"What Does Wyoming's Statement of Consideration Ask a Home Buyer, and Where Does It Go?"

Somewhere in the stack of papers that makes a Wyoming home yours, there is a one-page form that looks nothing like the others. Instead of anything about your loan, it asks you to write down, under oath, exactly what you paid for the home.

In Wyoming, the buyer completes and swears to a Statement of Consideration that names both parties, the dates, the legal description, the full amount paid and the terms of the sale. The county clerk will not record your deed without it. The form then goes to the county assessor, who holds it as a confidential record.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, licensed in fifteen states, including Wyoming, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation. Most of a Wyoming closing is about the loan, and this one page is about the sale itself. Knowing what it asks ahead of time lets you fill it in with your own paperwork in front of you, instead of guessing at a closing table.

What is a Wyoming Statement of Consideration?

It is a sworn statement about a transfer of real property, and Wyoming requires it whenever a deed or other document that transfers title is recorded. "Consideration" is the legal word for what was given in exchange for the property, which on an ordinary purchase is the price you paid.

The requirement is in Wyoming's recording statute, W.S. § 34-1-142, and the two sections that follow it. In plain terms, the statute says a completed, sworn Statement of Consideration has to go to the county clerk with every deed, and a short list of transfers may leave the price off it.

It covers more than a warranty deed. Albany County's real estate page says that each deed or contract for deed filed with the clerk must be accompanied by one. A contract for deed is an arrangement where you pay the seller over time and the seller hands over the deed once the contract is paid.

Who fills in the Statement of Consideration in Wyoming?

You do, as the buyer, or someone acting for you. The statute calls for a statement under oath by the grantee or the grantee's agent, and "grantee" is the legal word for the person receiving the property. The seller is the grantor.

The statement form Natrona County posts says the same thing in everyday words. It states that it is the responsibility of the buyer, or the buyer's agent, to fully complete the form, and to keep a copy of the completed form for their own records if needed. Albany County's real estate page also says it is the buyer's responsibility to fully complete it.

So even though the seller signs the deed, the sworn statement that travels with it is yours. Swearing to it means you are stating under oath that what you wrote is true, and the form warns that willfully falsifying it is a misdemeanor. That is different from the notarization on a deed or a mortgage, called an acknowledgment, where you declare to a notary that the signature is yours and that you signed on purpose. If someone at the closing is preparing the paperwork with you, the oath is still yours, which is a good reason to read each line before you sign it.

Filling in the form, line by line

Subsection (a) of § 34-1-142 lists what the statement has to include, and it is a short list. You will be asked for:

• The names of the seller and the buyer, along with their addresses and contact information.
• The date of transfer and the date of sale. These are two separate items, so please fill in both even if they fall close together.
• The legal description of the property. This is the formal description written on the deed, and it is longer and more precise than the street address.
• The actual full amount paid, or to be paid, for the property.
• The terms of sale. This line describes how the price was paid. If you are not sure what to write here, please ask your closing agent or the county assessor's office how they would like it filled in.
• An estimate of the value of any property included in the sale that is not real property. If the seller is leaving furniture, appliances or equipment as part of the price, this is the line where you estimate what those items are worth.

The figures you need are on your purchase contract and your closing statement, so it helps to have both in front of you when you sit down with the form.

The clerk needs it before your deed can record

The clerk is the office that records your deed and your mortgage, and the statute ties the statement to that step. Under subsection (b), no document transferring real property may be accepted for recording until the county clerk receives the completed, sworn statement.

That makes the form part of the timing of your closing, even though it has nothing to do with your loan approval. Recording is what puts your ownership into the county's land records. Mortgage Pre-Approval and Home Loans in Wyoming covers the rest of what happens at the county level, including the recording fees. Those are charges for recording a document, not a tax scaled to the price or the loan.

The statute does list some transfers where the price and terms can be left off. One is a corrective deed, which is a new deed recorded to fix a mistake in an earlier one, when nothing more is paid. Others are certain transfers between spouses or between a parent and child for nominal consideration, meaning a token amount instead of the property's value. Foreclosures and tax sales are on the list too. An ordinary purchase from a seller is not one of them, so on a typical home purchase you will fill in every line.

After recording, the statement goes to the county assessor

The next section of the statute, W.S. § 34-1-143, has the county clerk add the recording data to the statement and deliver it to the county assessor. Subsection (d) of § 34-1-142 says assessors, the state board of equalization and the Department of Revenue use the statements as data for sales-price ratios, which compare assessed values with actual sale prices.

The statute names the offices that may hold it. Subsection (e) of § 34-1-142 says the statement is not a public record and shall be held confidential by the county clerk, the county assessor, the county board of equalization, the state board of equalization and the Department of Revenue.

Uinta County's assessor explains how that county uses those sale prices. All valid open-market sales within a neighborhood go into the analysis, and sales involving foreclosures, relatives or gifts are generally left out.

Your sale price and your Wyoming property tax

The price on the form does not raise your tax bill on its own, and the statute says so directly. Subsection (d) of § 34-1-142 says that an individual statement of consideration shall not, by itself, be used by the county assessor to adjust the assessed value of any individual property.

