You can get a title report from a title company, a real estate attorney, or an online title search service, and you can pull many of the same underlying records yourself at the county recorder’s or clerk’s office. Where to get a title report comes down to why you need it: a purchase with a mortgage pushes you toward a title company that also issues insurance, while research on a property you already own or are considering buying can be handled more cheaply online or through public records.
Title Companies
Title companies are the most common source for a full title report. They search decades of public records, assemble the chain of ownership, flag recorded liens and encumbrances, and deliver everything in a single document. Most title companies also issue title insurance, which covers losses from defects the search missed, such as a forged deed buried in the chain of ownership or an heir nobody knew about.1National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Vitals on Title Insurance: What You Need to Know That bundled service is why lenders and real estate agents typically steer buyers toward a title company.
If you’re financing a home purchase, a title company (or an agent authorized to issue a particular insurer’s policies) is effectively your only route, because your lender will require a title commitment from an insurer rather than a standalone search.
Real Estate Attorneys
A real estate attorney can perform the same search and add a legal opinion on the title’s condition. That’s valuable when the report turns up something complicated, like overlapping claims from a divorce settlement or an old easement that could limit how you use the property.
In some states, attorneys handle the entire closing and the title search is part of that package. In others, title companies dominate and attorney involvement is optional. If you’re in an attorney-closing state, you may not have to choose between the two at all; if you’re not, hiring an attorney in addition to a title company is a judgment call based on how messy the title looks.
Online Title Search Services
Several online platforms let you order a title report without visiting a title company’s office. They search county records remotely and deliver reports electronically, often within a few business days. Pricing tends to be lower than a full-service title company charges for a comprehensive report. The trade-off: most online-only services do not issue title insurance alongside the report.
These services fit a specific set of needs:
- Investors evaluating multiple properties before making offers
- Current homeowners who want to check for liens or verify what’s recorded against their property
- Buyers doing due diligence before signing a purchase contract
- Anyone who needs a report outside the context of a mortgage closing
If you’re buying with a mortgage, an online-only report usually won’t satisfy your lender. Lenders need a title commitment from an insurer, not just a search report. Use these services for research, not for closing.
Searching Public Records Yourself
Every recorded deed, mortgage, lien release, and judgment affecting a property sits in a county recorder’s or county clerk’s office, and those records are open to the public. Many counties now run online portals where you can search by owner name, address, or parcel number and pull up scanned copies of recorded documents. Depth varies: some counties have digitized records going back a century, others only cover the last decade or two. Anything older usually requires a trip to the office.
A do-it-yourself search can tell you who currently holds the deed, whether there’s a recorded mortgage, and whether tax liens or judgments show up against the owner. What it won’t give you is professional interpretation. Recorded documents use legal descriptions, reference other instruments by book and page number, and sometimes contain errors that only an experienced examiner would catch. A missing lien release, for example, can look like an active debt even though the underlying mortgage was paid off years ago. Treating a raw public-records search as a substitute for a real title report is where people get into trouble, especially around a transaction.
What You’ll Need to Order a Report
The property’s full street address is the minimum. Beyond that, a few additional details speed the search and reduce the chance of errors:
- The current owner’s name, which helps confirm the right parcel in areas where addresses are reused or multiple units share a street number
- The parcel number (sometimes called the Assessor’s Parcel Number or APN), the most precise identifier because it’s unique in the county’s records
- The legal description from a prior deed, if you have it
The more identifying information you supply up front, the faster and more accurate the search.
Cost and Turnaround Time
A standalone title search for a residential property typically costs between $75 and $200, depending on the complexity of the ownership history and local pricing. Properties with long chains of title, multiple prior liens, or irregular legal descriptions take more work and cost more. Full title commitments bundled with title insurance run higher because they include the insurer’s underwriting and the policy premium on top of the search fee. Title insurance itself averages roughly 0.42% of the purchase price, though premiums vary by state and insurer.
Turnaround ranges from a few hours for a straightforward property with clean records to around five business days for more complicated histories. If the examiner finds problems that need further investigation, such as a gap in the ownership chain or an unreleased lien, the process can stretch longer. Most providers offer rush orders for an additional fee.
Title Report vs. Title Commitment
One distinction worth getting straight before you order: a title report and a title commitment are not the same product, and buyers in a transaction often need the latter.
A title report is the product of a title search. It details ownership history, recorded liens, encumbrances, and the legal description of the property.2Legal Information Institute. Title Report You can order one anytime, for any reason, whether or not you’re buying the property.
A title commitment goes further. It’s a promise from a title insurance company to issue a policy after closing, and it spells out the conditions that must be met first. Those conditions might include paying off an existing lien, obtaining a release from a prior owner, or recording a specific document. The commitment typically includes a title report as one of its sections, but it also lists exceptions the insurer won’t cover and requirements the parties must satisfy before the policy takes effect. During a purchase with a mortgage, the lender will require a title commitment, not just a standalone report. If you’re researching a property outside a transaction, a report alone is fine.
Your Right to Shop
Lenders and real estate agents routinely recommend title companies they work with, but those referrals don’t always offer the best price. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises buyers to shop for title insurance and other closing services rather than defaulting to whoever the lender suggests. Your Loan Estimate identifies which services you can shop for, and your lender must provide a list of available providers in your area. You can use a company from that list or propose a different one, as long as your lender agrees to work with them.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services
When comparing quotes, look at the bottom-line total of all title-related charges, not just the insurance premium. Some companies fold search fees, examination fees, and endorsement charges into the premium; others itemize them separately. The total should match what appears on your Loan Estimate and, later, your Closing Disclosure.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services
A seller cannot force you to use a specific title insurer. Federal law prohibits a seller of property purchased with a federally related mortgage loan from requiring, directly or indirectly, that the buyer use a particular title insurance company. A seller who violates this rule is liable for three times the charges incurred.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 2608 – Title Companies; Liability of Seller If a seller is pushing you toward a particular company and tying it to the deal, that’s your cue to push back and shop on your own terms.