Real estate title glossary
What is Torrens title?
Also called: registered land, Torrens system
Definition
Under the Torrens system, title is registered with the government, which issues a certificate of title that is itself the conclusive evidence of ownership.
Most US land uses the recording system instead, where title is pieced together from recorded documents. A few counties still keep Torrens registrations, notably in Minnesota, Hawaii and parts of Massachusetts; Cook County, Illinois ended its Torrens system in 1997.
How it shows up in a title search
For Torrens land the certificate and its memorials are searched, not the general grantor-grantee index, so a search has to know which system a parcel is in.
Guides that go deeper
- Chain of Title: What It Is, an Example, and How It Differs From an Abstract of TitleA chain of title is the ordered record of every transfer of a property. A worked example, how gaps appear, and how it differs from an abstract of title.
- Cook County Deed Search: How to Look Up a Deed by Address, Name or PINHow to search Cook County deeds by address, name or PIN with the County Clerk, what copies cost, what the records cover, and what a deed search cannot tell you.
- County Recorder's Office: What It Records, What It Does Not, and How to Search ItA county recorder's office files and indexes deeds, mortgages and liens. See what it does not do, how it differs from the assessor and treasurer, and real figures.
Related terms
Source: Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 508 Registration of title (Torrens). Plain-English summary of general US usage; state law varies, and this is not legal advice.