Who picks the title company in Tennessee?
You do. Not your agent, not your lender, not the other side. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, the Tennessee contract has a place for you to choose who closes for you, and a new Tennessee law effective July 1, 2026 protects that choice for both sides.
Most people never make this choice, because nobody tells them it's theirs. Someone at the table says "we usually use so-and-so," and that's who closes the biggest transaction of their life. Here's why the choice is yours, what you give up when you hand it to a title company, and the one question to ask before you say yes.
The contract gives each side its own line. Most people let someone else fill it in.
A new Tennessee law protects both the buyer and the seller, starting July 1, 2026: Public Chapter 769 (House Bill 569), now Tennessee Code § 56-35-134 and § 56-35-135. And here's what most people never know.
Your right to pick your own legal representation is written into the contract itself. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, the Tennessee contract has you covered: there's a place in it for you to decide who closes for you. Don't let anyone else decide it for you. It matters more than you might think.
Because the moment you write in a title company, you give that right away. A title company can't legally represent you, so your options end where its neutrality begins. There's a reason the contract gives the buyer a choice and the seller a choice. Make yours count. Write in Vanderpool Law.
Tennessee REALTORS®' own forms recommend that you seek the advice of an attorney, and nationally the REALTOR® Code of Ethics tells agents to recommend one whenever your interests require it.1 Here's why the title company can't be that attorney. Under Tennessee law a title company is not an attorney and is prohibited from giving you legal advice.2 Period. That may sound shocking, but it's the truth.
Even when a title company has an attorney, that lawyer doesn't work for you unless all three agree to it, the attorney, the title company and you, with the consents in writing, which almost never happens. The lawyer works for the title company, whose job is to move the deal along and stay neutral. Neutral is great until something goes wrong, and something always goes wrong. Is that who you want next to you on the biggest transaction of your life, when Vanderpool Law costs the same?
1 Tennessee REALTORS® form RF 304, Disclaimer Notice: a recommended company is furnished "only as a convenience and a courtesy"; you may select "any" service provider of your choice; licensees "are not legal or tax experts" and you "should seek the advice of an attorney" on contracts and title. National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, Article 13: REALTORS® "shall not engage in activities that constitute the unauthorized practice of law and shall recommend that legal counsel be obtained when the interest of any party to the transaction requires it." 2 Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103 (no corporation or association may practice law or do law business); § 23-3-101 ("law business" includes "the advising or counseling for valuable consideration of any person as to any secular law").Many brokerages, and some agents, have a financial relationship with a title company. Some of the biggest in Middle Tennessee do. It was disclosed to you, on one of the hundred and fifty pages you signed when you started buying or selling, so it may have slipped right past you.
Apply common sense. Does that relationship help you or hurt you? When a title company gets its business from a brokerage, where does its loyalty fall: to you, or to the relationship that sends the business? There's an old saying: follow the money. You'll figure it out pretty quickly.
Source: the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, § 8(c)(4), and 12 C.F.R. § 1024.15, which allow these "affiliated business arrangements" only with a written disclosure to you.Your agent and your lender will each have a name ready for that blank. Your agent's recommendation is a convenience; their own forms say so and tell you to seek the advice of an attorney on contracts and title. Your lender can approve your choice but can't make it for you, and the federal CFPB says title services are the largest category of closing costs and that in most cases you can shop for them. The blank is yours.
The better question: who will protect me?
Picking who closes feels like picking a vendor. It isn't. It's picking who sits next to you on the biggest financial move you'll ever make.
The only question that matters: "Will your attorney represent ME at closing?" Ask it before you write anything in that space. We can already answer it for you. The Tennessee legislature and the Rules of Professional Conduct have answered it, and the answer is a resounding no. Neither a title company nor the attorney at the title company can represent you in the transaction. The one narrow exception, a dual role, takes all three: an attorney who reasonably believes they can serve both sides, and written consent from both the title company and you after a full explanation of the risks. It almost never happens.3 If what you hear instead is "there will be an attorney at the closing table," that's not a yes. One Middle Tennessee title company now makes buyers and sellers sign a disclaimer admitting exactly that. They've said the quiet part out loud. At Vanderpool Law, the answer is yes, in writing.
3 The exception: a lawyer who represents you under a signed engagement letter, either through their own law practice or, far more rarely, the title company's own attorney in a dual role, which the ethics rules allow only if the attorney reasonably believes they can represent both sides and both the title company and you give informed consent, confirmed in writing, after being told how serving both sides could affect the lawyer's judgment. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103; Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.13, 1.7(b) and 1.8(f); Formal Ethics Opinions 80-F-2 and 2017-F-164.Want a lawyer on your side? Hire one. It costs the same.
Most people never think about having an attorney for a closing. Too expensive, they assume. At Vanderpool Law, a standard closing costs the same as a title company. We're a law firm that offers title services: the title search, the title insurance, the closing and the recording, the same work for the same fee. The difference is that we represent you. So when the contract asks for your closing agency, write in Vanderpool Law.
| Title company | Vanderpool Law | |
|---|---|---|
| Title search, title insurance, escrow, recording | Yes | Yes |
| Closing fee | Standard | Same standard fee |
| Who the attorney works for | The company. Even an "attorney-owned" title company's attorney is not your attorney unless the attorney, the title company and you all agree to it, in writing. | You, under a signed engagement letter. |
| Legal advice on your contract | Not allowed under Tennessee law. | Contract review, included when you close with us. |
| Before you sign | Nothing. They see the file after the contract. | Presearch, contract review, preliminary settlement statement and savings check, all complimentary. You have to ask. |
| Referral fees | Banned for everyone under federal law (RESPA § 8). | Banned, and a Tennessee lawyer may not pay anyone for recommending the firm either (Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 7.3(f)). |
| Ownership ties to agents, brokerages or lenders | Allowed as an "affiliated business arrangement," with a disclosure form (RESPA § 8(c)(4)). | None. |
Don't sign a contract that names a settlement agency you didn't choose. Send it to us first. It's the hour that decides how the rest goes.
