Checklist
What documents does a home sale require? By country.
Pick your country and get the documents and steps its sales actually require, from the listing paperwork to the deed. Filter by stage, check items off as you gather them, and print the list or save it as a PDF. Progress saves in this browser, per country, with no account.
Home sale documents checklist: United States. From bestfsboguide.com/tools/documents-checklist. Confirm details against the official sources in the United States guide.
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No items in this stage for United States. Its checklist folds these steps into the other stages; choose All stages to see everything.
Key facts: United States
- Legal professional
- Optional Title or escrow company, or a real estate attorney in some states
- Property registry
- County recorder or registry of deeds
- Energy certificate
- No energy certificate appears in our United States data.
- Taxes to know about
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- Real estate transfer / recording tax
- Federal capital gains exclusion (Section 121)
- Title insurance and closing/settlement fees
Documents to gather Before listing
Before listing Before listing
List and sell Before listing
What documents do you need before listing your house?
Before the listing goes live, the work is gathering proof: that you own the home, that you may sell it, and that a buyer can rely on what the advertisement says. In most markets that means the title or registry extract, identification, and the home's own records, such as plans, permits, and the paperwork for major work. Many countries also require an energy certificate before you advertise, and the key facts box says whether yours does. Gathering these early is the cheapest insurance in the sale: a missing document found now costs a request and a wait, while the same gap found later can cost you the buyer.
What paperwork does closing on a house require?
Once you accept an offer, the paperwork changes character: from gathering records to meeting deadlines. The written agreement comes first, with the price, the conditions, and the dates. Then the closing runs through whichever professional your country uses, a notary in much of Europe, an escrow or title company in the United States, a solicitor or conveyancer in the United Kingdom and Ireland, who asks for the documents in a set order and registers the deed when it is done. The checklist's closing stage lists those items for your country, and the key facts box names the professional.
How this checklist works
Pick a country and the page swaps in that market's own list: the documents its sales require, the steps in the order its process runs, and the key facts on who must be involved. Every item is taken from our country guides, which are written from official sources such as the land registry, the tax authority, and government portals. Each guide lists its sources and the date it was last reviewed, so nothing here floats free of a citation.
The stage filter groups the work the way a sale actually unfolds: what to gather before listing, what happens once you are under offer, and what the closing requires. Your progress is stored only in this browser, separately for each country, and the print button gives you a clean copy to keep or hand to your notary, lawyer, or buyer.
Common questions
What documents do you need to sell a house?
The core set is similar in most markets: proof from the property registry that you own the home, identification, an energy certificate where one is required before advertising, and the records of the home itself, such as plans, permits, and the paperwork for major work. The exact list, and who must check it, is set by each country, so pick yours and the checklist swaps to that market. Every item comes from our country guides, which cite official sources such as the land registry and the tax authority.
Do I need a lawyer or notary to sell my house?
It depends on the country. Much of Europe requires a notary to pass the deed, the United Kingdom and Ireland use a solicitor or conveyancer, and in the United States an escrow or title company usually runs the closing. The key facts box above the checklist says who is legally required in the selected country, and the full country guide explains what that professional actually does in the sale and how their fees are set.
Is my checklist progress saved anywhere?
Only in your own browser, in local storage, kept separately for each country. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. If you clear your browser data or switch devices, the progress does not follow you.
Can I print the checklist or save it as a PDF?
Yes. The print button opens your browser’s print dialog with the site chrome hidden, so the page prints as a clean list of the items currently shown. Choose "Save as PDF" as the destination to keep a file, or print a copy to hand to your notary, lawyer, or buyer.
Are the documents for selling a house the same in every country?
No, and some requirements vary by region within a country, which is why this page keeps a separate sourced list per market instead of one generic list. Treat each list as a starting point, not legal advice: rules change, and the country guides link the official sources and the date they were last reviewed, so confirm anything that matters against the originals.