AI data licensing for title and settlement companies

Documented curative work may help an AI developer train or test a system that resolves conflicting information. A useful example would connect the issue, the evidence reviewed, the professional decision and the resolution.

DataPayouts found 1,417 employer firms in title abstract and settlement offices that belonged to enterprises with at least 10 paid employees in 2022. They represented 20.8% of employer firms in the industry and accounted for 84.1% of annual payroll, or $4.40 billion. Census SUSB 2022

The seller and buyer must establish whether the company retained useful records and can license them for the proposed use.

Company size and payroll

Census reported 6,803 employer firms, 9,762 establishments and 74,320 March employees in NAICS 541191, Title Abstract and Settlement Offices. Annual payroll was $5.23 billion.

Subtracting the under-five and five-to-nine enterprise groups gives the 1,417 firms in enterprises with 10+ employees. Their title and settlement operations covered 4,347 establishments. Within this group, 1,353 firms belonged to enterprises with 10-499 employees and accounted for approximately $2.42 billion in payroll. Census source data and DataPayouts calculations

In 2022 U.S. title abstract and settlement data, the 10+ paid-employee enterprise group accounted for 20.8% of employer firms, 78.7% of paid employment and 84.1% of annual payroll. — We calculated these shares from 2022 Census SUSB data using 2017 NAICS code 541191. Each percentage uses the matching industry total. The 10+ group uses paid employment across the whole enterprise. Employee counts include part-time staff and exclude independent contractors. Businesses with no paid employees are excluded.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 SUSB

We calculated these shares from 2022 Census SUSB data using 2017 NAICS code 541191. Each percentage uses the matching industry total. The 10+ group uses paid employment across the whole enterprise. Employee counts include part-time staff and exclude independent contractors. Businesses with no paid employees are excluded.
Measure	Share in enterprises with 10+ paid employees (%)
Employer firms	20.829
Paid employment	78.6598
Annual payroll	84.0627

The category covers establishments primarily engaged in title research, settlement-document preparation, closings and related filing. Primary title-insurance underwriting and policy sales, law practices and standalone real estate escrow services are classified elsewhere. The 1,417 count therefore applies to this category of employer firms. It cannot be used as a total for the broader title industry. Census NAICS manual

Document counts and connected cases

ALTA and ndp | analytics published a title-production study summary in March 2026. It was based on a 2025 online survey with more than 449 responses.

The authors reported that 82% of purchase transactions required review of at least 11 documents and 21% involved more than 50. For refinances, 59% required at least 11 documents. Half of transactions involved nine or more document sources. ALTA study summary

In the 2025 ALTA / ndp survey, 82% of purchase transactions and 59% of refinance transactions required 11 or more documents. — ALTA and ndp | analytics published these findings in March 2026 from an online survey conducted in 2025. The survey received more than 449 responses. Respondents reported transaction complexity. Purchase and refinance percentages use separate transaction totals.
Sources: ALTA / ndp | analytics, March 2026 summary

ALTA and ndp | analytics published these findings in March 2026 from an online survey conducted in 2025. The survey received more than 449 responses. Respondents reported transaction complexity. Purchase and refinance percentages use separate transaction totals.
Transaction type	Share requiring 11+ documents (%)
Purchase	82
Refinance	59

An AI developer could use linked case records to test whether a system reconciles information across documents. A reviewed example might identify inconsistent descriptions, the evidence used to resolve them and the point at which a reviewer accepted the correction.

That possible use requires more preparation than collecting documents. Each case needs enough context for an evaluator to understand the decision. Missing steps or unexplained exceptions can make the expected answer difficult to assess.

The number of complete, reviewed cases may therefore be more useful to a buyer than the total file count. A sample can establish whether the links and explanations support the proposed task.

Employment and wages

BLS reported 56,612 annual-average covered jobs at private title abstract and settlement establishments in 2025. Employers paid $4.46 billion in wages, with average annual pay of $78,775 per covered job. BLS QCEW 2025

The figures cover several occupations and include part-time jobs. Coverage excludes some businesses and workers in the broader title industry, and wages exclude employer benefit costs. BLS definitions

These employment and compensation figures cannot establish how much work produced reusable records or what an archive could earn from licensing.

A commercial assessment needs a specific buyer use, a sample and a calculation of preparation costs. It also needs confirmation that the proposed use is permitted. An arbitrary percentage of historical payroll cannot replace those checks.

Existing AI uses in title work

Qualia describes AI features in Clear for title review, curative tasks and transaction coordination. The company also states that it does not use customer data to train AI models. These pages describe its products and data practices; they provide no offer to purchase an outside archive. Qualia Clear and Qualia data protection

First American has described AI methods for analyzing property descriptions and improving automated title production. Its patent announcement provides an example of using extracted text, matching and reference information. It gives no disclosed price for licensing another company's curative records. First American announcement

An independent title or settlement company may have material relevant to these tasks. Possible collections for review include the following:

Original curative guides can connect a defect to the evidence and steps required to resolve it.
Reviewed training cases can explain an exception or discrepancy after appropriate privacy preparation.
Company-authored recording guides can document rejection reasons and successful corrections.
Post-closing review examples can explain why a file passed or needed further work.

A buyer would need to test the usefulness of each proposed collection. It would also need to distinguish a professionally reviewed outcome from an assumption based only on whether the transaction closed.

Records and permissions

An initial assessment can use record descriptions and approximate counts. A later inventory can identify the jurisdictions and years covered by each production, document and communication system. It can also identify export options and gaps after system migrations.

The review should establish whether issue logs, messages and final resolutions remain linked. It must also distinguish company-authored explanations from purchased title-plant content, underwriter forms and other third-party material.

Customer financial documents and private transaction communications need a separate privacy and contractual review. Removing names may leave addresses, account details or combinations of facts that identify someone. The handling plan should address those risks before a sample is transferred.

A focused collection may be easier to assess when its review standards are consistent and its outcomes are explained. The buyer still needs enough relevant examples to test the task, and the expected payment must justify the preparation and continuing obligations.

Start the DataPayouts fit check with your company, systems and record categories. The form collects no closing files or escrow details. A detailed inventory can follow if further review is appropriate.

Data sources and limitations

Company-size results use Census SUSB 2022 and 2017 NAICS 541191. The 2022 release remained the latest SUSB data available on October 7, 2026. We calculated the 10+ group by subtracting the under-five and five-to-nine groups from total employer firms.

Enterprise size includes employment across the associated company. Payroll and establishment counts refer to its title and settlement operations. Census employment is March paid headcount, including full-time and part-time workers without conversion to full-time equivalents. Census adjusted published employment and payroll values to protect confidentiality.

BLS figures use private U.S. QCEW annual averages for 2025, which have a different employment reference period. ALTA findings are survey estimates. All dollar amounts are nominal. Dataset eligibility and licensing price require a separate review.