Reviewed and approved by Samuel Corso, licensed Texas insurance agent.

Who pays for title insurance in Texas?

Whoever agrees to. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) puts it in one sentence: "The buyer and seller may negotiate who pays the premium."

That answer sounds unsatisfying until you learn the fact sitting behind it. In Texas, the title insurance premium is not set by the title company — it is set by TDI, and every licensed title company charges the same premium for the same policy. There is no cheaper title company to find. So who pays becomes a term of the deal, like the closing date or the repair credit, rather than a shopping exercise.

That also means the usual home-buying instinct — get three quotes, take the lowest — does nothing here, and buyers who spend their energy on it miss the two places where money and risk actually sit: the fees stacked around the policy, which are not fixed, and the title commitment, which is the document that tells you what the policy will refuse to cover.

Here's what we'll cover: what TDI says title insurance is and why it looks backwards rather than forwards, whether Texas requires it, the two policies and the $100 sentence that decides what an owner's policy really costs you, why every company quotes the same premium, where in a closing you can still shop, who gets to pick the title company, how to read the commitment before it becomes your policy, what a title policy doesn't cover, and how this fits with the home insurance you also have to have in place by closing day.

What title insurance actually insures

Every other policy you buy on a house covers things that haven't happened yet. Title insurance is the opposite: it covers things that already happened, before you owned the place, that nobody found at the time.

TDI's definition:

"Title insurance insures against financial loss caused by defects in title to real estate. Title insurance companies defend against lawsuits attacking the title, or in the case of a covered loss, reimburse the insured up to the policy limit."

And TDI is explicit that this is a different animal from the homeowners policy sitting next to it in your closing file:

"No, title insurance is different from other types of insurance. It doesn't insure against fire, flood, theft, or any other type of property damage or loss. It protects against losses from ownership problems that arose before you bought the property but were not known at the time you bought the property. It doesn't guarantee that you will be able to sell your property or borrow money on it."

Two words in there are doing the heavy lifting: before and not known. A problem created after your policy is issued isn't a title claim. A problem you already knew about isn't either. What the policy is for is the forged signature four owners back, the heir nobody knew existed, the contractor's lien from a job the previous owner never paid for.

TDI describes the search work that goes into finding those:

"Title insurance agents will identify problems with the title that need to be corrected before you buy your home or property. Agents check for problems with your title by looking at public records, including deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, tax records, liens, encumbrances, and maps."

That search is not a separate line item you can decline. In Texas it's inside the premium — which is the next surprise.

Is title insurance required in Texas?

TDI answers this one directly, and the answer has two halves:

"Texas does not require title insurance. The lender will require you to buy a Loan Policy of Title Insurance to protect their interest."

So for most buyers the practical answer is that a title policy is going to be part of the closing whether or not anyone consults you — just not necessarily your title policy. The loan policy protects the lender's interest in the property, up to the loan amount, and it shrinks as the loan is paid down. It does not protect your equity, and it does not defend you.

That's the distinction worth carrying into the closing: the policy the lender insists on is not the policy that covers you. If you're paying cash, nobody insists on anything, and the decision is entirely yours.

Our guide on whether home insurance is required in Texas covers the same question for the other policy in the file — the one your lender will also insist on, for the same reason.

Two policies, and the $100 sentence

TDI: "There are two types of policies: Owner's policy [and] Loan policy."

The pricing relationship between them is the single most useful fact in this guide, and most buyers never hear it:

"When an owner's policy and a loan policy are purchased at the same time, the loan policy is issued at a discounted price of $100. If you decide not to purchase an owner's policy, you will pay full price for the loan policy."

Read that twice. If you buy an owner's policy at closing, the lender's policy — which you are paying for either way — drops to $100. If you skip the owner's policy to save money, the loan policy reverts to full price. The saving from declining your own coverage is therefore not the whole owner's premium; it's the owner's premium minus the amount the loan policy goes back up by.

That doesn't decide the question for you. It does mean the honest version of the arithmetic is narrower than "do I want to spend this money," and it's worth having the actual two figures from your title agent before you decide.

Every title company charges the same premium

This is the fact that makes title insurance unlike anything else in the transaction. TDI, twice, plainly:

"Yes. Title insurance rates in Texas are regulated. All title companies will charge the same premium for a policy. Rates are based on the property's sale value."

"No. The premium rate is set by the Texas Department of Insurance. Each title agent is required to charge the same premium for a policy."

That second quote is TDI's answer to "can I get a discount on the price of my policy?" The answer is no, and it's no everywhere.

TDI's FAQ, last updated March 19, 2024, gives two worked examples of the basic premium: "the basic premium for a $50,000 property is $496, and the basic premium for a $100,000 property is $832." Those are TDI's published example figures rather than a quote for your purchase — rates are based on sale value and are set by the department, so the number for your price band comes from your title agent or from TDI, and it will be the same number wherever you ask.

