Title Commitment: What It Is and How to Read It

A title commitment is a title insurance company's written offer to issue a title policy once stated requirements are met. It names the proposed insured and the policy amount, lists what must happen before closing, and lists what the policy will not cover. The standard ALTA form calls itself "an offer to issue one or more title insurance policies."

That form is the ALTA Commitment for Title Insurance, version 2021 v. 01.00, effective July 1, 2021, published by the American Land Title Association. First American, a national title insurer, says most states use it and some use their own form. Texas is one of those, and Iowa runs a different system entirely.

Pillar, a land research software company, wrote this guide. Quotes come from the forms, statutes and regulations linked beside them, all checked November 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Title practice differs by state, so confirm anything that matters to your deal with a title professional or real estate attorney licensed where the land is.

What is a title commitment?

Before closing, the title company searches the public land records. First American describes the purpose as confirming the seller owns the property and finding problems such as deed errors, missing owners or liens. The commitment then states the terms on which the insurer will insure the title.

It is not a report on the title. The ALTA notice says: "THIS COMMITMENT IS NOT AN ABSTRACT OF TITLE, REPORT OF THE CONDITION OF TITLE, LEGAL OPINION, OPINION OF TITLE, OR OTHER REPRESENTATION OF THE STATUS OF TITLE." The search was "performed solely for the benefit of the Company," and claims "must be based solely in contract" (capitalization adjusted; the form prints both in capitals).

Two practical consequences:

• Only a named Proposed Insured may claim under the commitment. Under Commitment Condition 6.a, only a Proposed Insured identified in Schedule A may make a claim under the commitment. That may be the buyer, the lender or both, depending on Schedule A. If you will take title in a new LLC or assign the contract, tell the title company early. The first printed requirement says you must notify the company in writing of anyone not named who will take an interest or make a loan, and the company "may then make additional Requirements or Exceptions."
• A clean-looking commitment is not a guarantee. The Texas Department of Insurance says it "does not guarantee that there are no current issues or that none will arise in the future."

How to read a title commitment, part by part

Commitment Condition 3 says the commitment is "not valid without" six parts: the Notice, the Commitment to Issue Policy, the Commitment Conditions, Schedule A, Schedule B, Part I—Requirements, and Schedule B, Part II—Exceptions. Here is what each does and what to do with it.

Notice and Commitment to Issue Policy

The company commits to issue the policy "according to the terms and provisions of this Commitment," effective as of the Commitment Date, but only once Schedule A shows both a dollar amount and the Proposed Insured's name.

The next sentence sets the deadline. If the Part I requirements "have not been met within ______ (Insert the time period) after the Commitment Date, this Commitment terminates." The national form leaves the period blank. What to do: find the period your company filled in and put the expiry date on your closing calendar.

Commitment Conditions

Three conditions are worth reading closely:

• "Land" (Condition 1.c) means the land described in Item 5 of Schedule A and its improvements. It excludes any interest in an abutting street, road, right-of-way or waterway, "but does not modify or limit the extent that a right of access to and from the Land is to be insured by the Policy."
• "Public Records" (Condition 1.h) excludes records about environmental protection, planning, permitting, zoning and building. A commitment is not a zoning or environmental review.
• Amendments (Conditions 4 and 5). The company may amend the commitment at any time. If an amendment adds a matter recorded before the Commitment Date, Conditions 4 and 5 limit any reimbursement to your actual expenses incurred in good-faith reliance between delivery of the original and the amended commitment, to meet the requirements, clear exceptions with the company's written consent, or acquire the title or create the mortgage. The expense must be one you would not have incurred had the matter appeared in the first commitment, and recovery is capped at the lesser of that expense and the Proposed Amount of Insurance. The company is not liable for those expenses if you requested the amendment, or knew of the matter and did not tell it in writing.

What to do: if you know of an unrecorded easement, a boundary dispute or a lien, tell the title company in writing.

Schedule A

Schedule A has five items:

1. Commitment Date. The date the commitment speaks as of. Anything recorded later falls under the gap exception in Part II. Texas's form calls it the Effective Date.
2. Policy to be issued. For each policy: the form (such as a 2021 ALTA Owner's Policy or Loan Policy), the Proposed Insured, the Proposed Amount of Insurance and the estate or interest to be insured. For the owner's policy, check that the Proposed Insured is the entity taking title and that the amount matches the purchase price. Check any loan policy separately against the lender's required insured name and amount.
3. The estate or interest in the Land, such as fee or leasehold.
4. Vesting. Who holds title at the Commitment Date. This name should match the seller in your contract.
5. The Land. The legal description of what will be insured. Compare it line by line with the deed and the survey.

