90 Day Survey Rule: Florida Title Commitment Checklist for Buyers
A title commitment is the title insurer’s formal promise to issue a policy once the requirements listed inside it are satisfied. Before you sign anything else, read Schedule B first: it lists exceptions and requirements that shape what your policy will cover and what it will not. Confirm your name and the legal description on Schedule A, check whether a survey is needed, and have a Florida attorney review the document before closing.
TL;DR:
- Schedule B-2 exceptions may significantly limit coverage, even if Schedule A appears clear, so review all exclusions carefully before closing.
- Delays in satisfying lien releases or probate documentation can stall closings, requiring quick coordination with lenders, attorneys, or surveyors.
- Delivering a certified survey within 90 days of closing can narrow the survey exception, providing better protection against boundary disputes.
- The title commitment generally remains valid if closing occurs near the effective date, but updates may be necessary if delays extend beyond a few weeks.
- Florida buyers should have a legal professional review the commitment, especially Schedule B-2, to clarify which exceptions are standard and which may require negotiated adjustments.
What a title commitment is and how it differs from the final policy
A title commitment is a contract between the title underwriter and the person who will become the insured, usually the buyer or the lender. It previews the coverage the eventual policy will provide and lists the conditions that must be met first. Under Florida law, the commitment shows what the policy will and will not cover once those conditions are satisfied, according to Florida’s statutory framework for title commitments.
The policy itself does not exist yet when you receive the commitment. Think of the commitment as a conditional offer: the insurer agrees to issue coverage, but only after specific items are cleared. The Florida Bar’s consumer pamphlet on title insurance explains that commitments have largely replaced older abstract and attorney opinion practices, giving buyers a standardized document that spells out both the promise and its conditions.
The three parts of a Florida title commitment
Every commitment breaks down into three sections, and each one tells you something different.
Schedule A lists the basics: the effective date of the search, the proposed insured, the policy amount, and the legal description of the property. Errors here, a misspelled name or an outdated legal description, are easy to miss and expensive to fix later.
Schedule B-1, sometimes called the Requirements section, lists what must happen before the insurer will issue the policy. Common items include paying off existing mortgages, recording a satisfaction of an old lien, or obtaining a probate order when a prior owner has died.
Schedule B-2, the Exceptions section, lists what the policy will not cover. Some exceptions are standard, like general utility easements. Others are specific to the property, like a recorded covenant restricting how the land can be used or a note that the current survey shows a fence encroaching on a neighbor’s lot.
Reading all three schedules matters because a clean Schedule A means nothing if Schedule B-2 excludes coverage for the exact problem you’re worried about.
Who issues the commitment and who pays for it
The title insurer underwrites the risk, but a local issuing agent, often a title company or an attorney acting as a title agent, prepares and delivers the commitment. In Florida, either the buyer or the seller can pay for the owner’s title policy, and standard contract forms typically leave that choice to negotiation between the parties. Representative language in Florida Realtors’ sample residential contract sets deadlines for delivering title evidence and spells out who selects the title agent and who bears the cost.
A closing protection letter, or CPL, often accompanies the transaction. It offers lenders and sometimes buyers limited protection against certain misconduct by the closing agent, separate from the title policy itself.
Common requirements and exceptions buyers must watch for
Schedule B-1 requirements and Schedule B-2 exceptions are where most closing delays and disputes originate. Knowing what typically shows up helps you spot a real problem before it becomes a last-minute crisis.
- Recorded liens or unpaid judgments against a prior owner must usually be satisfied or released before closing.
- Missing probate documentation appears when a previous owner died without a completed estate proceeding transferring the property.
- Easements and covenants in Schedule B-2 may limit how you use the land, even though they rarely block your ownership.
- Standard survey exceptions protect the insurer against boundary issues that an updated survey could otherwise resolve.
- Municipal liens, such as unpaid code enforcement fines, sometimes surface late in a title search and require quick payoff coordination.
Some items require a true cure, like paying off a lien and recording satisfaction. Others can be handled with an indemnity or affirmative coverage from the insurer, which lets closing proceed while the underlying issue is resolved separately. The Florida Bar’s consumer guidance also notes that buyers are often advised to purchase an owner’s policy even when their lender requires only a lender’s policy, since exceptions that don’t concern the lender can still affect the buyer directly.
Pro Tip: Ask your title agent, in writing, whether each Schedule B-2 exception is standard or property-specific: it takes one email and can save you a difficult conversation at the closing table.
How long a title commitment stays valid and the 90-day survey rule
The effective date on Schedule A marks when the title search was performed, and most underwriters expect closing to happen reasonably close to that date. If closing is delayed, the title agent typically needs to update the search and may need to reissue the commitment to capture anything recorded in the interim.