Notice what those figures also tell you: the premium does not scale straight up with price. Doubling the property value in TDI's examples does not double the premium.

One more thing the premium includes, which surprises people who assume they're being billed twice:

"In Texas, the premium includes charges for additional services such as the title search, the title examination, and closing the transaction. You only pay the title policy premium once, at the closing of the sale."

Once. Not annually. Unlike your home policy, which you'll be paying every year for as long as you own the house — usually through escrow, which our guide on escrow and your mortgage walks through.

So where can you actually save money at closing?

Around the policy, not on it. TDI:

"You can shop around for cheaper escrow fees, or closing costs. These differ between agents."

"Most title companies add extra charges for things like tax certificates and escrow fees, recording fees, and delivery expenses. Review any extra charges carefully. Ask for documentation of the true cost of these services. You may ask to see your closing papers in advance. You may also have an attorney attend the closing with you."

Three practical moves are buried in that:

• Ask for the closing papers in advance. TDI says you may. Reading a settlement statement for the first time at the table, with a room waiting on you, is not reading it.
• Ask for documentation of the true cost of the add-on services. They differ between agents, which is another way of saying some of them are negotiable and the premium is not.
• Bring your own attorney if you want one. TDI names that as an option, and a title agent is not your lawyer.

If a title company's quote looks better than another's, the difference is not in the insurance. It is in these fees — so that's the line-by-line comparison worth making.

You choose the title company

Not the agent, not the builder, not the lender. TDI:

"You may choose any title company you want; you don't have to use a company selected by a real estate agent, builder, or lender."

In practice you will often be handed a recommendation, sometimes from a company affiliated with the party recommending it. A recommendation is fine. Being told it's mandatory is a different thing, and TDI's sentence is the one to have in mind when it happens. TDI also points buyers with a complaint about being steered toward the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees the federal settlement rules.

On licensing, TDI is direct: "You should always buy from a licensed company." And the verification route is a phone call — "To verify that a company is licensed, call TDI's Consumer Help Line at 800-252-3439." TDI adds the reason it matters: if you buy from an unlicensed company, "your claims could go unpaid."

The commitment is the document that matters

The policy arrives after closing. The commitment arrives before it, and it is the one you can still do something about. TDI:

"The title commitment comes before closing; the title policy is issued after closing. The commitment says that a title company is willing to issue title insurance under certain conditions and if the seller fixes certain problems."

And what it's for:

"The title commitment lists potential issues, exclusions, or exceptions. It alerts the buyer to issues that exist and could cause problems in the future. It does not guarantee that there are no current issues or that none will arise in the future. You should discuss how to clear potential issues with the title agent. You may want to review potential issues with a lawyer."

Then the sentence to act on:

"Read the title commitment carefully as these items can become exclusions or exceptions under Schedule B of your policy. Exceptions and exclusions are items not covered by the policy."

Schedule B is the list of things your policy will not cover. It is written before closing and it is the only part of the deal where an exception can still be removed — TDI: "The agent may be able to remove an exception, if a title problem is cleared up or if you buy additional coverage."

Texas title policy forms themselves are standardized, so the wording is not where the variation is:

"Title policy forms in Texas are promulgated, or standardized. This means most of the policy language is the same regardless of which company that sells the policy. Title agents are required to use the standardized forms. The parts of the policy that may be changed are the property description in Schedule A, the Exceptions in Schedule B, and the Exclusions."

One specific check TDI names, and it's the one that catches out buyers of rural and older-plot property:

"Check the policy's legal description of the land against your survey to confirm that what is being conveyed in your contract is accurate. Title insurance does not protect against boundary disputes with your neighbor, unless you purchase additional coverage."

What a title policy doesn't cover

TDI's list of general exclusions is worth reading before you assume the policy is a blanket. A title policy generally won't cover:

• "Defects that are created after the policy is issued."
• "Defects that you create, or of which you had knowledge."
• "Problems that arise because of your failure to pay your mortgage, or to obey applicable laws or restrictive covenants that were disclosed to you."
• "Certain taxes and assessments."
• "Losses resulting from rights claimed by someone else occupying the land." TDI notes the title company may need to inspect the property, and there may be a charge for that inspection.
• "Violations of building and zoning ordinances and other laws and regulations related to land use, land improvements, land division, and environmental protection."
• "Disclosed restrictive covenants limiting how you may use the property." TDI's advice: "Request copies of restrictions and have your attorney explain them."

Homestead, community property, and survivorship rights of a policyholder's spouse also sit outside the policy, as do certain claims where the property is near or crossed by water. If any of those describe your purchase, that's a conversation for your own attorney before closing rather than a coverage question afterwards.

And if a lien or an ownership claim does show up later, TDI's instruction is about speed: "Notify your title company immediately if someone files a lien or claims an interest in your property. Failure to do so could jeopardize your claim." The underwriter is named on the policy, and their claim-filing procedure is the route.

