A New York title bill mixes four kinds of charges that look alike on the page but follow different rules. The premium and endorsements come from a rate manual filed with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and cannot be discounted or marked up. Ancillary fees, such as municipal searches and recording service charges, are set by the title company and must be disclosed, but no filed rate fixes them. Taxes and government recording fees are pass-throughs the title closer collects for the government. Closer charges, such as a pick-up fee, are customary and largely unregulated since a 2019 court decision.
This guide covers New York State rules as they apply in New York City and Westchester County, both of which are in Zone 2 of the Title Insurance Rate Service Association (TIRSA) rate manual. For how the premium itself is calculated, see what title insurance costs in NYC and Westchester.
How each charge is set
| Charge | Who sets it | Same at every company? |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | Filed TIRSA rate | Yes, except deviations |
| Endorsements | Filed TIRSA rate | Yes |
| Ancillary fees | Title company | Varies by company |
| Taxes, recording fees | Statute, government | Yes, set by law |
| Closer fees | Custom | Varies by closer |
Premium and endorsements: filed rates
Title insurers in New York charge from the TIRSA Rate Manual, Seventh Revision, effective October 1, 2024. Section 2(A) says manual charges cannot be waived, reduced or increased except as Insurance Law § 2339 allows. The only lawful variation is an approved deviation filed by a particular underwriter, which matters mainly for owner’s policies under $1 million.
In Zone 2, the premium already includes the title search and tax search for one tax lot, plus one continuation and one tax continuation (Section 3(C)). Additional tax lots are charged separately.
Endorsements add or modify coverage, and each carries its own filed charge. Many common residential endorsements are a flat $50 each. Some carry no charge, and a few are priced as a percentage of the premium. Examples, as listed in an underwriter’s 2024 endorsement pricing chart that cites the manual sections:
| Endorsement | Policy | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| TIRSA Residential Mortgage (1-4 family) | Loan | $50 |
| TIRSA Waiver of Arbitration | Owner’s or loan | $50 |
| TIRSA Environmental Protection Lien | Owner’s or loan | $50 |
| TIRSA Condominium | Owner’s or loan | $50 |
| TIRSA Planned Unit Development | Owner’s or loan | $50 |
| ALTA 6-06 Variable Rate Mortgage | Loan | $50 |
| ALTA 9 series (residential) | Owner’s or loan | $50 each |
| TIRSA Market Value Endorsement | Owner’s | 10% of owner’s rate |
| Standard New York Endorsement | Owner’s or loan | No charge |
| TIRSA Cooperative Endorsement | Owner’s or loan | No charge |
The no-charge endorsements are listed in Section 33(A) of the manual, and the ALTA 9 charges are in Section 30. Lenders usually dictate which endorsements go on the loan policy; their closing instructions are the place to confirm the list. On the owner’s side, endorsements are the buyer’s choice.
An endorsement charge is a filed rate just like the premium. If a title bill shows an endorsement at a different price, ask which manual section supports it.
Ancillary fees: separate, disclosed, not rate-filed
The manual is explicit that the premium does not include ancillary services, which “may include, but are not limited to, searches of municipal departments” (Section 3(D)). Section 2(G) also allows extra charges for closing attendance beyond two hours and for unusual travel.
Typical ancillary lines in NYC and Westchester:
- Municipal or departmental searches. In NYC these are searches of building, fire, street, emergency repair and similar records, often including Department of Buildings, OATH/ECB and HPD violations. In Westchester they are searches of the local building department and certificate of occupancy records, which vary by municipality. See NYC property violations at closing and Westchester open permits and certificates of occupancy.
- Name searches. Patriot Act (OFAC), bankruptcy and similar searches on the parties.
- Survey inspection. For residential property without a current survey acceptable to the company, Section 2(J)(1) of the manual lets the company charge to omit, by inspection, the exception for changes since the existing survey.
- Recording service charge. A title company’s fee for handling recording, separate from the government fee.
- Escrow, overnight delivery and administrative fees.
Two rules govern these fees today. Under Insurance Law § 2119(f), a title insurance agent may charge a fee only for ancillary services not included in the approved premium, and only under a written memorandum signed by the party charged that states each service’s amount and the total. Under 11 NYCRR § 35.6, part of DFS Regulation 206, insurers must publish their ancillary and discretionary fees on their websites, agents must post their fees at their place of business and online and give applicants a written copy, and the agent must give the applicant a list of actual title costs at or before closing.
Because these fees are set by the company rather than a filed rate, they can differ between title companies. They are the part of the bill worth comparing.
Taxes and government recording fees: pass-throughs
The title closer typically collects the mortgage recording tax, the New York State transfer tax, the NYC Real Property Transfer Tax or a Westchester city transfer tax, and the county clerk or City Register recording fees, then pays them to the government at recording. The title company does not set or keep these amounts. They are often the largest numbers on the bill.
- Mortgage recording tax: see mortgage recording tax in NYC and Westchester.
- State transfer tax is $2 per $500 of consideration under Tax Law § 1402, with higher rates on large NYC conveyances.
- Westchester city transfer taxes: see Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Peekskill transfer taxes.
- Recording fees depend on the number of documents and pages. In NYC (except Staten Island) documents are recorded with the Department of Finance’s City Register; in Staten Island and Westchester, with the county clerk.