Schedule B, Part I—Requirements

Part I lists what must happen before the policy will issue. The ALTA form prints four requirements: notify the company of anyone not named who will take an interest or lend; pay the agreed price; pay the premiums, fees and charges; and record documents "satisfactory to the Company" that convey the title or create the mortgage.

The company adds others from its search, such as paying off and releasing the seller's mortgage or paying taxes and HOA fees that are due (First American's examples). Under Condition 5.f, the company need not issue the policy until every requirement is met "to the satisfaction of the Company." What to do: assign each requirement to someone (seller, buyer, lender or closer) and track it to closing.

Schedule B, Part II—Exceptions

Part II lists what the policy will not insure. It opens by treating any illegal Discriminatory Covenant in a listed document as removed, so only the rest of that document is excepted.

The form's one printed exception covers the gap: "Any defect, lien, encumbrance, adverse claim, or other matter that appears for the first time in the Public Records or is created, attaches, or is disclosed between the Commitment Date and the date on which all of the Schedule B, Part I—Requirements are met." The company then numbers the exceptions from its search. What to do: get a copy of every recorded document listed and read it.

In Texas: Schedules B, C and D

Texas uses its own promulgated commitment, Form T-7. Schedule B holds the exceptions. Schedule C holds the requirements, which "will appear as Exceptions in Schedule B of the Policy, unless you dispose of these matters to our satisfaction." Schedule D shows the estimated premium. In Texas, read Schedule C wherever a guide says Schedule B, Part I.

Standard exceptions vs special exceptions

Standard (general) exceptions are printed boilerplate for risks a records search cannot see. New Mexico writes them into regulation. Under 13.14.5.10 NMAC, every commitment must contain, in this order:

1. Rights or claims of parties in possession not shown by the public records.
2. Easements, or claims of easements, not shown by the public records.
3. "Encroachments, overlaps, conflicts in boundary lines, or other matter which would be disclosed by an accurate survey and inspection of the premises."
4. Unrecorded liens for services, labor or materials.
5. Community property, survivorship or homestead rights of a spouse.
6. Water rights, claims or title to water.
7. Taxes for a stated year and later.
8. Matters first appearing in the records after the effective date but before the buyer acquires the interest (the gap).

The rule says exceptions 1 through 4 "may be deleted from a policy" upon compliance with the rules, payment of added premiums, receipt of the required documents and the company's underwriting standards.

Special exceptions are specific to the property: the recorded easements, covenants, plats, mineral reservations, rights-of-way, leases and liens the search found. First American says some exceptions can be removed if requirements are met, while those "unique to your property" typically cannot. A recorded pipeline easement, for example, will usually stay, so the work is to learn where it runs and what it allows. Our guide to easement vs. right-of-way explains how to read those documents.

How the survey exception is removed or narrowed

The survey exception exists because of what the policy would otherwise cover. Covered Risk 2.c of the 2021 ALTA Owner's Policy insures against encroachments, boundary line overlaps and similar matters, "but only if" they "would have been disclosed by an accurate and complete land title survey of the Land." Without a survey, the insurer excepts them.

An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is built for this. The purpose clause of the 2026 standards says insurers need specific information when "asked to insure title to land without exception as to the many matters which might be discoverable from survey and inspection." Whether the exception comes off still depends on the insurer and the state:

• Texas. Schedule B, item 2 of the T-7 excepts "Any discrepancies, conflicts, or shortages in area or boundary lines, or any encroachments or protrusions, or any overlapping of improvements." Under Procedural Rule P-2, the insurer may amend it to read only "shortages in area," and "The survey must be acceptable to the Company." Under Rate Rule R-16, effective November 1, 2024, the amendment is free in a loan policy. In an owner's policy it costs 15 percent of the basic premium rate when the land is not residential real property, or 5 percent when it is, with a $20 minimum.
• Colorado. The Colorado Real Estate Commission's land contract, CBS4 (mandatory from January 1, 2026), offers Owner's Extended Coverage. If chosen, the commitment will "delete or insure over" standard exceptions for parties in possession, unrecorded easements, survey matters, unrecorded mechanics' liens, the gap period, and unpaid taxes and unredeemed tax sales before the closing year. The insurer "may require a New Survey" and may decline the coverage.

