Wyoming Seller Disclosure Laws: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

· ✓ Last verified Oct 5, 2026 · March 9, 2026 · by AskDoss Editorial Team ·Home Selling · 6 min read

Wyoming has no general seller-disclosure statute for house resales. Under Richey v. Patrick (1995), an “as is” contract bars a buyer’s nondisclosure claim unless there was fraud or misrepresentation. Outside the limits of any city or town, W.S. 34-1-151(e) still requires the seller to tell the buyer in writing whether the wind estate has been severed from the surface, unless the buyer waives it.

So the Wyoming picture has three layers: court-made fraud rules that bind every seller, a short land statute aimed at rural parcels, and licensing statutes that bind real estate agents rather than owners. A buyer who signs an “as is” contract carries the burden of discovering defects, so the inspection contingency is the buyer’s main protection. Planning to sell a home in Wyoming? Start with the Richey section.

Richey v. Patrick and the black-sediment well

The Richeys sold a rural home whose well water had black-sediment problems in 1985 and again in 1986. They never mentioned it. The buyers’ offer form noted that a property condition statement was not available and said the buyers accepted the property “in its entirety in ‘as is, where is’ condition.” The trial court found the silence negligent and ruled for the buyers. The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed, 904 P.2d 798, holding that “absent an allegation of fraud, an ‘as is’ clause bars a claim for nondisclosure.” The buyers, the court noted, had not used the inspection the contract allowed and did not “even turn on a faucet.”

Later decisions go a step further. In Sundown, Inc. v. Pearson Real Estate Co., 8 P.3d 324 (Wyo. 2000), the court said “Wyoming does not recognize a cause of action for negligent nondisclosure,” and Claman v. Popp, 2012 WY 92, 279 P.3d 1003, repeated that rule. A claim that the seller was merely careless in leaving something out fails in Wyoming.

Where silence becomes fraud

Two things change the answer: saying something false, and hiding the problem. In Alexander v. Meduna, 2002 WY 83, 47 P.3d 206, the sellers filled out a property condition statement, left off salt deposits they knew about, and had cosmetically repaired a damaged basement foundation. The court upheld the finding of fraud and quoted its own rule: “even if someone is not under a duty to speak, if he does speak, he is under a duty to speak truthfully and to make a full and fair disclosure.” It also held that an “as is” clause “will not relieve the sellers of liability in the case of an actual misrepresentation or fraud.”

Fraud is harder to prove than negligence. Richey points out that fraud “must be pled with particularity and proved by clear and convincing evidence.” And a buyer cannot ignore what the seller did disclose: in Claman, a 2008 sale of a Rock Springs house whose seller had checked “yes” to a subsidence-area question, the court held a buyer “cannot ignore available evidence of a defect, such as physical evidence on the property and the seller’s property condition disclosures, and then assert a claim for fraud because the same information was not provided in a different form.”

No statute makes a Wyoming homeowner fill out a condition form, but if you do fill one out, Alexander is the case to remember. Answer only what you know, and write “unknown” where that is the truth.

New homes from a builder are different

Caveat emptor is the starting point for resales between owners, not for a builder’s first sale. In Greeves v. Rosenbaum, 965 P.2d 669 (Wyo. 1998), the court recalled that it had “discarded the common law doctrine of caveat emptor in the sale of new housing by a builder-vendor,” citing Tavares v. Horstman (1975). Even there, an “as is” contract can waive the implied warranty of habitability, as it did in Greeves.

Four years, counted from discovery

W.S. 1-3-105(a)(iv)(D) sets four years for an action “For relief on the ground of fraud.” W.S. 1-3-106 adds that such a claim “is not deemed to have accrued until the discovery of the fraud.” A written contract claim has a separate ten-year period under 1-3-105(a)(i), though in Claman a merger clause and a clause saying the buyer was not relying on the seller’s representations defeated that kind of claim.

