Guide for real estate law firms
What is a preliminary title report, and what do the exceptions mean?
By the U.S. Title Research team. Updated 2026-11-06. General information, not legal advice.
A preliminary title report is a research document that shows the current state of a property's record title: who holds it, how it is vested, and every recorded matter that affects it, each listed as a numbered exception. It is not a commitment to insure. Each exception points to a recorded instrument you can read yourself.
What is a preliminary title report?
A preliminary title report is a written summary of what the county's recorded documents show about one parcel on the date the records were searched. It names the owner of record, quotes the vesting, sets out the legal description and lists each recorded mortgage, lien, easement, restriction and notice as a numbered exception with its recording reference.
The word "preliminary" matters. The report is a snapshot of the record at a point in time, prepared before a transaction closes or a pleading is filed, so that the people who have to act on the title know what the record contains first. Nothing in it is a promise about the future, and nothing in it decides a legal question. It reports; the attorney decides.
In practice the report has three parts. The schedule-style exceptions carry the recorded matters. The legal description check compares the description in the current deed against the sources it should match. The exhibits reproduce the recorded instruments themselves as document images, one per page, so that every exception can be read in the original.
Is a preliminary report a commitment to insure?
No. A preliminary title report is research, and a commitment to insure is an underwriting decision. A title insurer issues a commitment once it has decided which risks it will cover and which it will except. A research report makes no such decision. It tells you what is recorded, by whom, when and against what.
The distinction has consequences for how you read the document. A commitment's exceptions are the matters the insurer will not cover. A research report's exceptions are the matters the record contains, whether or not any insurer would care about them. The research report is therefore often longer, and it includes items an underwriter might waive, because the point is completeness of the record rather than a coverage decision.
U.S. Title Research does not close transactions or issue title insurance policies. Every report carries a notice that it is not a commitment to insure, and the full disclaimers recommend a title insurance policy from a third-party title insurance company before any real estate transaction closes. The research and the policy do different jobs, and attorneys who close their own transactions commonly use both.
How do schedule-style exceptions read?
Each exception occupies one numbered entry and describes one recorded matter. The entry gives the instrument type, the parties, the recording date and the recording reference (book and page, or instrument number), followed by a plain-language note on what the instrument appears to affect. The format mirrors the Schedule B attorneys already read in commitments.
Reading an exception well means reading three things in order. First, the instrument type: a deed of trust, a judgment lien, a utility easement and a declaration of restrictions each affect the parcel differently. Second, the parties: an encumbrance granted by a prior owner may or may not have been released when that owner conveyed. Third, the recording reference, which is the key to the exhibit where the instrument itself can be read.
Released matters are shown with their release instrument rather than silently dropped. An old deed of trust followed by a recorded reconveyance appears as a pair, so the file shows that the release exists and where it is recorded. A deed of trust with no release of record is reported as open, and the plain-language note says so. Whether an open item is a live encumbrance or a paperwork gap is a question the attorney answers from the exhibit and, where needed, from the lender.
Exceptions are arranged so that the record can be followed. Matters created by the current owner follow matters created by prior owners, and items that run with the land, such as easements and covenants, are grouped so that their effect on the whole parcel is visible at once. The real estate law firm package is built around this presentation, with the legal description check and the exhibits following the schedule.
What is the difference between standard and specific exceptions?
Standard exceptions are the general carve-outs a title insurer prints in every commitment regardless of the parcel: matters not shown by the public records, rights of parties in possession, unrecorded easements, survey matters, unrecorded mechanic's liens and taxes not yet due. Specific exceptions are the recorded matters that affect this parcel alone, each tied to an instrument.
A research report deals almost entirely in specific exceptions, because the record is what it searches. It cannot report what a survey would show, who is in possession or what was never recorded. What it can do is tell you where the record itself raises those questions: a legal description that does not close, an easement whose location is described by reference to a fence that no longer exists, or a deed from a grantor who did not appear in the chain as a grantee.
