American Land Title Association

The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is the national trade association and voice of the abstract* and title insurance industry. ALTA members search, review and insure land titles to protect home buyers and mortgage lenders who invest in real estate. ALTA is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Members of the association are in business in most counties across the nation. Nearly all title insurance companies hold ALTA membership, in addition to abstracters* and title agents. Nearly 3,000 title agents, abstracters, and title insurance companies are Active members, ranging from small, one-county operations, to large national title insurers. Title insurers or underwriters also conduct business internationally in nearly 100 countries worldwide. Associate members of ALTA may include attorneys, builders, developers, lenders, real estate brokers, surveyors, consultants, educational institutions, computer services firms, and related national trade associations.

The eleven-member ALTA Board of Governors is responsible for creating association policy, managing the financial health of the association, overseeing the work of 33 committees, and ensuring the overall welfare of the association.

• an abstracter is the person who prepares a summary (or abstract) of public records relating to title to a specific parcel of land.