Utah REPC Contract Explained Page-by-Page (2026 Buyer Guide)

What is the Utah REPC?

The Utah REPC is the standard Real Estate Purchase Contract approved by the Utah Division of Real Estate for residential transactions. Almost every Utah home sale uses this form. It is the document buyers and sellers sign to agree on price, terms, deadlines, and conditions of sale, and it becomes a legally binding contract the moment both parties sign.

The form is revised every few years to reflect changes in law and practice. Recent updates incorporated the buyer-broker agreement disclosures that followed the 2024 NAR settlement, so the version you sign in 2026 looks slightly different from one signed a few years ago. Always confirm with your agent that you are working from the current state-approved version.

2027 update: Utah has approved a new REPC that becomes mandatory January 1, 2027. For a plain-English, verified breakdown of what is actually different, see what changed in the new 2027 Utah REPC.

Price, earnest money, the Due Diligence Deadline, the Financing and Appraisal Deadline, and the Settlement Deadline all live inside this one document. Understanding what is in it, and what is negotiable, protects your transaction. If you have questions about your specific REPC, call 801-999-8005 for a confidential consultation, or start with the Utah home buyer guide.

One note before we walk through it: this page explains the standard form in plain English. It is not legal advice, and the form itself changes over time. For legal questions about your specific contract, talk to a Utah real estate attorney.

Where do I get the official Utah REPC form?

Download it free from the Utah Division of Real Estate. The REPC is a state-approved public form, not a proprietary document, and the current version sits on the Division’s State Approved Forms page. Nobody sells it to you and no brokerage owns it.

Downloading it and filling it in are two different problems. The blanks are where Utah deals get won and lost: the Due Diligence Deadline, the Financing and Appraisal Deadline, the Settlement Deadline, the earnest money amount and who holds it, what personal property stays with the house, and which addenda ride along. The Division posts those addenda on the same page, including the FHA/VA Loan Addendum, the Seller Financing Addendum, and the Lead Based Paint Addendum.

A Utah buyer or seller can legally write their own offer without an agent. What you cannot do is un-miss a deadline. Blow the Due Diligence Deadline without canceling and you generally lose the right to walk away over inspection findings and still collect the earnest money back. The contract’s clock keeps running whether or not anyone is watching it.

Two of those dates trigger real money elsewhere in the deal. The Settlement Deadline drives when your Utah closing costs come due, and the title commitment review is what gives you time to actually read the title insurance exceptions before you are stuck with them.

The four REPC deadlines that run your transaction

The last section of the REPC is a deadlines table, and it is the most important half page of the entire contract. Four dates control everything, plus the earnest money delivery right after acceptance. Typical timeframes in a 2026 Utah transaction:

Deadline	What it controls	Typical timing after acceptance
Earnest money delivery	Buyer delivers the deposit to the brokerage or title company	Within 4 calendar days
Seller Disclosure Deadline	Seller delivers the property condition disclosures and related documents	5 to 7 days
Due Diligence Deadline	Buyer’s inspections and review period; last day to cancel for any reason with earnest money back	10 to 14 days
Financing and Appraisal Deadline	Last day to cancel over loan or appraisal problems with earnest money back	21 to 25 days
Settlement Deadline	Signing, funding, and recording; closing costs come due	30 to 45 days

Every one of these is negotiable when the offer is written. A shorter Due Diligence Deadline makes an offer stronger for the seller and riskier for the buyer. All REPC deadlines run on calendar days, not business days, and they do not pause for weekends, holidays, or vacations.

The REPC section by section

The current REPC runs about a dozen pages. Here is what each part actually does, in the order you will read it. Section numbering can shift slightly between form revisions, so treat this as a map of the current form and confirm the exact version with your agent.

Section 1: The Property and what stays with it

The address and legal description, plus the included and excluded items. This is where the refrigerator, washer and dryer, water softener, TV mounts, and window treatments either convey or do not. It also covers water rights and water service to the property, which matters more in Utah than most states. Specify every included or excluded item here in writing. Verbal agreements do not count.

