Title curative items and how to clear them

Published 16 October 2026. Updated 16 October 2026.

Curative work is everything between a commitment that lists problems and a policy that can issue without them. Most of it is repetitive: a handful of item types, each with a standard fix, each sent to a particular kind of addressee. The difficulty is in the details, such as the right addressee, the right recording reference and noticing when an item needs no letter at all. This guide goes through the common items and what clears each one.

Practice varies by state, underwriter and county. Where it does, the text says so. Check your underwriter's guidance and your state's rules before relying on any general description.

The common items at a glance

Mortgages and deeds of trust

A recorded mortgage or deed of trust on the seller's property is the most common requirement. The usual cure has two parts: pay off the loan at closing and obtain a recorded release (for a deed of trust, often a reconveyance from the trustee).

Before the letter goes out, check three things.

1. Is it already released? The search package may hold a recorded satisfaction. If so, no payoff letter is needed and the requirement can be questioned. See a released mortgage that is still on the commitment.
2. Who holds it now? Mortgages are assigned and servicing moves. The commitment often names the original lender. A recorded assignment points to the current holder, and the request belongs with them.
3. Is there a partial release? If one parcel was released, the lien still sits on the rest.

The letter should identify the loan by book and page or instrument number and by the original principal amount, and ask for a payoff statement good through the closing date. Do not write a payoff figure into the letter. The lender provides it, with a per diem if the closing date moves.

Judgments and liens against the owner

A judgment against someone with the same or a similar name as the seller can show up on a commitment. First decide whether it is the seller. If it is, the cure is payment and a recordable satisfaction from the creditor. The letter should name the creditor, the case or recording reference and the amount of the judgment as it appears in the commitment or the recorded document.

If it is not the seller, the cure is usually an identity affidavit and sometimes the examiner's own judgment about whether the underwriter will accept it. Underwriters differ on what they accept, so ask first.

Whether a judgment becomes a lien on real property, and for how long, depends on state law and on where it is recorded. This is a point to check with your underwriter, not to assume.

Association statements

For a condominium or a home in an association, the requirement is a statement from the association. A good request asks for the regular assessment and the date it is paid through, any special assessment levied or proposed, any unpaid assessments, fines or liens, any transfer or capital contribution fee, any known violations, and the fee for the statement itself. Use the association's own form if it has one. Associations often use a management company, so confirm the addressee before sending.

Name variances

A seller who took title as Jordan Pell and signs as Jordan A. Pell creates a variance. The usual cure is an affidavit, signed by the seller, stating that the names refer to one person. Nothing goes to a third party. The affidavit needs both spellings exactly as they appear in the record, so copy them from the instrument, not from memory.

Municipal lien and tax searches

Some commitments ask for a search of municipal records for unpaid utility charges, code liens or special assessments. The request goes to the city or county office that holds those records, and some places have their own request form or fee. The answer comes from a public office on its own timetable, so order the search early and ask how long it takes.

Items that need a decision, not a letter

A vesting mismatch, a trust that needs certification, a company signer whose authority is not shown, or a power of attorney with unclear scope will not be fixed by a letter to anyone. These need documents from the parties and a decision by the examiner. Put them at the top of the task list, because they block the closing without looking urgent.

Exceptions that stay

An easement for a utility, recorded restrictions, taxes not yet due and the public's rights in streets and roads are examples of exceptions that normally remain. Read the underlying document if the exception could affect use or collateral, then mark it "stays". Writing a letter for an exception that stays only creates noise.

Mistakes that cost time

• Sending a payoff request to the original lender after the mortgage was assigned.
• Writing a payoff figure into a request instead of asking the lender for a statement.
• Drafting a letter for a requirement a recorded satisfaction already cleared.
• Copying a recording reference with a digit transposed. Check the book and page against the recorded instrument.
• Losing track of which page of the commitment an item came from.
• Treating a partial release as a full release.
• Mixing up the two name spellings in an affidavit.

A checklist before any request goes out

• The addressee is the current holder or creditor, not just the name on the commitment.
• The recording reference matches the recorded instrument, digit for digit.
• Any amount in the letter appears in the commitment or the recorded document.
• The letter asks for a statement or document, rather than stating one.
• The closing date and a reply contact are present.
• The task list notes who sent the request and when.

The step before this one, reading the commitment itself, is in how to review a title commitment.

How ClearCurative does this step

ClearCurative sorts each requirement and exception into one of these kinds: payoff and release, judgment satisfaction, estoppel, municipal lien search, name affidavit, a matter for the examiner's decision, or an exception that stays. Each item keeps the page it came from. Code then fills the request letters and affidavits as Word drafts from fields it has checked: the addressee, the recording reference and, where the quote supports it, the original principal or judgment amount. If the addressee or the reference fails its check, the draft carries a bracketed placeholder for you to fill in; an amount that fails is left out. A payoff request never states a payoff figure.

Items that need your decision, or that a recorded release appears to have cleared, produce no letter and are listed at the top of the task list and in the full result. You edit, sign and send the drafts yourself, and nothing is sent for you. A second, stronger AI model reviews every result and lists what is left for you to decide; the drafting model corrects the serious problems the review finds, and code checks every correction. Results are not verified by a person. One commitment is 22 credits. You can sign up and try it.

Questions

What is the difference between a payoff statement and a release?

A payoff statement is the lender's figure for what must be paid, good through a stated date. The release is the recorded document, issued after payment, that removes the lien from the record.

Can a standard exception be removed from a commitment?

Sometimes. Whether an exception such as survey matters can be removed or narrowed depends on the underwriter, the state and what the seller or buyer can provide. Ask your underwriter before promising it.

Should a curative letter state the amount owed?

For a mortgage payoff, no. The lender supplies the payoff figure. Letters should identify the loan by its recorded reference and original amount, then ask for a statement good through closing.