Questions people ask
Open what you want. It's all on the page for search engines and AI assistants too.
Does my real estate agent pick the title company?
No. An agent can recommend one, and the Tennessee REALTORS® disclaimer form (RF 304) says that recommendation is "only as a convenience and a courtesy." You may choose any settlement agency or attorney you like. Agents aren't trained legally and the form itself tells you to seek the advice of an attorney on contracts and title. That isn't only Tennessee: the national REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires agents to recommend legal counsel whenever a party's interests call for it.
Sources: Tennessee REALTORS® form RF 304, Disclaimer Notice; National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, Article 13.Does my lender pick the title company?
No. Your lender can approve your choice, and must give you a list of companies you may use, but it can't require you to buy title insurance through a particular company as a condition of the loan (Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-8-106). The CFPB encourages borrowers to shop for title services. On a refinance, shopping usually saves real money.
Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-8-106; CFPB, "Shop for title insurance and other closing services."Can the seller make me use their title company?
On a resale home, the settlement agency listed for the buyer on the contract is the one that issues the title insurance, from July 1, 2026. So the place to settle this is the contract, before you sign it. If a contract in front of you names a settlement agency you didn't choose, don't sign it until that's fixed. The seller is free to hire their own attorney for their side of the closing.
Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-35-135 (Public Chapter 769, effective July 1, 2026).What changed in Tennessee on July 1, 2026?
Public Chapter 769 added Tennessee Code § 56-35-135. The settlement agency listed for the buyer or borrower on the contract is "exclusively authorized to act as the issuing title insurance agency," subject to the lender's approval. It applies to purchases of, and loans on, homes with one to four units. It does not apply to the first sale of new construction or to auction sales, and no one can waive it. A second new section, § 56-35-134, says that if two title agencies share the fees on one closing, both parties must be told in writing and sign an acknowledgment.
Source: Public Chapter 769 (House Bill 569), Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 56-35-134 and 56-35-135.I'm the seller. Do I get my own attorney?
Yes. The 2026 law decides who issues the title insurance; it doesn't take away your right to be represented. A seller's attorney prepares the deed, reviews the closing documents, checks the payoff and the numbers, and answers your questions, which the buyer's title company can't do for you. Vanderpool Law represents sellers for the same closing fee a title company charges.
Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-35-135; Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103; our experience over 15,000 closings.Who does the title company's attorney represent?
Not you, unless the attorney, the title company and you all agree to it, with the consents in writing, and here is what that takes. "Attorney-owned," "attorney-led" and "attorney-supervised" are marketing labels; each may be true, and each can leave you believing you have legal representation when you don't.
A title company is a business, and Tennessee law prohibits any corporation or association from practicing law. A title company cannot give you legal advice or represent you. An attorney employed by or working for a title company represents the title company, not the buyer or the seller.
For that attorney to also represent you, the ethics rules require all of the following: the attorney must reasonably believe they can competently and diligently represent both you and the title company; the title company must consent; and you must give informed consent, confirmed in writing, after the attorney has explained how serving both sides could affect their judgment on your behalf.
Be cautious before agreeing to a dual role. As the old saying goes, no one can serve two masters. The title company is a long-term source of business; you are a one-time client. If your interests and the company's ever diverge, the attorney may have to withdraw entirely, and you'll be looking for your own lawyer in the middle of your transaction.
Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103(a) (no corporation or association may practice law); Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.13 (a lawyer employed by an organization represents the organization), RPC 1.7(b) and RPC 1.8(f) (what it takes to represent two parties, and who may pay); Board of Professional Responsibility Formal Ethics Opinion 80-F-2 (paying for the title work does not make you the title attorney's client; representing both sides requires full disclosure and consent); Formal Ethics Opinion 2017-F-164.What about new construction? Does the builder pick?
No. It's still your choice, on a new home too. The 2026 law is about who issues the title insurance, and nothing in it takes away your right to choose who closes for you when you buy new construction. Builders often tie an incentive to using their affiliated title company, and keep in mind that a builder may make money when you do. The choice is still yours. Send us the builder's contract before you sign. We'll tell you what it really says, and what that incentive is really worth.
Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-35-135(e); our experience with builder contracts over 25 years.What do you do for every client before closing?
Four things, for every buyer and seller, as part of closing with us. A presearch of the public record that flags title problems before they stall your sale. A contract review, every line, before or after you sign. A preliminary settlement statement, your real numbers, usually in about 5 to 10 minutes. And a savings check of your lender, inspection and closing fees against what's normal after more than 15,000 closings. They're complimentary. All you have to do is ask.
Source: Complimentary Services: rules and restrictions, which spells out what each one covers, when it starts, and what happens if you close elsewhere.Can a law firm be my title company?
That's the wrong question, and the difference matters. Writing Vanderpool Law into your contract doesn't turn us into a title company. We're a law firm that offers title services: we do the title search, issue the title insurance and close the deal, for the same fee a title company charges. We chose to stay a law firm on purpose. A title company has to be neutral and can't represent anyone. We weren't willing to give up the right to represent you in the biggest financial transaction of your life. So the better question is: can my title services come from someone who actually represents me? Yes. Write in Vanderpool Law.
Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103; our own engagement letter.