The title commitment, what it is and what it does.

A title commitment is an offer. It is a title insurer saying it will issue a policy on one property, to one named person, for one stated amount, if a list of conditions is satisfied first. That list is Schedule B, Part I. Everything the policy will refuse to cover is Schedule B, Part II. Those two lists are the document.

What a commitment is not is a report on the title. The form says so in capital letters on its first page, and it says it four different ways, because that distinction is the whole point of the document.¹

IMPORTANT—READ CAREFULLY: THIS COMMITMENT IS AN OFFER TO ISSUE ONE OR MORE TITLE INSURANCE POLICIES.

THIS COMMITMENT IS NOT AN ABSTRACT OF TITLE, REPORT OF THE CONDITION OF TITLE, LEGAL OPINION, OPINION OF TITLE, OR OTHER REPRESENTATION OF THE STATUS OF TITLE.

ALTA Commitment for Title Insurance, 2021 v. 01.00, notice¹

In Florida that offer is a regulated insurance form rather than a document an agency writes however it likes. A title insurer may not issue or agree to issue any form of title insurance commitment until it is filed with and approved by the office.² The ALTA form quoted throughout this guide is the form in general industry use, which is practice rather than a statewide mandate, because Florida approves forms insurer by insurer instead of adopting a single one.

The three schedules, and what each one is for

Schedule A

The facts of the offer. The commitment date, which policy is to be issued, the Proposed Insured, the Proposed Amount of Insurance, the estate or interest to be insured, who the title is vested in, and the legal description of the land.

Only a Proposed Insured named here may make a claim on the commitment.

Schedule BPart I

Requirements. The to-do list. Pay the agreed amount for the estate or interest to be insured. Pay the premiums, fees and charges. Deliver documents satisfactory to the insurer that convey the title or create the mortgage, properly authorized, executed, delivered and recorded. Then whatever else this particular title needs, listed by number.

This is the part that holds a closing. Unmet requirements are why a file sits.

Schedule BPart II

Exceptions. What the policy will not cover. The matters the insurer is carving out of coverage unless they are cleared to its satisfaction, listed by number, plus the standard gap exception.

Part II tells you the risk. Part I tells you the work. You need both.

The form is explicit that the pieces are not severable. Its liability is limited by, and the commitment is not valid without, the notice, the commitment to issue policy, the commitment conditions, Schedule A, Schedule B Part I and Schedule B Part II.¹ A commitment forwarded as a single page of exceptions is not the document.

Schedule B-I is the list that holds the closing

Requirements are not advisory. Under the commitment conditions the insurer is not obligated to issue the policy unless all of the Schedule B, Part I requirements have been met to its satisfaction, and if they are not met within the period the insurer inserts in the form, the commitment terminates and the insurer's liability and obligation end.¹

So the practical reading order on a new commitment is Part I first, not Part II. Part II tells you what the buyer will be living with. Part I tells you what has to be gathered, signed, paid or recorded, and by whom, before any policy issues. A payoff nobody has requested, an estate that has not been opened, a missing spousal signature, a release that was never recorded: these arrive as numbered requirements, and each one belongs to a person who does not yet know they own it.

The insurer also keeps the right to amend the commitment at any time.¹ A commitment is a snapshot of a file that is still moving, which is why a three-week-old commitment is the start of a conversation rather than a current answer.

Before any of it, a determination of insurability

A commitment does not appear on request. Florida requires the underwriting work to be done before the offer exists at all, and the requirement covers commitments, endorsements and policies alike.

A title insurer may not issue a title insurance commitment, endorsement, or title insurance policy until the title insurer has caused to be made a determination of insurability based upon the evaluation of a reasonable title search… in accordance with sound underwriting practices.

Fla. Stat. s. 627.7845(1)³

Two details in that sentence are worth keeping straight, because secondary write-ups routinely get both wrong. The statute says a reasonable title search, not a search of the public records, and the section does not define the phrase anywhere. And the evidence of that determination and that search has to be preserved and retained in the insurer's files, or in the files of its title insurance agent or agency, for at least 7 years after the commitment or policy was issued.³

Some Florida exceptions come off, and the statute says so

Schedule B-II is not a fixed list. Florida law limits several standard exceptions once particular conditions are satisfied, which makes the survey and the seller's closing affidavits coverage documents rather than paperwork.⁴

If at closing the seller signs an affidavit swearing that there is no person in possession of the property or with a claim of possession to the property except the seller, the title policy may not exclude from coverage rights or claims of parties in possession not shown by the public records.

