Most California escrows close in 30 to 60 days. On the current C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA), the default deadlines are 3 business days for the deposit, 7 days for the seller's disclosures and 17 days for the loan, appraisal and investigation contingencies, which leaves about two weeks between contingency removal and closing on a 30-day escrow.
Those defaults come from the C.A.R. RPA revised 12/24. The parties can write in different numbers, and the contract on your file is what controls. Here is how a typical 30-day escrow lays out, day by day, when the defaults are left in place.
What happens on day 0 and the first three days?
Day 0 is acceptance, the day the signed acceptance is delivered. The clock for every deadline starts here, so I ask agents to send the fully executed contract, with every counter and addendum, the same day.
By day 3, business days, the buyer's deposit is due. The RPA default is a wire within 3 business days after acceptance. In the first days, escrow opens the file, sends instructions, orders the preliminary title report and, where the property has an HOA, requests the association documents.
Before the buyer wires anything, they should call Cal West at (323) 300-6122, using a number they already know, to verify wiring instructions. Treat any emailed change to wiring instructions as fraud until it is verified by phone.
What is due by day 7?
On the RPA, the seller's delivery of documents is due 7 days after acceptance. That covers the disclosures and reports the seller is required to provide. Late disclosures matter because some review periods run from delivery, not acceptance.
During the first week, the buyer is also scheduling inspections and the lender is ordering the appraisal.
Why is day 17 the big one?
On the default RPA, the loan, appraisal and investigation contingencies each run 17 days after acceptance. The review periods for the seller's documents and the preliminary title report run 17 days after acceptance or 5 days after delivery, whichever is later.
Contingencies are removed in writing on the proper C.A.R. form. Escrow does not decide whether a contingency is satisfied. We receive the signed removal, place it in the file and update the parties. What changes after removal is a question for the agents and their brokers, because it affects the buyer's deposit and options.
What happens between days 17 and 27?
This is when the loan moves toward final approval. Common steps:
The lender issues conditions and the buyer satisfies them
Escrow receives the lender's demands for any seller payoffs
Escrow balances the file and prepares the estimated settlement statements
Signing appointments are scheduled for buyer and seller
Day 25 on a 30-day escrow is the default final verification of condition, which the RPA sets at 5 days before close of escrow. The RPA says this walk-through is not a contingency of the sale.
What happens on days 28 to 30?
Loan documents are signed, the lender funds, and escrow sends the documents to record with the LA County Registrar-Recorder. Closing happens when the deed records, not when the buyer signs.
The RPA does not print a default closing date. The parties fill in a number of days or a date, so read the contract rather than assuming 30 days. Possession on the RPA default is upon notice of recordation, unless the parties agreed otherwise.
What moves the closing date?
Common causes of delay:
Appraisal issues or a change in loan terms
Title items that need clearing, such as old liens or a trust that needs paperwork
HOA documents or demands that arrive late
Signers who travel, need a power of attorney or sign for an entity
County holidays when the Recorder is closed
None of these is unusual. The fix for most is to spot them in week one, which is why we review the contract when the file opens and the preliminary title report as soon as it arrives.
For an overview of the steps, see Life of an Escrow, and for another look at timing, read our earlier post on how long escrow takes.
Our free Day-One Escrow Checklist has the day-one list, the week-one orders and a dates-to-calendar table. Download the PDF there and keep it in your files.
Questions agents ask
Is a 21-day loan contingency still the default?
No. Older versions of the RPA used 21 days for the loan contingency. The current RPA default is 17 days, the same as the appraisal and investigation contingencies, unless the parties change it.
Can an all-cash escrow close faster than 30 days?
Often it can, because there is no lender approval to wait for. Title, payoffs, HOA documents and signing still need time, so set the date with escrow before writing it into the offer.
Do contingencies remove themselves after 17 days?
Contingency removal is a written step on the C.A.R. forms, and the consequences of a missed deadline depend on the contract language. Ask your broker or attorney how the current forms treat it on your deal.
Opening an escrow? Send Iris the fully executed contract at iris@calwestescrow.com or call (323) 300-6122.
This post is general information about California real estate transactions as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice, and laws and figures change. Talk with your attorney, CPA or real estate broker about your situation.