An endorsement can tie the policy to the survey. ALTA Endorsement 25-06, Same as Survey, insures against loss "by reason of the failure of the Land as described in Schedule A to be the same as that identified on the survey" it names (sample form). Ask the title company which survey it needs before you order one. Our ALTA survey guide covers what the survey shows and which Table A items to order.

Title commitment vs title policy, title report, abstract and title opinion

• Commitment vs title policy. The commitment comes before closing and the policy after. Texas's insurance regulator puts it this way: "The commitment says that a title company is willing to issue title insurance under certain conditions and if the seller fixes certain problems. The policy provides coverage for the property." Under ALTA Commitment Condition 6.f, once the policy issues, "all liability and obligation under this Commitment will end." Schedule A lists each policy to be issued: an owner's policy for the buyer, a loan policy for the lender, or both.
• Commitment vs preliminary title report. California treats them as the same kind of document. Insurance Code section 12340.11 says a "preliminary report," "commitment" or "binder" is an offer "to issue a title policy subject to the stated exceptions," not "a representation as to the condition of title."
• Abstract of title. California defines it as a written representation listing "all recorded conveyances, instruments or documents" that give constructive notice about the chain of title. It "is not a title policy." Colorado's CBS4 lets a seller furnish an abstract certified to a current date instead of a commitment.
• Title opinion. An attorney's opinion on who holds title, usually based on an abstract. Before Iowa's state title guaranty division issues a guaranty, Iowa Code 16.91 requires an abstract "brought up-to-date and certified by a participating abstractor" and "a title opinion issued by a participating attorney."
• Pro forma policy. A sample of the policy. ALTA Commitment Condition 8 says it is not "a commitment to insure."

How long is a title commitment good for?

It depends on the form and the state. There is no national rule.

• ALTA form. Whatever period the company writes into the blank. If the requirements are not met in time, the commitment terminates.
• Texas: 90 days. Under Procedural Rule P-18, "The liability and obligations under the Commitment end ninety (90) days after the Commitment's effective date, or when the Policy is issued, whichever occurs first, unless the failure to issue the Policy is the Company's fault."
• New Mexico: generally six months. Under 13.14.5.9 NMAC, "A commitment shall be valid for a period of six months." It can be extended by endorsement for up to three more six-month periods while the order remains active and the extra premiums are paid. The rule also lets a commitment be endorsed at the outset for up to two years, with the premiums paid, when a loan-policy insured requests one on property taken by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure, or by a state or federal agency.

If closing slips past the period, ask the title company to update the search; First American notes an updated search can produce an amended commitment.

Who pays for the title commitment?

State rules, local custom and the purchase contract decide. Three examples:

• Texas. The commitment carries no premium beyond the policy premium (Rate Rule R-12, with stated exceptions). TDI says the premium includes the title search, examination and closing, and "The buyer and seller may negotiate who pays the premium." Texas's Farm and Ranch Contract (TREC No. 25-17, effective July 1, 2026) has the parties check whether the seller or buyer pays for the owner's policy, and who pays to amend the survey exception.
• New Mexico. A separate charge applies. The state rate table, adopted June 27, 2025, sets $100 for the first six months and $100 per six-month extension. If the deal fails to close and no policy issues, 13.14.9.19 NMAC requires a cancellation fee.
• Colorado. CBS4 lets either side select the title company, at that side's expense. If neither box is checked, the seller selects and pays. Any extra premium for extended coverage is split as the contract states.

Buying land: what to check in the title commitment

On a land deal, the commitment arrives on a contract clock. The TREC Farm and Ranch Contract gives the seller 20 days after the title company receives the contract to furnish the commitment and the "Exception Documents." If they arrive late, paragraph 6.B extends the time automatically by up to 15 days or until 3 days before closing, whichever is earlier. The buyer's written objections are due by the earlier of closing or the number of days written into the contract after receiving the commitment, the Exception Documents and the survey, and revised documents can open a new objection period for newly revealed matters. Missing the deadline waives the objection, though Schedule C requirements are not waived. Colorado's CBS4 uses a Record Title Deadline and a Record Title Objection Deadline. Read the commitment with the survey and finish this list before your deadline.

