Published October 18, 2026
A title commitment is the document that tells you, before you close, what title insurance will and will not cover on the house you are buying. First American’s consumer guide describes it as a preview of the final policy and a roadmap for completing the transaction. It arrives after a title examiner reviews the public land records to confirm the seller owns the property and to look for problems such as deed errors, missing owners or liens. Most buyers glance at it, see pages of legal language and move on. That is the mistake worth avoiding, because the commitment is where the unusual facts about one particular property are written down.
This guide explains the general structure that title commitments follow: Schedule A, a two-part Schedule B and a conditions section. Forms differ by company and by state, and we are not describing any one company’s form here. Whether the home is in the city of Richmond, Henrico County or Chesterfield County, the layout is similar, but the entries under it are specific to each property. This is general information, not legal advice. For what any entry means for your purchase, talk to a Virginia real estate attorney.
Schedule A: the page that says what is being insured
Schedule A is the factual page. According to First American, it lists the effective date of the commitment, the type of policies that will be issued (an owner’s policy and, if you have a mortgage, a lender’s policy), who will be insured, the amount of insurance, the estate that will be covered, the current owner of the property according to the public records, and the legal description.
Read it as a proofreading exercise. Is your name, spelled as it will appear on the deed, right? Does the amount of insurance match your purchase price for the owner’s policy and your loan amount for the lender’s policy? Does the legal description match the one in your contract? Errors on this page are usually clerical and fixable, but only if someone notices. The effective date tells you how fresh the search behind the commitment is, which matters if your closing is a few weeks away.
The two policies on Schedule A cover different people. The CFPB explains that owner’s title insurance protects you if someone later says they have a claim against the home from before you bought it, for example from a previous owner’s unpaid taxes or from contractors who say they were not paid. Lender’s coverage protects the amount the lender loaned. ALTA, the title industry association, makes the same distinction and notes that the lender’s policy is almost always required by the lender, while the owner’s policy is your choice.
Schedule B, Part I: requirements that must be met before the policy issues
The first part of Schedule B is a to-do list for the closing. First American lists the standard items: telling the insurer about everyone who will have an interest in the property (such as your lender or a co-buyer), paying the purchase price, paying the premium and fees, and signing and recording the documents that transfer the property and create the mortgage. Anything the title search found that must be resolved is also listed here.
The example First American gives is the most common one: if the seller has a mortgage on the property, the commitment will require that it be paid and the lien removed, and it is common for part of the sale proceeds to go to the seller’s lender to do that. Other common requirements include paying taxes and HOA fees that are due. For you as a buyer, the useful reading is: which items on this list depend on the seller, and are they on track? An unpaid lien, a missing signature or a due HOA balance does not usually kill a deal, but it can move a closing date.
Schedule B, Part II: exceptions, the things the policy will not cover
The second part of Schedule B lists the exceptions. This is the part that deserves the most attention. First American says exceptions are matters the policy does not cover, that some can be removed if certain requirements are met, and that others are unique to your property and typically cannot be removed. Examples it names are easements and HOA declarations. The lien for your own mortgage also appears here because you agree to it when you sign your loan documents.
The way to read this section is to go line by line and sort each exception into one of three piles. The first is the pile you can accept: a recorded utility easement along a back lot line, or a subdivision’s declaration you already knew about. The second is the pile to ask about: anything you do not recognize or cannot picture on the ground. The third is the pile to negotiate or fix: anything that blocks what you plan to do with the property or that the seller can remove before closing. First American’s own framing is that these matters are disclosed so you can decide whether to buy the property with these issues. The decision is yours, which means the disclosure is only useful if you read it.
Get the Richmond closing-timeline checklist
Tell us you want the checklist and we will send you a closing timeline that shows where the title commitment, the Closing Disclosure and the final walk-through fall, so you can see which dates to ask your title company about.
Questions to put to your title company, line by line
You do not need to be a lawyer to ask good questions about a commitment. For every Schedule B, Part II entry, ask four things. What is this, in plain words? Where is it recorded, and can I get a copy? Does it affect the part of the lot I will actually use? And is it something that can be removed, and if so, what would it take? For every Part I entry, ask who is responsible and by when.
