To find out which title company handled your home purchase, start with the closing paperwork you signed when you bought the house: the settlement agent’s name sits on page five of your Closing Disclosure, in Section H of an older HUD-1, or on the cover of your title insurance policy. If those documents are gone, county land records, your lender, your real estate agent, and the ALTA Registry can all point you back to the same answer. Here is how to find your title company, step by step, whether you still have the file or you are starting from scratch.
Check the Paperwork From Your Closing First
If you closed on or after October 3, 2015, you received a Closing Disclosure. That five-page form replaced the HUD-1 Settlement Statement for most mortgage transactions.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Know Before You Owe: New Mortgage Disclosures, New Rule Flip to page five. The “Contact Information” table lists the name, address, and license number of the settlement agent, which is typically the title company that handled your closing.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Closing Disclosure Sample Form
Older purchase? Pull the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The settlement agent’s name and contact details appear in Section H on the first page.3U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-1 Settlement Statement
You may also find an ALTA Settlement Statement in your file. The American Land Title Association created this form so title and settlement companies could itemize fees in a standardized way.4American Land Title Association. ALTA Settlement Statements Title companies often use branded versions, so look at the header for a logo and contact block. Check the signature lines, too. The notary or witness who signed off on your closing was usually an employee of the title firm.
The Title Commitment
Before closing, you should have received a title commitment, sometimes called a preliminary title report. Schedule A of that document names the proposed insurer, the type of policy, the coverage amount, and the parties involved. If you kept this document, the proposed insurer named in Schedule A is your title insurance underwriter.
Pull Your Title Insurance Policy
Your title insurance policy is separate from the settlement statement and does a different job. The settlement statement shows how money moved. The policy is the contract that protects against ownership defects discovered after the sale. Note which type you have. A lender’s policy covers only the mortgage company’s financial interest. An owner’s policy protects your equity.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Lenders Title Insurance Many homeowners have both.
Turn to Schedule A. It lists the effective date, the dollar amount of coverage, the insured party, and the title insurance company responsible for paying claims.4American Land Title Association. ALTA Settlement Statements The policy number is here as well. Keep that number in mind if you ever need to file a claim.
One point of confusion worth clearing up: if your policy was issued through an independent agency rather than directly by the underwriter, the agency’s name and letterhead often appear on the cover jacket. The underwriter listed on Schedule A, not the agency on the jacket, is the company ultimately standing behind your coverage.
Search County Land Records
Lost the whole file? Public land records are a reliable backup. Every county maintains a record of property transactions through an office usually called the County Recorder, Clerk, or Registrar of Deeds. Many of these offices now run free online search portals that let you look up documents by property address, owner name, or parcel identification number. If online access is not available, you can visit the office in person or request copies by mail.
Pull up the deed recorded when you bought the property, typically a warranty deed or a deed of trust. Near the top of the first page you will see a “Record and Return to” or “Prepared by” notation. Title companies use that space to make sure the recorded documents come back to their office, so the name and address printed there is usually your title company. Counties charge a small fee for official copies, and the amount varies by jurisdiction.
If the property has changed hands several times, searching by parcel identification number is often faster than searching by name. That number appears on your annual property tax bill, and many counties maintain Geographic Information System (GIS) maps that connect every recorded transaction to a single parcel.
Ask the People Who Were in the Deal
Several professionals involved in your purchase keep the transaction file for years. Your real estate agent is often the easiest call. Agents typically remember the title company or can check their digital archives, and state licensing laws generally require brokerages to retain transaction records for at least three years.
Your mortgage lender is another strong resource. Because lenders require a title insurance policy to protect their lien, the internal loan file contains the issuing company’s name. Mortgage servicers, the company you send your monthly payment to, must retain the full loan file, including title documents, for the life of the loan they service.6Fannie Mae. Ownership and Retention of Loan Files and Records If your loan has been transferred to a new servicer, that new servicer should still have access to the original file.
Not sure who services your mortgage now? The MERS ServicerID tool identifies the current servicer and the investor who owns the loan. You can search by property address, borrower name, or the Mortgage Identification Number printed on your deed of trust. The tool is available at mersinc.org or by calling (888) 679-6377.7MERSCORP Holdings. Find Your Servicer With MERS ServicerID
If an attorney handled your closing, call that office. Closing attorneys keep files that include title policy details and records of where premiums were paid.
Use the ALTA Registry
The American Land Title Association runs a free, publicly searchable database called the ALTA Registry. It lists title agents, underwriter direct offices, and real estate attorneys who perform settlements. Every agent in the registry has been confirmed by at least one title insurance underwriter.8American Land Title Association. ALTA Title and Settlement Agent Registry Frequently Asked Questions Each listing includes a branch location, legal entity name, and direct contact information for the confirming underwriter. If you remember the company or agent name but need to verify the underwriter or find updated contact information, start here. The registry is at altaidregistry.org.9ALTA Registry. ALTA Registry
What If the Title Company Is Gone
Title agencies sometimes close, merge, or enter receivership. If the agency that handled your closing no longer exists, your title insurance policy is still valid. The policy is backed by the underwriter, not the local agency, and the underwriter listed on Schedule A is who you contact for a claim regardless of what happened to the agency.
If you cannot find Schedule A and the agency has closed, search the ALTA Registry for the agency’s name to identify the confirming underwriter. You can also contact your state’s department of insurance, which keeps records of licensed title insurers and can direct you to a successor company or a receiver handling the defunct firm’s obligations. If a title insurance underwriter itself becomes insolvent, a rare event, state guaranty funds step in to cover eligible claims. Each state has at least one guaranty association that takes on claims the insolvent insurer would have paid, though coverage limits and filing procedures vary by state.
Why It’s Worth the Trouble
Finding your title company is not only about resolving a current issue. It can lower your costs the next time you refinance. Most title insurers offer a “reissue rate” or “refinance discount” when you can produce your previous owner’s policy. The discount typically ranges from 10 to 50 percent off the standard premium, depending on how many years have passed since the original policy was issued. Some companies limit eligibility to properties where the prior policy was issued within the last five to ten years. Others have no fixed cutoff. The exact discount and window vary by insurer, so ask what reissue rates apply before paying full price for a new lender’s policy.
Identification matters at claim time, too. If you discover an undisclosed lien, a boundary encroachment, or a competing ownership claim, you have to notify the title insurance company named on your policy as soon as possible. The policy itself contains contact instructions, usually in the “Conditions” section near the end. When you reach out, provide the property address, a brief description of the issue, copies of any legal documents you have received, and your policy number if you have it. If you cannot locate the policy and are unsure whether you ever bought owner’s coverage, check page two of your Closing Disclosure under “Other Costs.” A charge for an owner’s policy will appear there if one was purchased at closing.