How this fits with the home insurance you also need

The two policies land in the same closing file and do opposite jobs. Title insurance closes the past: one premium, paid once, covering ownership problems that predate you. Home insurance opens the future: paid every year, covering the fire, the hail, the burst pipe.

The practical overlap is timing. Your lender will require proof of a home insurance policy in force before it funds, which makes home insurance one of the few closing items with a real deadline attached — and in a hard Texas market it is not always instant, particularly on older homes, homes with older roofs, or homes with prior claims. Buyers who leave it to the last week are the ones who discover that.

Our guide on home insurance when buying or selling a home in Texas covers the sequencing. If the house is older or the roof has age on it, home insurance for older homes and home insurance with an old roof cover what underwriters look at. And if you're building rather than buying, home insurance while building a house covers the coverage that runs during construction.

One thing to be plain about: Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas, and we place home and auto insurance. We do not sell title insurance and we have no financial interest in which title company you use. This page is here because the question comes up in the middle of a home purchase, which is exactly when the home insurance question comes up too.

What to do with this

• Treat "who pays" as a negotiating term, not a price question. TDI: the buyer and seller may negotiate who pays the premium.
• Ask your title agent for two figures: the owner's policy premium, and what the loan policy costs with and without it. The loan policy is $100 when issued alongside an owner's policy, and full price when it isn't.
• Don't shop the premium. It's set by TDI and identical everywhere. Shop the escrow fees, recording fees, tax certificates, and delivery charges — those differ between agents.
• Ask to see the closing papers in advance. TDI says you may.
• Verify the company is licensed — TDI's Consumer Help Line, 800-252-3439.
• Read the title commitment, and read Schedule B specifically. Exceptions there are what the policy won't cover, and before closing is the only time they can be cleared.
• Check the legal description against your survey. Boundary disputes aren't covered without additional coverage.
• Use your own attorney for the parts that are legal questions — restrictive covenants, homestead and survivorship rights, anything on Schedule B you don't understand.
• Start the home insurance quote early. It's the closing item with a real deadline and the one that can go slowly.

Key facts

• Who pays is negotiable. TDI: "The buyer and seller may negotiate who pays the premium."
• The price is not. TDI: "Title insurance rates in Texas are regulated. All title companies will charge the same premium for a policy."
• No discounts on the premium. TDI: "The premium rate is set by the Texas Department of Insurance. Each title agent is required to charge the same premium for a policy."
• TDI's published examples (FAQ last updated March 19, 2024): a "basic premium for a $50,000 property is $496," and for a "$100,000 property is $832."
• Texas doesn't require it; your lender will. TDI: "Texas does not require title insurance. The lender will require you to buy a Loan Policy of Title Insurance to protect their interest."
• The $100 rule. TDI: bought at the same time as an owner's policy, the loan policy "is issued at a discounted price of $100"; without an owner's policy, "you will pay full price for the loan policy."
• One premium, once. TDI: "You only pay the title policy premium once, at the closing of the sale," and it includes the search, the examination, and closing the transaction.
• It looks backwards. TDI: it covers "ownership problems that arose before you bought the property but were not known at the time you bought the property" — not fire, flood, or theft.
• You pick the company. TDI: "You may choose any title company you want; you don't have to use a company selected by a real estate agent, builder, or lender."
• Fees are where the shopping is. TDI: "You can shop around for cheaper escrow fees, or closing costs. These differ between agents."
• Schedule B is the exclusions list. TDI: commitment items "can become exclusions or exceptions under Schedule B of your policy."
• Boundaries need extra coverage. TDI: title insurance "does not protect against boundary disputes with your neighbor, unless you purchase additional coverage."
• Report a lien immediately. TDI: failure to notify the title company "could jeopardize your claim."

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance — Title insurance FAQ (last updated March 19, 2024), Title insurance. TDI's Consumer Help Line is 800-252-3439, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time; consumerprotection@tdi.texas.gov. Title premiums are set by TDI and based on sale value, so the figures above are TDI's published examples and not a quote; your title agent can give you the figure for your purchase. Policy exceptions and exclusions vary with the property and with what appears on your commitment. This page is general information, not legal advice; for a question about your own purchase, speak to your attorney or contact the Texas Department of Insurance.

Take the next step

If you take one thing from this page, make it the sequence: the title premium is fixed, so put your attention on the commitment and the fees — and put your urgency on the policy that isn't fixed and does have a deadline.

That's the home insurance. Your lender will want it in force before funding, quotes on Texas homes are not always instant, and roof age, home age, and prior claims can all slow an application down. It is the one item in a closing where starting a week earlier genuinely changes the outcome.

Credify is a licensed insurance agency in Texas (License #: 3309669). We compare quotes from multiple licensed Texas carriers in one short form, with no obligation; each insurer has sole responsibility for its own products. If you're mid-purchase, our guides on buying or selling a home and what the mortgage escrow account does cover what happens after the title policy is issued. 📞 Talk to Credify 24/7.