Section 2: Purchase price and earnest money

The total purchase price and how it will be paid: the earnest money deposit, the new loan amount, any seller financing, and the cash balance due at settlement. Earnest money on a Utah residential purchase typically runs $5,000 to $15,000, higher for luxury properties, and is held in trust by the brokerage or a title company. It is not an extra fee; at closing it is credited toward your down payment and closing costs.

Section 3: Settlement and closing

What happens at the finish line: settlement (signing the documents and delivering funds), closing (when the deed records and the loan funds), and possession (when you actually get the keys). Possession is usually at closing but can be negotiated to a different time, and the timing gap between signing and recording in Utah is normally a few hours to a day.

Section 4: Prorations, fees, and who pays what

Property taxes, HOA dues, rents, and interest get prorated to the settlement date. This section also allocates costs: under the standard form the seller typically buys the owner’s title insurance policy for the buyer, the buyer pays for the lender’s policy, and each side pays its own escrow and recording fees as allocated. HOA transfer fees get assigned here too. For the real dollar amounts behind these lines, see the full Utah closing costs breakdown.

Section 5: Confirmation of agency disclosure

A short but mandatory section confirming who represents whom: the buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent, and their brokerages. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyers also sign a separate buyer-broker agreement before touring homes, and this section confirms those relationships in the contract itself. Limited agency, where one agent represents both sides, requires written informed consent from both parties.

Section 6: Title and title insurance

The seller commits to delivering good and marketable title, and the buyer gets a title insurance commitment to review. Read the exceptions page: easements, CC&Rs, and anything else recorded against the property live there. Your due diligence window is your chance to object to a title problem before you own it.

Section 7: Seller disclosures

By the Seller Disclosure Deadline the seller must deliver the Seller Property Condition Disclosure, the SPCD, covering known defects, past repairs, water damage, and more. Pre-1978 homes add the federal lead-based paint disclosure. HOA properties add the governing documents and financials. Read all of it before your Due Diligence Deadline, because that is the window in which you can still act on what you find.

Section 8: Buyer’s conditions, the heart of the contract

This is the critical section. It contains the three contingencies that let a buyer cancel and recover earnest money:

Due diligence condition. Your window to inspect everything: home inspection, radon, meth, sewer scope, insurance quotes, HOA documents, zoning, anything you want to verify. Cancel in writing before the Due Diligence Deadline and you get your earnest money back, for any reason or no reason. You can also use findings to negotiate repairs, a credit, or a price change.

Appraisal condition. If the property appraises below the purchase price, you can cancel before the Financing and Appraisal Deadline and recover your earnest money, or use the appraisal to renegotiate.

Financing condition. If your loan is denied, you can cancel before the Financing and Appraisal Deadline with earnest money back. Cancel for financing failure after that deadline and the standard form generally lets the seller keep the earnest money as liquidated damages, which is why you should never let this date pass on a pre-approval alone.

Section 9: Addenda

The checklist of every attached addendum that modifies the base form: counteroffers, the FHA/VA Loan Addendum, Seller Financing Addendum, Lead Based Paint Addendum, and anything negotiated during the deal such as repair or extension addenda. Each one is numbered, signed, and becomes part of the binding contract.

Sections 10 and beyond: condition, walkthrough, default, and the fine print

The back half of the REPC is shorter but still has teeth:

• Condition of property. The seller warrants the condition described and that systems will be in working order as agreed; buyers accept the property in its condition as of the contract terms, which is why the inspection window matters.
• Final pre-settlement walkthrough. Usually 24 to 48 hours before closing, to verify agreed repairs were completed and the home is in the promised condition. It is a verification, not a second inspection.
• Mediation. A checkbox election for mediating disputes before litigation.
• Default and remedies. If the buyer defaults, the seller can keep the earnest money as liquidated damages or pursue other remedies. If the seller defaults, the buyer can recover the earnest money plus compensation, or sue for specific performance to force the sale.
• Time is of the essence. The clause that makes every deadline in the contract hard. There is no grace period in the REPC. A day late is late.
• Acceptance and time for acceptance. Your offer expires at the date and time you set. Acceptance happens when the signed contract is delivered back, and that moment starts every other clock in the deal.

