What does it cost to hire a title examiner in Memphis?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $49,810 median wage in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,962 to $14,943 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a title examiner in Memphis look like?

Employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area pay title examiners, abstractors, and searchers a median of $49,810, with the middle half of the market between $39,180 and $61,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,180 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring a title examiner in Memphis, TN

Employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area pay title examiners, abstractors, and searchers a median of $49,810 a year, with the middle half of the market between $39,180 and $61,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-2093). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Memphis residents in legal work earn more than employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area pay?

Memphis residents working in legal occupations earn a median of $90,402 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $84,590 as the median of the 6 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 7%, with the residents figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole legal group, not this one role. In the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area the group covers 6 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from title examiners, abstractors, and searchers at $49,810 to lawyers at $134,440 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 6 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Memphis and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does a title examiner earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to title examiners, abstractors, and searchers by employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-2093.
25th percentile	$39,180
Median	$49,810
75th percentile	$61,550

Half of title examiners, abstractors, and searchers in this area earn between $39,180 and $61,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,180 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 23-2093 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Memphis residents earn

$90,402

Median annual earnings of Memphis residents working in legal occupations, 3,071 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Examine documentation such as mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, plat books, maps, contracts, and agreements to verify factors such as properties' legal descriptions, ownership, or restrictions.
Examine individual titles to determine if restrictions, such as delinquent taxes, will affect titles and limit property use.
Prepare reports describing any title encumbrances encountered during searching activities and outlining actions needed to clear titles.
Copy or summarize recorded documents, such as mortgages, trust deeds, and contracts, that affect property titles.
Verify accuracy and completeness of land-related documents accepted for registration, preparing rejection notices when documents are not acceptable.

Task statements for SOC 23-2093, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, Google Workspace software, Microsoft Access, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 23-2093 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Memphis?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma. O*NET OnLine, SOC 23-2093.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 28.2% of Memphis adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Memphis aged 25 and over.

The average Memphis commute runs 21.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 8% of Memphis workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Memphis.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Shelby County, legal services employs 2,716 and turns over 6.7% a quarter, with 210 hires against 222 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $8,226 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5411.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about title examiners, abstractors, and searchers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $49,810 median in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $9,962 to $14,943 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a title examiner in Memphis

What does it cost to hire a title examiner in Memphis?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $49,810 median wage in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $9,962 to $14,943 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a title examiner in Memphis look like?: Employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area pay title examiners, abstractors, and searchers a median of $49,810, with the middle half of the market between $39,180 and $61,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $39,180 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Memphis residents in legal work earn more than employers in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area pay?: Memphis residents working in legal occupations earn a median of $90,402 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $84,590 as the median of the 6 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 7%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Memphis?: This is a job zone 2 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 28.2% of Memphis adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a title examiner somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other legal roles in Memphis

Memphis is the 2nd largest of 3 Tennessee cities in this dataset.