Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers

What the job really is

Search real estate records, examine titles, or summarize pertinent legal or insurance documents or details for a variety of purposes. May compile lists of mortgages, contracts, and other instruments pertaining to titles by searching public and private records for law firms, real estate agencies, or title insurance companies.

At a glance

• Sector: Legal
• O*NET-SOC code: 23-2093
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Examine documentation such as mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, plat books, maps, contracts, and agreements to verify factors such as properties' legal descriptions, ownership, or restrictions.
• Examine individual titles to determine if restrictions, such as delinquent taxes, will affect titles and limit property use.
• Prepare reports describing any title encumbrances encountered during searching activities and outlining actions needed to clear titles.
• Copy or summarize recorded documents, such as mortgages, trust deeds, and contracts, that affect property titles.
• Verify accuracy and completeness of land-related documents accepted for registration, preparing rejection notices when documents are not acceptable.
• Prepare lists of all legal instruments applying to a specific piece of land and the buildings on it.
• Read search requests to ascertain types of title evidence required and to obtain descriptions of properties and names of involved parties.
• Obtain maps or drawings delineating properties from company title plants, county surveyors, or assessors' offices.
• Confer with realtors, lending institution personnel, buyers, sellers, contractors, surveyors, and courthouse personnel to exchange title-related information or to resolve problems.
• Enter into record-keeping systems appropriate data needed to create new title records or to update existing ones.
• Retrieve and examine real estate closing files for accuracy and to ensure that information included is recorded and executed according to regulations.
• Prepare and issue title commitments and title insurance policies, based on information compiled from title searches.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Google Workspace software, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Salesforce software, 10-key calculators, Accounting software

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• File Clerks
• Paralegals and Legal Assistants
• Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate
• Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
• Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
• Appraisers of Personal and Business Property
• Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners
• Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.