companies should be preparing certificates that satisfy both statutes to avoid gaps.

Required Disclosures: RCW 64.34.425 (Condominium Act — 20 Items)

The Condominium Act requires the following disclosures in a resale certificate:

1. Monthly common expense assessment for the unit
2. Any unpaid common expense assessment or special assessment currently due from the selling unit owner
3. Any other fees payable by the unit owner
4. Any capital expenditures anticipated by the association for the current and next two fiscal years
5. Amount of any reserves for capital expenditures
6. Most recent regularly prepared balance sheet and income/expense statement
7. Current operating budget
8. Any unsatisfied judgments against the association
9. Any pending suits or actions to which the association is a party or which are threatened
10. Current insurance coverage provided by the association
11. Any alterations or improvements to the unit or common elements that violate the declaration
12. Any violations of health or building codes
13. Status of governmental approvals for the condominium
14. Statement of any pending sale or encumbrance of common elements
15. Statement describing any rights of first refusal or other restraints on free transferability of the unit
16. Monthly assessment amount for each unit type
17. Whether there are any unsatisfied judgments or pending actions against the unit owner for unpaid assessments
18. Reserves study (most recent)
19. Any restrictions on leasing
20. Any building code violations that have not been corrected

Required Disclosures: RCW 64.90.640 (WUCIOA — 26 Items)

WUCIOA expands the disclosure requirements significantly. The 26 items include all of the above plus:

1. EV charging infrastructure provisions and policies
2. Sale proceeds restrictions on common elements or limited common elements
3. Use, occupancy, and rental restrictions
4. Age-related restrictions on occupancy or ownership
5. Common element maintenance responsibility allocations
6. Any known material defects in the common elements

The additional WUCIOA items reflect evolving buyer expectations and legislative priorities (EV infrastructure, rental restrictions, and transparency about material defects).

Fee Caps and Deadlines

Important for title companies: The 10-day delivery deadline under WUCIOA is a hard statutory requirement. Delays can give the buyer grounds to rescind. Boards that cannot produce certificates within this window create transactional risk for all parties.

Common Errors in Resale Certificate Preparation

Based on patterns observed across Washington associations:

1. Stale financial data

The most frequent error. Boards produce certificates using exported financial data that is days or weeks old. By the time the certificate reaches the buyer, the numbers no longer reflect reality — payments received, late fees assessed, or special assessments posted since the export are missing.

2. Incomplete statutory coverage

Certificates that address 15 of 20 (or 20 of 26) required items. Each omission is a potential buyer challenge. The statute does not distinguish between major and minor disclosure items — every item must be affirmatively addressed.

3. "Unknown" used as a default

When boards do not have information for a disclosure item, they leave it blank or mark it "unknown." Under WUCIOA, the board has an affirmative obligation to investigate and provide accurate information. Blanket "unknown" responses are not compliant — they must be accompanied by an explanation of what steps were taken to obtain the information.

4. Fee miscalculations

Charging more than the statutory cap, or failing to distinguish between initial certificates and updates. Overcharging creates legal exposure.

5. Missing insurance details

Insurance coverage is one of the most scrutinized sections. Certificates that state "insurance on file" without providing coverage types, limits, deductibles, and carrier information do not meet the statutory requirement.

For Title Companies and Escrow Officers

If you are routinely waiting days or weeks for resale certificates from Washington HOAs, the bottleneck is almost always the association's data infrastructure — not the board's willingness.

When financial data lives in spreadsheets, manual reconciliation is required before every certificate. When disclosure items are tracked informally, someone must research each one from scratch.

The associations that deliver certificates within hours (not days) have a system of record that:

1. Maintains current owner balances at all times
2. Tracks all required disclosure items with board-confirmed defaults
3. Generates the certificate from live data with a single action

CommunityPay was built to be that system. Learn about the Title Company API or request a demo.

For Boards

Resale certificate compliance is not optional — it is a statutory obligation that creates legal exposure for the association when done incorrectly.

The checklist:

1. Know which statute applies to your community (RCW 64.34.425, RCW 64.90.640, or both)
2. Maintain current financial records so certificates reflect reality
3. Document board-confirmed answers for non-financial disclosures (litigation, restrictions, insurance)
4. Respect fee caps ($275 initial, $100 updates under WUCIOA)
5. Deliver within 10 days — delays create transactional risk

For the complete WUCIOA compliance checklist, see WUCIOA 2026 Compliance Checklist. For meeting and governance requirements that affect resale disclosures, see WUCIOA Meeting Requirements: The 15-Minute Rule.

Boards also completing Fannie Mae 1076 questionnaires for condo sales should see Fannie Mae 1076 Condo Questionnaire: Why Manual Completion Fails — the same live-ledger infrastructure that generates resale certificates auto-fills the 1076.

This guide covers Washington resale certificate requirements under RCW 64.34.425 and RCW 64.90.640. For legal advice specific to your community or transaction, consult a Washington real estate attorney. For a walkthrough of CommunityPay's resale certificate capabilities, contact us.