How do I read a title commitment for easements?
Focus on Schedule B of the title commitment. This section lists every recorded exception, including easements, covenants, and rights-of-way that affect the property.
A title commitment is the title company's promise to issue a policy. Schedule A identifies the property and proposed insured. Schedule B lists the exceptions the policy will not cover, and that is where easements live.
Each Schedule B item should reference a recorded document, such as a deed book and page number or an instrument number. Use those references to pull the actual easement document from the county recorder.
Do not rely on the title commitment alone. The commitment summarizes the exception; the underlying document defines the easement's width, location, purpose, and restrictions. Read both together.
What to look for
- Schedule B exceptions labeled as easements, rights-of-way, or covenants.
- Recorded document references for each exception.
- The legal description and map or exhibit attached to the easement.
- Any blanket or unlocated easements that affect the whole parcel.
Related terms
General educational reference only. Prescription periods and their exceptions change, and several states set the period by case law rather than by statute. Read the linked official code and consult a licensed attorney in that state before relying on any of it.
Know your easements before you close
Upload your title commitment and get a plain-English easement audit in minutes.