Title and transfer

Torrens system

A registration system in which the state itself certifies who owns the land

Instead of recording documents and leaving each buyer to trace them, a court proceeding settles ownership once and a certificate issues; later transfers are registered against that certificate. The register states the title rather than merely holding the evidence of it.

Only a small number of jurisdictions ever adopted it and some have since abolished it. Whether it operates where you practice is a state question.

How the exam asks about it

Set against the recording system used almost everywhere else, where the register holds documents and title has to be traced through them by an abstractor or an insurer.

Quick check: Torrens system

One question. Pick an answer to see the explanation.

Which term is being defined: “A registration system in which the state itself certifies who owns the land”?

Related terms

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