Examination of court decisions, deeds, public land records, and other relevant documents to verify that (1) the seller or mortgagor of a property is its legal owner, and (2) there are no pending legal encumbrances such as liens, restrictive covenants, taxes, or other claims that may affect the value of the property and/or the marketability of the title. Also called title examination, it is usually conducted either by a professional title abstractor or a law clerk, and reviewed by an attorney at law.