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For closing professionals

The 1031 handoff, for the people running the closing.

A checklist for title and escrow officers, closing attorneys, brokers and CPAs. Print it, share it, or send it to your client. It covers the exchange steps, not your own legal forms.

Updated September 30, 2026 · Reviewed by onezero3one professional staff on September 30, 2026

The one thing that cannot be fixed afterward: the exchange has to be in place, and the seller must not receive the proceeds, when the relinquished property transfers. Everything on this list supports that.

Before the sale closes

  • The seller has signed an exchange agreement with a qualified intermediary.
  • The seller's rights in the sale contract have been assigned to the intermediary.
  • All parties to the sale contract, including the buyer, have received written notice of the assignment on or before the date of transfer.
  • You have the intermediary's written closing instructions, with the wire instructions verified by telephone to a number you already had.
  • The seller's exact name on title matches the name on the exchange agreement.

At closing

  • Net proceeds are wired to the intermediary, not to the seller, the seller's attorney or any account the seller controls.
  • Nothing is credited or made available to the seller from the proceeds, beyond items the regulations allow to be paid from the exchange funds, such as customary closing costs; if in doubt, ask the intermediary and the seller's tax advisor before closing.
  • The settlement statement shows the intermediary as the recipient of the proceeds.
  • Any state residency or withholding form reflects the exchange where the state provides for it, for example New Jersey's GIT/REP-3 or New York's IT-2663.

During the exchange period

  • Day 45: the seller identifies replacement property in a signed writing sent to a permitted recipient, usually the intermediary.
  • Day 180, or the seller's tax-return due date if earlier and not extended: the replacement purchase must close.
  • On the purchase side: the purchase contract is assigned to the intermediary, notice is given, and the intermediary's funds arrive by verified wire.
  • Title to the replacement property is taken by the same taxpayer who sold, or by that taxpayer's disregarded entity.

For the CPA

  • Both settlement statements and the intermediary's exchange statement.
  • The identification and the dates of transfer and receipt.
  • Any cash or other property received, and any debt relief, for Form 8824.
  • State forms filed at either closing.

Things that end an exchange before it starts

  • Proceeds disbursed to the seller, even briefly, before an exchange was in place.
  • The exchange agreement or assignment signed after the deed was delivered.
  • The seller's own agent, such as their attorney or broker in the past two years, acting as the intermediary.

This checklist summarizes federal requirements for information. It is not legal advice and does not replace your own closing procedures or the intermediary's written instructions.

Related

Sources