Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers

What the work involves

• Prepare lists of all legal instruments applying to a specific piece of land and the buildings on it.
• 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.
• Read search requests to ascertain types of title evidence required and to obtain descriptions of properties and names of involved parties.
• Copy or summarize recorded documents, such as mortgages, trust deeds, and contracts, that affect property titles.
• 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.
• Verify accuracy and completeness of land-related documents accepted for registration, preparing rejection notices when documents are not acceptable.

What to study

The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.

• Legal Support ServicesSee 108 colleges that teach it

Who it suits

O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.

• Organised and precise

• Leading and persuading

• Analytical and curious

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