Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers

FinanceO*NET 23-2093.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $57,980
Projected change: +3.3%
Typical education: High school diploma or less
Employment: 54.84K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What title examiners, abstractors, and searchers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

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.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $36,207
25th percentile: $45,642
50th percentile: $57,980
75th percentile: $75,840
90th percentile: $101,364

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $57,980 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+3.3%average or slower

202554,837 jobs

2035 projected56,631 jobs

1,794 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less: 60.3%
Bachelor's degree: 13.4%
Certificate: 13.4%
Associate degree: 12.3%
Some college: 0.6%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Mortgage Loans
Liens
Real Estate
Underwriting
Title Processing
Easement
Legal Land Description
Accounting
Title Insurance
Auditing
Data Entry
Real Property
Finance
Real Estate Transactions
Wholesaling
Trade Secrets
Notary Services
Workflow Management
Operating Systems
Office Equipment

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Title Clerks1,379 postings
02Commercial Title Examiners1,016 postings
03Automotive Title Clerks881 postings
04Title Examiners829 postings
05Title Specialists589 postings
06Commercial Title Assistants242 postings
07Title Abstractors202 postings
08Title Officers179 postings
09Tag and Title Clerks178 postings
10Title Processors177 postings
11Title Coordinators169 postings
12Automotive Billers164 postings
13DMV Clerks145 postings
14Title Assistants144 postings
15Title Curative Specialists144 postings
16Title Reviewers135 postings
17Title Searchers127 postings
18DMV Title Clerks119 postings
19Title Agents117 postings
20Commercial Title Officers81 postings

Top employers

01First American Financial1,352 postings
02Anywhere Real Estate393 postings
03Bowman & Company Llp213 postings
04University of California-Davis161 postings
05Carrington137 postings
06Dealer Services Network132 postings
07Toyota Motor116 postings
08Chevrolet109 postings
09Vylla Title106 postings
10GPAC98 postings
11TEKsystems98 postings
12Indiana Search Technologies89 postings
13Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers81 postings
14Sonic Automotive72 postings
15Robert Half70 postings
16Insight Global64 postings
17Copart62 postings
18Honda62 postings
19Rb Global Corporation57 postings
20CarMax54 postings

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