{
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  "recordType": "question",
  "id": "what-is-a-preliminary-report-california",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/what-is-a-preliminary-report-california",
  "contentVersion": "2026.08.31",
  "generatedFor": "2026-09-07",
  "operator": {
    "legalName": "WJB Services, Inc.",
    "dba": "Bollinsure Insurance Services",
    "license": "6013787",
    "licenseAuthority": "California Department of Insurance"
  },
  "license": "Text on this page may be quoted with attribution and a link to the canonical URL.",
  "notice": "Public page facts only. This record contains no visitor question, no tool input, and no identifier. It is not a coverage determination, an eligibility decision, or individualized advice.",
  "question": "Is the preliminary report a search of my title, and are its exceptions problems being fixed?",
  "aliases": [
    "what is a preliminary title report California",
    "are preliminary report exceptions removed before closing",
    "is a prelim a representation about the title",
    "Insurance Code 12340.11 preliminary report",
    "difference between a preliminary report and an abstract of title"
  ],
  "directAnswer": "No to both, and the statute says so directly. A preliminary report, commitment or binder is furnished in connection with an application for title insurance and is an offer to issue a policy subject to the stated exceptions set forth in it. The same section provides that such reports are not abstracts of title and do not constitute a representation as to the condition of title. The exceptions are the terms of the offer, not a repair list.",
  "assumes": [
    "The transaction is Californian and the document is a preliminary report, commitment or binder as section 12340.11 uses those words.",
    "You are asking what the document is, rather than what any particular exception on yours refers to.",
    "A title policy is being contemplated, since the report is furnished in connection with an application for one."
  ],
  "whatChangesTheAnswer": [
    "Whether an exception is removed before the policy issues, since the report states the terms on which the issuer is willing to issue.",
    "Whether you are relying on the report or on the policy. Only the second is the contract; the first is the offer.",
    "Whether the document is actually an abstract of title, which is a representation intended to be relied upon and a different instrument entirely.",
    "What the underlying recorded matter is. The report names it; what it means for you is a question about that document rather than about the report."
  ],
  "variability": [
    "This is the California characterisation. Other states use commitments and binders whose legal effect is defined differently, and some rely on abstracts and attorney opinions rather than a title policy.",
    "The section defines what the report is. It does not decide what any particular exception on your report refers to or how serious it is.",
    "Whether an issuer will remove a given exception is a commercial and underwriting matter, not something the statute settles."
  ],
  "nextActions": [
    "Read the exceptions as the boundary of the policy being offered, and go through them before closing rather than after.",
    "Ask the issuer what each exception refers to and what would be required to remove it, since it states the terms on which it is willing to issue.",
    "Do not treat the report as confirmation that the title is sound; the statute says it is not a representation as to the condition of title.",
    "Keep the issued policy and its schedules, not just the report, because the policy is what answers a question years later.",
    "If something in the report matters to the purchase, take that document to a real property lawyer rather than to the title company alone."
  ],
  "confidence": "established",
  "reviewState": "under-review",
  "classification": {
    "family": "personal",
    "lines": [
      "title"
    ],
    "states": [
      "CA"
    ],
    "audience": "individual",
    "topics": [
      "title insurance",
      "preliminary report",
      "exceptions",
      "closing",
      "california"
    ]
  },
  "effectiveDate": "2026-09-06",
  "lastReviewed": "2026-09-06",
  "author": "Aaron Bollinger",
  "reviewer": "Brian Bollinger",
  "sourceIds": [
    "ca-ins-code-12340-11",
    "ca-ins-code-12340-10"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "ca-ins-code-12340-11",
      "title": "California Insurance Code Section 12340.11 (a preliminary report is an offer, not a representation about the title)",
      "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)",
      "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS&sectionNum=12340.11",
      "sourceType": "statute",
      "jurisdiction": "CA",
      "authorityLevel": "primary-law",
      "primary": true,
      "publishedDate": "unknown",
      "effectiveDate": "unknown",
      "accessedDate": "2026-09-06",
      "lastChecked": "2026-09-06",
      "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation.",
      "status": "active",
      "supportsClaims": [
        "Section 12340.11 defines preliminary report, commitment, or binder as reports furnished in connection with an application for title insurance that are offers to issue a title policy subject to the stated exceptions set forth in the reports.",
        "Section 12340.11 provides that such reports are not abstracts of title.",
        "Section 12340.11 provides that such reports do not constitute a representation as to the condition of title to real property.",
        "Section 12340.11 provides that such reports do constitute a statement of the terms and conditions upon which the issuer is willing to issue its title policy, if the offer is accepted."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ca-ins-code-12340-10",
      "title": "California Insurance Code Section 12340.10 (what an abstract of title is, and that it is not a policy)",
      "publisher": "California Legislative Counsel (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)",
      "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS&sectionNum=12340.10",
      "sourceType": "statute",
      "jurisdiction": "CA",
      "authorityLevel": "primary-law",
      "primary": true,
      "publishedDate": "unknown",
      "effectiveDate": "unknown",
      "accessedDate": "2026-09-06",
      "lastChecked": "2026-09-06",
      "updateCadence": "Amended only by legislation.",
      "status": "active",
      "supportsClaims": [
        "Section 12340.10 defines abstract of title as a written representation, provided pursuant to a contract whether written or oral, intended to be relied upon by the person who has contracted for the receipt of that representation, listing all recorded conveyances, instruments or documents which under the laws of this state impart constructive notice with respect to the chain of title to the real property described therein.",
        "Section 12340.10 provides that an abstract of title is not a title policy as defined in Section 12340.2."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "relatedQuestions": [
    {
      "id": "does-title-insurance-cover-future-problems-california",
      "url": "https://bestinsuranceresearch.com/questions/does-title-insurance-cover-future-problems-california"
    }
  ]
}