1. Legal description. Schedule A's description should match the deed and the survey. A different call, a missing parcel or a different acreage needs an answer before closing. If several tracts make up the site, confirm each appears. See deeded acres vs. GIS acres for why acreage figures disagree.
2. Vesting. The owner in Schedule A should be your seller, under the same name. If title sits in an entity or trust, expect requirements for proof of authority to sign. Our guide to LLC property owner research shows how to trace who stands behind an entity.
3. Every recorded exception, read. Get each document listed in Part II, not just its title. The Texas and Colorado contracts both entitle the buyer to copies. Look for easements, restrictive covenants, plats, mineral reservations and rights-of-way, and have the surveyor plot each one that can be plotted.
4. Minerals and water. Texas's T-7 warns that minerals "may not be covered by the Policy," and that if the policy excepts them, optional endorsements do not "ensure that the purchaser has title to the mineral rights." ALTA's 35 series of endorsements, Minerals and Other Subsurface Substances, includes a version for land under development. New Mexico's standard exceptions include water rights.
5. Access. The 2021 ALTA Owner's Policy insures against "No right of access to and from the Land," a legal right that is not the same as a usable driveway. Texas's T-7 lists proof of a "legal right of access to and from the land" as a Schedule C requirement. For a site still to be built, ALTA's forms page lists a new Endorsement 17.3, Access and Entry—Land Under Development, dated November 3, 2026. It insures specified losses from conditions that exist at the policy date, including a named street that is not "physically open and publicly maintained" and a recorded relinquishment or termination of access at the location of a planned curb cut or entry. It excludes later physical changes and changes to the street's legal status. Ask whether your insurer offers it in your state. Our road frontage vs. legal access checklist covers the rest.
6. Taxes and assessments. Texas's printed tax exception reaches later taxes for prior years "due to change in land usage or ownership." In our reading, that is a reason to ask the insurer specifically about rollback taxes. Under Tax Code 23.55, when the use of land appraised under that subchapter (agricultural use) changes, an additional tax generally equals the difference from market-value taxes for each of the three preceding years in which the land was so appraised, subject to the statute's exceptions, and a lien attaches on the date of the change. The Farm and Ranch Contract puts these rollback taxes on the buyer when the sale or the buyer's later use triggers them, and on the seller when the seller changed the use before closing. Ask the county for the current tax status and any special district or assessment.
7. Mortgages, liens and judgments. A seller's mortgage or judgment should appear as a Part I requirement to pay and release it. If a money lien appears only as a Part II exception, ask why, because the policy would not insure against it.
8. The Commitment Date and the gap. Note how old the search is and when the commitment expires. Ask whether gap coverage is available or how the search will be updated before recording.

Where Pillar fits

Pillar's property search shows the owner, mailing address, acreage and last sale from the available parcel record, so you can compare them with the seller and deal terms before ordering title. It is a first screen, not title evidence; a title search and examination review the recorded documents for the insurance.

Quick answers

Is a title commitment the same as title insurance? No. It is an offer to issue a policy. Coverage comes from the policy issued at or after closing.

Does a title commitment show liens? It shows recorded liens the search found, usually as requirements to pay and release them. Unrecorded liens, such as some mechanics' liens, usually fall under a standard exception and are not insured unless it is removed.

Does a title commitment expire? Yes. The ALTA form leaves the period to the company; Texas sets 90 days and New Mexico generally six months, with extensions.

What is Schedule C on a title commitment? On the Texas T-7, it lists the requirements to meet before the policy issues, the role Schedule B, Part I plays on the ALTA form.

Can you remove exceptions from a title commitment? Standard exceptions can often be deleted or narrowed with a survey, affidavits and added premium, if the insurer agrees. Recorded matters usually stay unless released.

Who prepares the title commitment? The title insurer or its issuing agent. Under ALTA Commitment Condition 7, the agent acts for the insurer only to issue commitments and policies, not for closing or escrow.

How much does a title commitment cost? It varies by state. In Texas it has no premium of its own beyond the policy premium. In New Mexico it costs $100 for the first six months.