What Is a Statement of Information in California Real Estate?

What Is a Statement of Information in California Real Estate?

A Statement of Information (SOI) is a one-page form that California title companies use to verify a seller's identity and rule out liens or judgments belonging to someone else who shares the same name. Under the standard C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, sellers are required to submit their completed SOI to escrow within seven calendar days of acceptance. If you don't return it on time, the title company can't finish its search, and the escrow close can be delayed or blocked entirely.

By Paul Blair | November 5, 2026

You just accepted an offer. The escrow opening package lands in your inbox, and somewhere in the stack is a form called the Statement of Information. It's one page, and most sellers have no idea what it's asking or why the title company needs it.

Here's exactly what it is and why it matters.

Why the Title Company Needs to Know Who You Are

Before a title company can issue a title insurance policy, it has to search public records for any liens, judgments, or other clouds on title connected to your property. The problem is that public records are indexed by name, and names are not unique.

If your name is David Kim, Maria Garcia, or James Williams, there's a reasonable chance that someone with your exact name has a lien, a tax judgment, or a court judgment recorded in Los Angeles County public records. The title company has to figure out whether that lien belongs to you or to a different David Kim who lives in Torrance.

That's what the Statement of Information is for. It gives the title company enough identifying information to tell you apart from other people with the same name.

Los Angeles County is one of the most diverse counties in the country, which means common last names are very, very common. Garcia, Kim, Chen, Williams, Hernandez. These names appear thousands of times in LA County records. Title companies running a search under a common name may turn up dozens of matching results, many of which need to be traced and ruled out before the preliminary title report can be cleared.

Once the title company can confirm that the judgment recorded against "Maria Garcia" in 2019 belongs to a different Maria Garcia, they can exclude that lien from the search and issue clean title insurance to your buyer.

What the Form Actually Asks

The Statement of Information is not a financial disclosure. You're not listing your bank accounts, your debts, or your net worth. The questions are purely identity-based:

• Your full legal name and any other names you've used
• Your residential addresses for the past 10 years
• Marital status and your spouse's name, if applicable
• Social Security number, kept strictly confidential by the title company
• Date and place of birth

That's it. The title company uses these details internally to run the records search. The information is not shared with the buyer, the buyer's agent, or anyone outside the escrow and title process.

The Seven-Day Deadline

Under the standard C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, sellers are required to deliver a completed Statement of Information to escrow within seven calendar days of acceptance.

That window goes fast. By the time you've finished reviewing the offer, coordinating with your agent, and reading through the opening documents, two or three of those days may already be gone.

Your escrow officer will typically send you the SOI as part of the initial package. It can usually be completed and returned electronically in a few minutes once you have it in hand.

What Happens If You Don't Return It

This is where sellers run into real trouble. If the Statement of Information isn't returned on time, two things happen.

The title search stalls. The title company can't complete its examination of public records without being able to rule out liens that might belong to someone sharing your name. That means the preliminary title report (which the buyer's lender is waiting on) can't be finalized.

Your title policy carries exceptions. If a Statement of Information isn't received, the title company may issue the policy with blanket exceptions for all liens or judgments found under your name in public records. The buyer's lender will likely object to that, and the buyer's title policy will be compromised.

In the worst case, escrow can't close until the SOI is submitted and the title search is completed. A few days of delay on a one-page form can ripple into a week or more if it hits a weekend or a lender rate-lock deadline.

If you're preparing to list your home in the Hollywood Hills, Brentwood, Silver Lake, or anywhere else in Los Angeles, the SOI is one of the first things your escrow officer will request. Returning it quickly is one of the simplest ways to keep your transaction on track.

If you'd like to understand what your net proceeds will look like before you get into escrow, that's a conversation worth having before you go to market. Get a free home value estimate at greysq.com/home-value and I can walk through the full picture with you.

Common Names Get More Scrutiny

If you have a common last name, your SOI process may take slightly longer as the title company works through the matching records. This is normal. The company just needs more time to confirm that none of the found liens belong to you specifically.

The more complete and accurate your Statement of Information, the faster this process goes. If you've lived at multiple addresses over the past 10 years or used more than one name (a married name, a maiden name, a legal name change), include that information. Gaps or omissions slow the search down.

Buyers Are Asked to Complete One Too

The Statement of Information isn't exclusive to sellers. Buyers and their lenders are typically asked to complete one as well. When both sides submit their SOIs promptly, the title company can run searches on both sides in parallel, which helps keep the escrow timeline on track for everyone involved.

California's escrow-based closing process puts the title company at the center of identity verification for every transaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly is the Statement of Information due in California?

Under the standard C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement, sellers must deliver a completed Statement of Information to escrow within seven calendar days of the date of acceptance. Your escrow officer will send you the form as part of the initial escrow package.

What does the Statement of Information ask for?

The SOI asks for your full legal name and any other names you've used, your residential addresses for the past 10 years, your marital status, your date and place of birth, and your Social Security number. The purpose is identity verification, not financial disclosure. The information stays with the escrow and title company and is not shared with the buyer.

What happens if I don't return my Statement of Information?

If the SOI isn't returned, the title company can't complete its public records search. The preliminary title report will be delayed, and the title policy may be issued with exceptions for unverified liens under your name. In serious cases, escrow can't close until the SOI is submitted. Returning it promptly within the seven-day window avoids all of this.

Is my Statement of Information confidential?

Yes. The information you provide on the SOI is used exclusively by the escrow and title company for the records search. It is not shared with the buyer, the buyer's agent, or any other party in the transaction.

Does the buyer also need to complete a Statement of Information?

Yes. Buyers and borrowers are typically asked to complete an SOI as well, so the title company can run the records search on their side of the transaction. Both parties submitting their forms promptly helps the whole escrow timeline move faster.

If you've received an offer and your escrow package just arrived, the Statement of Information is one of the first things to handle. It takes a few minutes to complete, and returning it quickly keeps everything else on schedule. It's the kind of small detail that makes a real difference when you're trying to close on time.

About Paul Blair

Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas, Los Angeles and Houston. With 22 years in the business, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 · CA DRE #01792671.