A title bill sometimes bundles a government recording fee with the company’s own recording charge on one line. Ask for them to be split.
Closer fees: customary, not set by a rate
The title closer may charge a pick-up fee for taking the seller’s mortgage payoff checks to the lender after closing. This is customarily a seller cost. The NYSBA practice surveys for Kings County and Westchester both describe a pick-up fee, and the Westchester survey notes that the closer’s attendance is included in the premium there (see who does what at a New York closing). The rate manual does not set a pick-up fee, so the amount varies by company and closer. The seller’s attorney should ask for it before closing.
The Regulation 208 history, and what survives
DFS Regulation 208 (11 NYCRR Part 228) tried to cap ancillary fees and closer payments in § 228.5. For residential closings it capped Patriot, bankruptcy and municipal searches at 200% of cost, recording service at $25 per document plus government fees, survey inspection at $75 plus the surveyor’s cost, overnight mail at cost and escrow at $50. It also required the company, not the applicant, to pay the closer, and required three days’ notice to the seller of any payoff fee.
On January 15, 2019, the Appellate Division, First Department, in Matter of New York State Land Title Assn. v. New York State Dept. of Financial Services, 169 AD3d 18, annulled § 228.5(a)(1)-(3) (the search fee caps) and § 228.5(d)(1)-(2) (the closer payment rules) and upheld the rest of the regulation, including the inducement ban in § 228.2 and the rate rules in § 228.3. DFS then issued Insurance Circular Letter No. 2a (2019), stating that “the ancillary fee and closer payment restrictions in Section 228.5” were annulled and that insurers and agents are not required to comply with them.
The court’s order names only (a)(1)-(3) and (d)(1)-(2). The caps in (a)(4)-(8), covering municipality-billed searches, recording service, survey inspection, overnight mail and escrow, were not among the annulled subdivisions, and at least one underwriter told its agents in January 2020 that those caps remain in effect, while noting the broader wording of the DFS circular letter. In practice:
- Patriot, bankruptcy and most municipal and departmental search fees are no longer capped. They must still be disclosed.
- Recording service, survey inspection, escrow and overnight caps are treated by at least some underwriters as still in force.
- Closer pick-up fees and direct payments are not restricted by § 228.5(d). The inducement rules in § 228.2, which bar giving things of value to steer title business, still apply.
The numbering trap
DFS numbers its regulations differently from the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR). Regulation 206 is 11 NYCRR Part 35, the disclosure and closer rules. Regulation 208 is 11 NYCRR Part 228, the inducement and fee rules partly annulled in 2019. A reference to “Part 206” or “Section 208” is almost always a mix-up.
An annotated bill (hypothetical)
This is an illustrative buyer’s title bill for a purchase in Zone 2 with a bank loan. Premium figures are taken from Example 1 in what title insurance costs at the TIRSA rate. Search, recording and tax amounts are left as placeholders because they depend on the property, the title company and the documents.
| Line | Amount | Category | Fixed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner’s policy, $800,000 | $3,525 | Premium | TIRSA rate |
| Loan policy, $640,000 (simultaneous) | $734 | Premium | TIRSA rate |
| Residential Mortgage endorsement | $50 | Endorsement | TIRSA rate |
| Environmental Protection Lien endorsement | $50 | Endorsement | TIRSA rate |
| ALTA 6-06 Variable Rate (ARM only) | $50 | Endorsement | TIRSA rate |
| Municipal departmental searches | Varies | Ancillary | Company |
| Patriot and bankruptcy searches | Varies | Ancillary | Company |
| Survey inspection | Varies | Ancillary | Company |
| Recording service charge | Varies | Ancillary | Company |
| Deed and mortgage recording fees | Varies | Pass-through | Government |
| Mortgage recording tax | Varies | Pass-through | Statute |
On the seller’s side, a separate bill or a seller section usually carries the transfer taxes and any pick-up fee for the payoff.
How to review a title bill before closing
- Ask for a pro forma bill several days before closing. It should itemize every line, not show a single total.
- Check the premium against an underwriter’s New York rate calculator, and ask which underwriter’s paper the owner’s policy is on, since that determines whether a deviation applies.
- Match each endorsement to the lender’s closing instructions or the owner’s request, and confirm its filed charge.
- Compare ancillary fees with the company’s posted fee schedule required by 11 NYCRR § 35.6. Ask what each municipal search covers.
- Separate pass-throughs from company charges, especially on recording lines.
- Confirm closer charges in advance, including any pick-up fee, so the seller’s attorney can budget for it.
Official sources
- TIRSA Rate Manual, Seventh Revision, effective October 1, 2024 (Sections 2(A), 2(G), 2(J), 3(C), 3(D), 30, 33)
- NY Insurance Law § 2119, including (f) on title agent ancillary fees
- NY Insurance Law § 2339, charging of rates and deviations
- 11 NYCRR § 35.6 (Regulation 206), disclosure of fees and other charges
- 11 NYCRR § 228.5 (Regulation 208), ancillary or other discretionary fees
- Matter of New York State Land Title Assn. v. NYS Dept. of Financial Services, 2019 NY Slip Op 00245 (1st Dept, Jan. 15, 2019)
- DFS Insurance Circular Letter No. 2a (2019)
- NY Tax Law § 1402, real estate transfer tax
- Stewart Title 2024 New York endorsement pricing chart and bulletin NY000634 (January 2020)