The standard exceptions are still worth reading against the research report, because they tell you which questions the record cannot answer and which other work is needed. If a client needs the standard exceptions removed from a policy, the usual route is a survey, an owner's affidavit and, for some items, an inspection. The research report supports those steps by giving the surveyor the recorded description and the attorney the chain, but it does not replace them.
Why does the legal description need its own check?
The legal description is the one part of a deed that a buyer, a lender and a court all rely on to identify the land, and it is copied from deed to deed. A transposed call, a lot number that changed with a replat, or an exception parcel one scrivener dropped can sit in the chain for decades.
The check compares the current description against three sources. The recorded plat, where the parcel is in a platted subdivision, shows the lot and block as the county accepted them. The prior deeds in the chain show whether the description has drifted and, if so, at which conveyance. The assessor's parcel shows whether the taxing authority treats the land as the same area the deed describes. Each discrepancy is noted with the two sources that disagree.
What to do about a discrepancy is a legal decision. A corrective deed, a survey, a boundary line agreement or a quiet title action are all possible answers, and the right one depends on the nature of the error and whether the parties to the earlier deed are still available to sign. The report gives you the comparison; the guide on title research for a quiet title action covers what the record has to contain if litigation becomes the route.
How should you use the exhibits?
The exhibits are document images of the recorded instruments, one instrument per page, each identified by its recording reference and arranged in chain order. They are retrieved from the county even where the county has not digitized them, so you read the vesting language, the signature block, the acknowledgment and the recording stamp in the original.
For a transaction, the exhibits are where you confirm what the schedule says. If exception 7 reports an open deed of trust, exhibit 7 is the instrument, and the absence of a reconveyance in the exhibits is what you take to the lender. If the vesting is reported as tenancy in common, the deed image is where you verify the words the grantor actually used.
For litigation, the exhibits are the first draft of your exhibit list. Each image carries the recording reference needed to request a certified copy from the county recorder if the court requires one for filing. Whether certified copies are required is a local rule, so the report identifies each instrument precisely rather than assuming one answer.
Two habits make the exhibits more useful. Read every exhibit at least once in full rather than only the ones tied to exceptions that look troublesome, because the problem instrument is often the routine-looking deed in the middle of the chain. And keep the exhibits with the schedule, so that anyone picking up the file later can go from an exception to its instrument in one step.
When you need the record, not just the explanation: the real estate law firm package researches the property, verifies the findings with the county and explains what to do next, in 1 to 3+ days.
Questions people ask
Who prepares a preliminary title report?
A title researcher or abstractor prepares it by reading the county recorder's indexes and the recorded instruments for the parcel, then verifying the findings with the assessor, the tax office and the courts. Title insurers also issue documents called preliminary reports in some states as the first step toward a policy. A research company's report is not connected to any policy and does not commit anyone to insure.
What does "subject to" mean in an exception?
It means the parcel is burdened by the recorded matter described in that exception, and any conveyance or policy would carry that matter with it unless it is released or otherwise resolved. The phrase does not say whether the matter is good or bad for your client. A utility easement and a judgment lien are both "subject to" items with very different consequences, which is why each exception is tied to its instrument.
Why are released mortgages still listed?
Because the file should show that the release exists and where it is recorded, not simply that the researcher believes the debt was paid. A deed of trust and its reconveyance appear together with both recording references, so the attorney can confirm the release in the exhibit. If no release is of record, the item is reported as open and the plain-language note says so.
How current is a preliminary title report?
It reflects the record as of the date the search was completed, which is stated in the report. Instruments recorded after that date are not included. For a closing or a hearing some weeks later, a date-down search brings the record forward. Each U.S. Title Research package includes one complimentary update within 12 months on request, which is commonly used for exactly this purpose.
Does the report say whether title is marketable?
No. Marketability is a legal conclusion, and the report does not offer one. It reports what is recorded, how the owner is vested, where the legal description disagrees with its sources and which judgments and notices appear against the owners in the chain. The plain-language summary explains what was found and what to look at next. What it means for the client is the attorney's determination.