Fla. Stat. s. 627.7842(1)(b)⁴

The same section does two more things. Where a survey meeting the standards of practice for surveying required by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, certified to the title insurer by a registered Florida surveyor, has been completed on the property within 90 days before the date of closing, the policy may only except the encroachments, overlays, boundary line disputes and other matters actually shown on that survey. And where the seller signs an affidavit at closing swearing that no improvements have been made to the property within the past 90 days for which payment has not been made in full, the policy may not except any lien or right to a lien for services, labor or material furnished which is imposed by law and not shown by the public record.⁴

There is a limit on all three, and it sits in the statute rather than in anyone's fine print. The insurer, agent or agency may still except those items, notwithstanding the survey or the affidavits, where it has knowledge of facts requiring the exceptions, provided it discloses those facts to the proposed insured.⁴ Knowledge defeats the affidavit. An affidavit is not a way to paper over something the file already shows.

The gap between the commitment and the recording

A commitment speaks as of its commitment date. A deed records days or weeks later. Whatever lands in the public records in between is the gap, and the form's standard Schedule B-II exception excepts exactly that: any defect, lien, encumbrance, adverse claim or other matter that appears for the first time in the public records, or is created, attaches or is disclosed, between the commitment date and the date on which all of the Schedule B, Part I requirements are met.¹

Florida narrows that gap by statute where the title insurer is the one disbursing the money.

1. Commitment date

   The offer speaks as of this date. Schedule A and the schedules are current to here and no further.

2. The gap

   Matters recorded now are excepted by the form’s standard Schedule B-II exception.ALTA Commitment, Schedule B-II

   Where the title insurer disburses the settlement or closing funds, s. 627.7841 requires it to insure against adverse matters or defects recorded in this window — except as to matters of which the insured has knowledge.Fla. Stat. s. 627.7841

3. Recording

   The document creating the estate or interest to be insured is recorded. The statutory window closes here.

4. Policy issued

   All liability and obligation under the commitment end, and the insurer’s only liability is under the policy.ALTA Commitment, condition 6.f

…the title insurer shall insure against the possible existence of adverse matters or defects in the title which are recorded during the period of time between the effective date of the commitment and the date of recording of the document creating the estate or interest to be insured, except as to matters of which the insured has knowledge.

Fla. Stat. s. 627.7841⁵

Two things the form says that surprise people

Only the named Proposed Insured can claim. Under the commitment conditions, only a Proposed Insured identified in Schedule A, and no other person, may make a claim under the commitment, and any claim must be based in contract.¹ A buyer left off Schedule A, or named in the wrong capacity, or shown with the wrong amount of insurance, is not a detail to fix later. Schedule A deserves the same minute of attention as the exceptions.

The issuing agent wears one hat, and it is narrow. The form states that the issuing agent is the insurer’s agent only for the limited purpose of issuing title insurance commitments and policies, and is not the insurer’s agent for closing, settlement, escrow or any other purpose.¹ The underwriting relationship and the closing relationship are separate, and the form keeps them separate deliberately.

A third, for completeness: deleting or modifying a Schedule B-II exception does not by itself constitute an agreement or obligation to provide coverage beyond the terms of the commitment or the policy, and a pro-forma policy prepared on request neither reflects the status of title when it is delivered nor commits anyone to insure.¹

What to do with a commitment on day one

Read Schedule B, Part I before Part II, and turn every numbered requirement into a name and a next step. Requirements rarely clear themselves, and they seldom belong to the title agency alone: payoffs, estate paperwork, association documents, releases and signatures live with other offices and other people.

Check Schedule A against the contract, line by line: the Proposed Insured, the capacity, the amount, the estate or interest, the legal description. Then read Part II for what the buyer is being asked to accept, and separate the exceptions that are negotiable from the ones that are structural. Where an exception points at something unrecorded, such as utility balances, code cases or open permits, that is a different search altogether, which is the subject of our guide on the debts a title search cannot find. For what the resulting policy does and does not reach once it finally issues, see our guide on what title insurance covers.

If you are the buyer rather than the agent, the same two lists matter in a smaller way. Schedule A should name you the way you intend to hold the property, and for the amount you are actually paying. Schedule B, Part II is the list of things the policy will not cover on your property, and it is specific to that property rather than a general statement about title insurance. Anything on either list that you do not recognise is worth asking about before closing rather than after, and anything that turns on your own circumstances belongs with an attorney.

