The abstract is a memorandum containing concise summaries of all documents filed in the public records that affect or impair the parcel of land. Organized in chronological order of recording, the abstract includes brief statements of the substance of each instrument of conveyance, every judicial proceeding, all liens, every encumbrance, and all other documents of public record that relate to or affect the particular parcel of land. In theory, an abstract of title for a specific parcel of land should begin with the initial transfer of the property from the sovereign and continue until the day of closing.

A century ago, county clerks and recorders searched titles and made abstracts of title; but today, private individuals, firms and corporations are the abstractors who conduct the business of abstracting titles. Generally, the abstractor is liable to his employer for damages caused by the abstractor's negligence such as the omission of instruments that are filed in the public records and relate to the parcel that is the subject of the search.

The employer is in privity or contract with the abstractor, whose liability for the omission is founded upon breach of his express or implied contract. The employer may proceed against the abstractor in an action founded in contract or tort, but one who is not in privity of contract, such as a subsequent purchaser or mortgagee, is limited to an action in tort against the abstractor for damages caused by the abstractor's negligence.

The final part of the abstract must incorporate the abstractor's certificate, which is a statement prepared by the abstractor and appended in the end of the abstract.

The format and wording of the certificate is conformed to local practice, and varies from state to state.

An abstract of title does not guarantee or assure the validity of the title of the property. Instead, the abstract is designed to disclose documents filed in the public records that affect the land.

To rely on an abstract, a title examiner must verify that the abstract is complete and contains the following requirements:

• The legal description of the land involved.
• The date and hour at which the search was commenced.
• The date and hour at which the search was terminated.
• The number of pages that compose the certified period of the search.
• A listing of the public records that were searched.
• A listing of the public records that were not searched, if any.
• A statement that the abstract shows:
  
  
  • All the conveyances and other instruments of record that affect the real estate described, and filed in the public records;
    
    
  • Every special clause or condition or any kind or nature other than the standard covenants of general warranty and quit claim which appear in such instruments;
    
    
  • The signatures to the several instruments are of record as shown;
    
    
  • All acknowledgments shown are regular in form, except as otherwise noted.
    
    
• A disclaimer stating that no other documents relevant to the title to the particular parcel of land was found, except as shown in the abstract.
  
  
• The abstractor's signature and the date of issuance of the certificate.
  
  
• Whether the abstractor has been licensed or bonded (applicable only in those states that require licensing or bonding).

A title examiner verifies the following matters:

• the abstract has been properly certified in accordance with local practices, statutory provisions, or standards of examination.
  
  
• there is continuity of time in the chain of certificates contained in the abstract (if there is more than one).
  
  
• if the abstract designates certain public records have not been searched by the abstractor, the examiner must make a search of these records at state and federal courts.
  
  
• that the legal description shown in the abstract is the same one to be used in the title commitment or policy.
  
  
• that the taxes and special assessment searches do not except any portion of the land certified in the abstracts.
  
  
• that the date and time of the certificate coincide with the date and time of the commitment or policy.