A chain of title is the sequence of historical transfers of title to a property . The "chain" runs from the present owner back to the original owner of the property. In situations where documentation of ownership is important, it is often necessary to reconstruct the chain of title. To facilitate this, a record of title documents may be maintained by a registry office or civil law notary .

Chain of title for real property

Real estate is one field where the chain of title has considerable significance. Various registration systems, such as the Torrens title system, have developed to track the ownership of individual pieces of real property . In real estate transactions in the United States, insurance companies issue title insurance based upon the chain of title to the property when it is transferred. Title insurance companies sometimes maintain private title plants that track real estate titles in addition to the official records. In other cases, the chain of title is established by a abstract of title , sometimes, although not always, certified by an attorney .