In a county that works the way Uinta County describes, your sale is one data point among the valid sales in your neighborhood. If values across the area are moving, your assessment can move with them, the same as your neighbors' assessments.

If you are planning to live in the home, How Do I Claim Wyoming's Homeowner Exemption After I Buy a House? covers the separate affidavit you file with the assessor after closing. The first bill, and how it reaches your escrow payment, is covered in the article Will My Property Taxes Change After I Buy a Home?.

Keeping the price you paid private

The statute keeps the statement inside the offices listed above. Uinta County's FAQ says owners are protected from random disclosure by the provisions and penalties in § 34-1-142.

There is one narrow exception. An owner who is reviewing or contesting their own assessment may look at statements of consideration for comparable properties. Uinta County limits that review to the 30-day appeal window after assessment schedules are mailed, and those are the notices that show each owner the assessed value of their property. Uinta County also says the person reviewing them may not share the sales information with anyone else.

So the number you write goes to the people who value property in your county, and it stays with them. If a question comes up about that, your county assessor's office is the place to ask.

A few things that tend to go wrong

Leaving a line blank because it seems obvious. The statute lists what the statement must include, so please fill in every line, including both dates and the contact information for both parties.

Writing a number other than the full amount paid. The form asks for the actual full amount paid or to be paid, under oath. Please use the figure from your purchase contract and closing statement rather than a rounded figure from memory.

Forgetting the personal property estimate. If the price includes items that are not part of the real property, the form asks for an estimate of their value. A note from the contract about what stays with the home makes this line easy.

Treating a sworn page like every other page on a remote closing. Wyoming's remote ink option, where you sign paper with a pen while a notary watches over live video, covers acknowledgments only. This statement is sworn rather than acknowledged, so please ask your title company how it will be signed. If you are signing from out of state, Can I Close on a Wyoming Home Without Traveling There? explains how the sworn pages in the package get handled.

An illustration, so the sequence is clear

The numbers and dates below are made up to show the steps. This is not a real file and it is not a prediction about your purchase.

You are buying a home in Laramie for $412,000, and the seller is leaving a washer, a dryer and a riding mower as part of the price. Your loan has cleared, and the closing package arrives with the Statement of Consideration in it.

You fill in your name and the seller's name, both addresses and both phone numbers. You copy the legal description from the deed, fill in the date of sale and the date of transfer, and enter $412,000 as the full amount paid. On the personal property line you write your own estimate for the washer, dryer and mower, say $1,800. You fill in the terms of sale and sign the sworn statement.

The deed, your mortgage and the statement go to the Albany County Clerk. The clerk records the deed and the mortgage and sends the statement to the assessor. Your sale joins the other open-market sales in your neighborhood, and the price you wrote stays with the assessor's office.

Getting your Wyoming purchase ready

The Statement of Consideration comes at the very end, and most of what comes before it is the loan, so you'll want your financing worked out early. You can see pricing for a Wyoming purchase with no credit pull, no account and nobody calling you, and it shows you numbers for your own scenario. Choose the option that works best for you, and know that the selection can change as the file comes together.

For the letter behind your offer, what a Wyoming pre-approval involves covers the path, and what is included in closing costs covers the rest of the paperwork and fees at the table. No letter from anyone is a loan commitment. Final approval depends on the property, the appraisal and full underwriting.

If you are moving to Wyoming from another state, I'm Relocating to Another State. What Actually Changes? covers what changes when the purchase crosses a state line.

Common questions

Who fills out the Statement of Consideration in Wyoming?

The buyer, or the buyer's agent. Wyoming's statute calls for a statement under oath by the grantee, which is the person receiving the property, or the grantee's agent. The statement form and Albany County both describe it as the buyer's responsibility. The seller signs the deed, and the sworn statement that goes with the deed belongs to the buyer.

What information does a Wyoming Statement of Consideration require?

Under W.S. § 34-1-142(a), the statement includes the names of the seller and buyer with their addresses and contact information. It also asks for the date of transfer, the date of sale, the legal description, the actual full amount paid or to be paid, and the terms of sale. The statement also carries an estimate of the value of any property in the sale that is not real property.

Can a Wyoming deed be recorded without a Statement of Consideration?

No. Under W.S. § 34-1-142(b), the county clerk will not accept a deed that transfers real property for recording until the completed, sworn statement is received. The statute lets some transfers leave the price and terms off the statement, such as certain family transfers for a token amount, but a typical home purchase is not one of them.

Is a Wyoming Statement of Consideration a public record?

No. W.S. § 34-1-142(e) says the statement is not a public record and is held confidential by the county clerk, the county assessor, the county board of equalization, the state board of equalization and the Department of Revenue. The statute lets an owner who is contesting their own assessment review comparable statements. Uinta County limits that to the appeal period and says that person may not pass the information on.

Does the price on my Statement of Consideration raise my property taxes?

Not by itself. W.S. § 34-1-142(d) says that an individual statement of consideration shall not, by itself, be used by the county assessor to adjust the assessed value of any individual property. Uinta County's assessor describes studying all valid open-market sales in a neighborhood together, and your sale would be one of them.