Then ask three questions about the document as a whole. When is the effective date, and will the search be updated closer to closing? Will I get an amended commitment if something new turns up? First American notes that this can happen when the title company updates the search. And are there standard-form exceptions on this commitment that the company will remove if I provide something, such as a survey or an affidavit? The answer varies by company and by form, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
Matching exceptions to the guides that explain them
Most of what turns up on Schedule B falls into a few categories, and we have written a guide on each. If an exception mentions an easement, read our guide to easements on a Richmond property to see how to find the recorded document and what the easement limits you from doing. If the commitment references a plat or a boundary, the plat-versus-survey guide explains what a recorded plat shows and what only a survey can.
If you want to see the records behind the commitment for yourself, how to pull a deed, plat and chain of title walks through it. Recent work on the home is another trigger: the mechanic’s lien guide covers why a contractor’s claim can surface after the title search. And for the policy itself, what the owner’s policy actually covers goes deeper than this article on coverage.
Where the commitment fits in the closing timeline
The commitment is one of several documents that land in your inbox before closing day. The Closing Disclosure is another. The CFPB says the lender must give it to you at least three business days before you close, so you can compare final terms and costs with your Loan Estimate and ask questions before you sit at the closing table. Title charges appear in those costs. The CFPB adds that a title fee list from your settlement agent, lawyer, lender, agent or title company may look different from the Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure without that meaning an error.
A practical order of operations: ask your agent when the title search was ordered, ask for the commitment as soon as it is ready, read Schedule A for errors that day, send any Schedule B question that same week, and compare the title lines on the Closing Disclosure with the commitment’s insured amounts when it arrives. If you are still choosing a lender, our preferred lenders page is a starting point, and our buyer page describes how we work with buyers.
When to bring in an attorney
A commitment is written for the insurer first and the buyer second. If an exception limits something you care about, such as where a fence can go, whether you can build an addition or whether a shared driveway is protected, have a Virginia real estate attorney read it with the purchase contract in front of you. The same goes for a requirement you cannot tell the seller will meet. A review before closing is the time to find these things out, because afterward the options narrow.
If you are still looking for a home to buy, a saved property search with Mission Realty lets you begin from real listings, and you can ask for the commitment on any home you put under contract.
Ask for the closing-timeline checklist
The same offer, restated: request our Richmond closing-timeline checklist and see when the commitment, the Closing Disclosure and your title questions line up with your contract dates.
Frequently asked questions
Is a title commitment the same thing as a title search?
No. The search is the review of the public land records. First American describes the commitment as what the title company provides after that review: the terms of the policy it will issue, the requirements to be met first, and the exceptions. So the commitment cannot exist until a search has been ordered and completed, which is why you ask early for the date it is expected.
What does the effective date on Schedule A mean?
Schedule A lists an effective date for the commitment, which marks how current the search behind it is. First American notes you may receive an amended commitment if the title company updates the search and finds a new matter. If your closing is weeks after the effective date, ask whether the search will be brought down to a later date before closing and whether a revised commitment will follow.
Does an exception mean there is a problem with the title?
Not necessarily. First American says exceptions are matters found in the public records, such as easements and HOA declarations, and that they are disclosed so you can decide whether to buy with them in place. Your own mortgage lien will also appear as an exception because you agree to it at closing. The question is whether you can live with each item, not whether the list is empty.
Who pays for the title policy?
It depends on your contract and your closing company, so read your purchase contract and ask. ALTA says a lender’s policy is usually paid for by the homebuyer or the seller and is almost always required by the lender, while the owner’s policy is your own purchase. The CFPB adds that you can usually shop for a title provider separately from your mortgage and that using one provider for both policies is usually cheaper than buying them separately.
Can the title charge at closing differ from my Loan Estimate?
It can differ in how it is presented. The CFPB says that depending on the state, your settlement agent, lawyer, lender, agent or title company might give you an itemized list of fees that differs from the Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure, and that this does not necessarily mean you are being charged the wrong amount. Compare the numbers line by line and ask the lender to explain any gap.
What if the legal description or owner name on Schedule A looks wrong?
Tell your title company before closing. Schedule A lists the current owner according to the public records and the legal description of the property, so compare both against your contract and the seller’s deed. Our guide to pulling a deed and chain of title shows where to find the recorded documents yourself. A mismatch is far easier to fix before the closing than after.
Should I show my commitment to an attorney?
If anything in Schedule B puzzles you, yes. First American itself suggests talking to your title company, real estate agent or attorney if you have questions. A Virginia real estate attorney can tell you what an exception means for your plans, such as a fence, an addition or a pool, which a general article cannot do.