Florida law also gives buyers a valuable tool tied to timing. Under Florida’s survey protection statute, when a certified survey is delivered to the title insurer within 90 days before closing, the policy may only except encroachments actually shown on that survey, rather than a broader, generic survey exception. That narrower exception can matter considerably if a boundary dispute ever arises.
What to do after you receive the title commitment
Once the commitment lands in your inbox, work through it in order rather than skimming for red flags at random.
- Confirm Schedule A accuracy. Check your name, the legal description, and the proposed policy amount against your contract.
- Read every Schedule B-2 exception. Flag anything unfamiliar, particularly easements, covenants, or survey-related language.
- Order or confirm a survey within the 90-day window if one is needed, so the policy can except only what a current survey actually shows.
- Request payoff statements for any liens or mortgages listed as B-1 requirements, and track how long the cure will take relative to your closing date.
- Have a Florida real estate attorney review the full commitment and advise on which exceptions to accept, negotiate, or formally object to under your contract’s title objection period.
Pro Tip: Start this checklist the day you receive the commitment: Schedule B-1 requirements often involve third parties, like a mortgage payoff department, whose response times you don’t control.
Attorney and title agent roles, and why disclosure matters
In many Florida closings, the same attorney who drafts or reviews your contract also serves as the title agent and settlement agent. This dual role is common and legal, but it creates a relationship the Florida Bar Journal has examined closely, since the attorney earns a commission on the title policy while also advising the client on whether to accept its terms.
Florida’s ethics rules require informed consent when a lawyer’s own financial interest could affect independent judgment. In practice, that means you should expect written disclosure of any commission the attorney or firm earns as title agent, along with separate accounting for legal fees versus title premiums. A closing protection letter offers some additional assurance, though it primarily protects lenders and should not substitute for that disclosure. If you don’t receive clear answers to direct questions about who earns what, that’s a reasonable moment to ask for independent counsel.
Owner’s versus lender’s policies and where the premium shows up
A lender’s title policy protects only the lender’s interest in the mortgage, up to the loan amount. It does nothing for you if a title defect surfaces after closing. An owner’s policy protects your equity in the property for as long as you or your heirs hold an interest in it.
Florida regulates title insurance premiums, and the Florida Bar’s consumer guidance points buyers toward purchasing an owner’s policy even when the lender only requires its own. The premium typically appears as a line item on your closing disclosure, and any amount already paid for the commitment or binder is generally credited toward the final policy premium. Given how much is riding on a single purchase, most Florida buyers find the modest added cost of an owner’s policy a reasonable trade for long-term protection.
A local view on title commitments in Tampa Bay
Local Tampa Bay law firms work with Pinellas County and Tampa Bay buyers on title commitment review, closings, and quiet title matters. When a commitment’s exceptions look unusual, a survey reveals an encroachment, or a curative item stalls, that’s the point to bring in an attorney rather than push forward alone.
— Oldham Law PLLC
How Oldham Law PLLC can help with your title commitment
Reading a title commitment on your own means guessing at which exceptions are routine and which ones protect the title company more than they protect you. Experienced real estate attorneys review commitments for Pinellas County and Tampa Bay buyers, identify issue language in Schedule B, and coordinate with title underwriters and surveyors to resolve cure items before closing day rather than during it.
Our real estate practice includes:
- Title commitment and Schedule B review before you sign off on closing documents.
- Title insurance services, including guidance on owner’s versus lender’s coverage.
- Closing representation for buyers, sellers, and lenders across residential transactions.
- Deed preparation and quiet title actions when ownership history needs to be cleared or corrected.
If you have a commitment in hand and questions about what Schedule B actually means for your purchase, visit our real estate practice page to get started.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
Sources
- Chapter 627 Section 7842 – 2026 Florida Statutes – The Florida Senate
- Buying a Home — Florida Bar consumer pamphlet
- Florida Realtors — sample residential contract provisions (title evidence, who pays, deadlines)
FAQ
Who usually pays for the title commitment?
Either the buyer or the seller can pay, and Florida contracts typically leave this open to negotiation between the parties. Standard forms like the Florida Realtors residential contract set deadlines for delivering title evidence and often specify which party selects the title agent.
What happens after you get the title commitment?
You review Schedule A for accuracy, read every exception in Schedule B-2, and track the requirements in Schedule B-1 that must be cleared before closing. Most buyers then bring the commitment to a real estate attorney to evaluate which exceptions to accept or formally object to under the contract’s title objection period.
How long is a title commitment good for?
There’s no fixed statutory expiration, but most underwriters expect closing to happen close to the effective date shown on Schedule A. If closing is delayed, the title agent generally needs to update the search and may reissue the commitment to capture anything recorded since the original effective date.
How long after title commitment to close?
Timing varies by contract, but Florida buyers benefit from delivering a certified survey within the 90 days before closing so the statutory survey protection rule can narrow the policy’s survey exception. Beyond that window, closing timing follows the deadlines negotiated in the purchase contract rather than a rule tied to the commitment itself.