W.S. 34-1-151: vacant land and wind rights

The statute Wyoming titles “Property disclosure statement” (W.S. 34-1-151) is about land, not houses. Subsection (a) requires every seller of “vacant land” to give the buyer a statement covering, at a minimum:

  • whether the property is offered as a unified estate;
  • whether the mineral estate has been severed from the surface in the chain of title;
  • public utilities, and who maintains the roads and at what level;
  • water and sewer infrastructure, and fire protection;
  • easements known to the seller or recorded with the county clerk.

“Vacant land” means land with no habitable dwelling, outside a platted subdivision, city or town, and under 140 acres (34-1-151(d)). A house is not vacant land. But subsection (e) reaches further: every seller of land “not within the corporate boundaries of any city or town” must disclose in writing whether the wind estate has been severed, “including the existence of a wind energy agreement.” A buyer may waive both disclosures (34-1-151(b)). For the vacant-land statement, a seller who “willfully or negligently” fails to comply is liable for the buyer’s “actual damages,” though the transfer is not invalidated solely because of the failure (34-1-151(c)).

Agents must pass on what they actually know

The licensing statute puts a disclosure duty on real estate licensees, not on owners. A seller’s agent “shall disclose to any prospective buyer all adverse material facts actually known by the licensee” (W.S. 33-28-303(c)); intermediaries and licensees working with customers carry the same duty (33-28-305(b)(ii)(H), 33-28-310(a)(i)(F)). The same sections say the licensee has no duty to inspect the property independently or to verify the seller’s statements. The standard is actual knowledge: in Throckmartin v. Century 21 Top Realty, 2010 WY 23, the court affirmed summary judgment for an intermediary in a Gillette sale because the buyers had nothing to show she “actually knew” of the alleged foundation damage.

Property ordered uninhabitable after a drug-lab or hazmat incident

One statute does make a building owner disclose in writing. Under W.S. 35-9-156(d), when an incident commander orders a building or land “uninhabitable or contaminated,” it may be sold before remediation only “if full, written disclosure is made to the prospective purchaser, attached to the earnest money receipt if any.” The seller must notify the incident commander within ten days of the sale. Receipt of that disclosure “constitutes a full release of liability on the part of the seller,” unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

Pre-1978 homes: a federal requirement

This one is federal, from 40 CFR 745.107 and 745.110. Before a buyer is bound, the seller of housing built before 1978 must supply an EPA-approved lead pamphlet, disclose known lead-based paint or hazards and any reports, and allow a 10-day inspection period, which the parties can change by written agreement or the buyer can waive in writing. Foreclosure sales are exempt, and so are housing for the elderly or disabled and 0-bedroom units unless a child under 6 lives there or is expected to (745.101(a), 745.103).

Wyoming seller and buyer questions

Can I sell my Wyoming house without any disclosure form?

Yes, as far as state statute goes; the federal lead rule still applies to pre-1978 homes, a seller outside city or town limits owes the wind-estate disclosure unless the buyer waives it, and a building under a contamination order needs written disclosure before it is sold. What you cannot do is lie or hide a defect, as the sellers in Alexander v. Meduna learned.

The seller never mentioned a problem he knew about. Do I have a case?

Only if you can show fraud. Wyoming does not recognize negligent nondisclosure, and under Richey an “as is” clause bars a nondisclosure claim unless fraud or misrepresentation is shown. Physical concealment, such as the cosmetic repairs in Alexander, is the kind of evidence that has worked.

I am buying a house on acreage outside town. What should I ask for?

The wind-estate statement under W.S. 34-1-151(e), unless you choose to waive it. Mineral severance is only a mandatory item for vacant land, so on a house ask the title company, and get a home inspection; the red-flag list helps you read the report.

Does an “as is” sale protect me as the seller?

Against claims that you negligently failed to mention something, yes, under Richey. Against fraud, no. The as-is selling guide and the mold guide cover the practical side.

Related Wyoming pages and neighboring states

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