How buyers get out of the REPC

The short version: cancel in writing before the right deadline and your earnest money comes back.

1. Before the Due Diligence Deadline: cancel for any reason, earnest money returned. This is the widest exit and the reason the deadline is so valuable to buyers.
2. Before the Financing and Appraisal Deadline: cancel for a low appraisal or a failed loan, earnest money returned.
3. After all deadlines have passed: you are expected to close. Walk away now and you typically forfeit the earnest money, and in some situations face further liability.
4. Anytime, by agreement: both parties can sign a cancellation agreement on any terms they negotiate.

A pre-approval is preliminary; a loan commitment is final. Do not let the Financing and Appraisal Deadline pass on a pre-approval alone.

What is negotiable in the REPC?

Almost everything. The REPC is a template; buyers and sellers negotiate the specifics. Common negotiation points:

• Purchase price
• Earnest money amount
• Settlement deadline and possession timing
• Who pays which closing costs
• Seller concessions such as closing cost help, repair credits, or rate buydowns
• Inspection response: repairs, credit, or as-is
• Included personal property, from appliances to window treatments
• Every contingency deadline

In the 2026 Utah market, with homes sitting longer than in the frenzy years, buyers have real leverage on concessions and deadlines. See the buying page for how we structure competitive offers that still protect you.

A typical Utah REPC timeline

Every deal is different, but a standard financed Utah purchase runs roughly like this:

• Day 0: Offer accepted and delivered; the contract is binding. Earnest money delivered within 4 calendar days.
• Days 1 to 7: Seller disclosures delivered. Inspections scheduled and completed.
• Days 7 to 14: Inspection response negotiated: repairs, credit, or cancellation. Due Diligence Deadline passes.
• Days 10 to 21: Loan underwriting in progress. Appraisal ordered and completed.
• Days 21 to 25: Financing and Appraisal Deadline passes.
• Days 21 to 28: Final loan approval and clear to close.
• Days 28 to 45: Final walkthrough, signing at the title company, funding, recording, keys.

Common REPC mistakes

Missing the Due Diligence Deadline. Fail to cancel or negotiate by this date and you lose the right to walk away over inspection findings with your earnest money intact.

Missing the financing deadline. If the loan is shaky and you do not cancel or extend before the Financing and Appraisal Deadline, your earnest money is exposed.

Vague repair language. “Seller to fix HVAC” is too vague. Specify the scope, who performs the work, who pays, and the completion deadline, in a signed addendum.

Verbal side agreements. If it is not in the REPC or an addendum, it is not enforceable. Everything you negotiate goes in writing.

Confusing pre-approval with loan commitment. A pre-approval is a preliminary opinion. A loan commitment is final. Never waive or outlive your financing protection on a pre-approval alone.

Counting business days instead of calendar days. REPC deadlines run on calendar days. A deadline that lands on a Sunday is still a Sunday deadline.

How we handle the REPC for clients

Every transaction at Kris Bowen Real Estate Group includes a line-by-line REPC review before anything is signed. We explain every contingency, every deadline, and every cost responsibility, coordinate with lenders and inspectors to keep the dates met, and negotiate the addenda that protect you. The REPC has dozens of places to lose money; the job is to not miss any of them.

The form itself is updated periodically by the state, so the section layout described above can shift with new revisions. Confirm the current version with your agent, and treat this guide as education, not legal advice.

Buying this year? Start with the 2026 Utah home buyer guide, see what to expect in closing costs, or contact us directly. Call 801-999-8005 for a confidential consultation about your specific REPC before you sign.