The short version

A title commitment is a conditional offer to issue a policy, and the form says plainly that it is not an abstract, a report of the condition of title, or an opinion of title. Schedule A sets who is insured and for how much, and only a person named there may claim. Schedule B, Part I is the list of requirements that has to be cleared before any policy issues. Schedule B, Part II is the coverage being withheld, though s. 627.7842 limits several standard exceptions where a recent certified survey or the seller’s closing affidavits are in place, unless the insurer knows facts requiring them and discloses those facts. The gap between the commitment date and recording is excepted by the form, then covered by s. 627.7841 where the insurer disburses the closing funds.

If a commitment on one of your files has requirements you cannot place, call us and we can walk through what each one is actually asking for.

Common questions

What is a title commitment in Florida?

A title commitment is an offer by a title insurer to issue a title insurance policy on a specific property, to a specific named person, for a specific amount, provided a list of conditions is met first. The ALTA Commitment for Title Insurance states in its notice that the commitment is an offer to issue one or more title insurance policies and that it is not an abstract of title, a report of the condition of title, a legal opinion, an opinion of title, or other representation of the status of title. In Florida, a title insurer may not issue any form of title insurance commitment until the form is filed with and approved by the office, under Florida Statute 627.777.

What is the difference between Schedule B-I and Schedule B-II on a title commitment?

Schedule B, Part I is headed Requirements, and it lists what must be done before the policy will be issued, such as paying the agreed amount for the estate or interest to be insured, paying the premiums, fees and charges, and recording documents satisfactory to the insurer that convey the title or create the mortgage. Schedule B, Part II is headed Exceptions, and it lists what the policy will not cover when it is issued. Part I is a to-do list that has to be cleared. Part II is the coverage that is being withheld.

Is a title commitment the same as a title insurance policy?

No. A commitment is the offer that precedes the policy, and it is conditional on the Schedule B, Part I requirements being met. Under the ALTA commitment conditions, the insurer is not obligated to issue the policy unless all of those requirements have been met to its satisfaction, and once the policy is issued all liability and obligation under the commitment end and the insurer's only liability is under the policy. They are two separate contracts covering two different moments.

Can a realtor or a buyer who is not named on Schedule A make a claim on a title commitment?

Under the ALTA commitment conditions, only a Proposed Insured identified in Schedule A, and no other person, may make a claim under the commitment, and any claim must be based in contract. That is why who is named in Schedule A, in what capacity, and for what amount matters as much as the exceptions listed later in the form.

Can exceptions be removed from a Florida title commitment before closing?

Florida Statute 627.7842 limits certain standard exceptions once specific conditions are met. If a survey meeting the state standards of practice for surveying and certified to the insurer by a registered Florida surveyor was completed on the property within 90 days before the date of closing, the policy may only except the encroachments, overlays, boundary line disputes and other matters actually shown on that survey. If at closing the seller signs an affidavit swearing no person other than the seller is in possession or claims possession, the policy may not exclude rights or claims of parties in possession not shown by the public records. If the seller signs an affidavit that no improvements have been made in the past 90 days for which payment has not been made in full, the policy may not except any lien or right to a lien for services, labor or material imposed by law and not shown by the public record. The statute also provides that the insurer, agent or agency may still except those items if it has knowledge of facts requiring the exceptions and discloses those facts to the proposed insured.

What happens to the title between the commitment date and the recording of the deed in Florida?

The standard exception in Schedule B, Part II of the ALTA commitment excepts any defect, lien, encumbrance, adverse claim or other matter that appears for the first time in the public records, or is created, attaches or is disclosed, between the commitment date and the date on which all of the Schedule B, Part I requirements are met. Florida Statute 627.7841 narrows that gap. Where a title insurer issuing a commitment or policy disburses settlement or closing funds, the statute requires it to insure against the possible existence of adverse matters or defects in the title recorded between the effective date of the commitment and the date of recording of the document creating the estate or interest to be insured, except as to matters of which the insured has knowledge.

Sources

Every factual claim above is drawn from the sources below. Statutory figures and deadlines were read from the official source rather than from secondary coverage. Sources last checked November 9, 2026.

1. ALTA Commitment for Title Insurance, 2021 v. 01.00, effective 07-01-2021 — the commitment form itself, including its notice, the commitment conditions and Schedules A, B-I and B-II American Land Title Association Retrieved November 9, 2026
2. Fla. Stat. s. 627.777 — Approval of forms, which names the title insurance commitment expressly The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved November 9, 2026
3. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7845 — Determination of insurability required; preservation of evidence of title search and examination The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved November 9, 2026
4. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7842 — Policy exceptions, which limits what a policy may except where a recent certified survey or seller affidavits are in place The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved November 9, 2026
5. Fla. Stat. s. 627.7841 — Insurance against adverse matters or defects in the title, the gap coverage provision The Florida Senate, official statutes Retrieved November 9, 2026