ALTA Releases Endorsements to Protect Against Forgery, Seller Impersonation Fraud
August 19, 2025
ALTA announced the publication of two new policy endorsements designed to help protect homeowners from the growing threat of seller impersonation fraud, which occurs when criminals forge documents in order to sell someone else’s real estate and steal the proceeds. The endorsements will allow new and existing homeowners to add coverage that offers post-policy protection against forgery of a deed or mortgage.
New ALTA Endorsements
- ALTA 49 Endorsement – Forgery – New Owner’s Policy – Residential (New Endorsement)
- Purpose: The ALTA 49 Endorsement is designed to address the situation where the homeowner is purchasing an ALTA Owner’s Policy and would like post-policy coverage for deed or mortgage forgery, but where the ALTA Homeowner’s Policy is either not available, or is not offered to the homeowner.
- ALTA 49.1 Endorsement – Forgery – Existing Residential Owner’s Title Policy (New Endorsement)
- Purpose: The ALTA 49.1 Endorsement is designed to address the situation where the homeowner has previously purchased an ALTA Owner’s Policy and would like future coverage for deed or mortgage forgery.
“With criminals harnessing advanced technology to perpetuate sophisticated seller impersonation schemes against unsuspecting homeowners, new products like the policy endorsements are needed to keep the American Dream of homeownership intact,” said ALTA’s CEO Chris Morton. “These endorsements set the standards for forgery protection before and after closing, and build upon ALTA’s landmark Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance.”
ALTA Forms Development Process
The ALTA Forms Committee continues its ongoing work to develop and modify forms to align with legal, regulatory and marketplace considerations. As always, new and revised forms have been developed by the ALTA Forms Committee and approved by the ALTA Board. An opportunity to review and comment for new and revised ALTA forms was extended to ALTA Members, Policy Forms Licensees and industry customers before final publication. Technical corrections, designed to address smaller non-substantive changes to existing ALTA Forms, are published upon the recommendation of the ALTA Forms Committee.
Purpose and Use of ALTA Forms Collection
The forms, in general, are made available for customer convenience. The parties are free in each case to agree to different terms and the use of these forms is voluntary unless required by law. The Forms are copyrighted, and use is restricted to ALTA Policy Forms Licensees (including ALTA Members) in good standing as of the date of use. Permission to reprint may be requested by contacting [email protected].
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].