Though the price does seem a little steep, it might actually be good for the abstractors.  If you have to be certififed to get work, it will put a dent in all of the online searchers and those in India cutting into the work that should go to local abstractors.

I am a proponent of licensing by the states.  Everyone else is licensed - Realtors, surveyors, appraisers, mortgage brokers, title agents, etc.  Why not the abstractors?  It just doesn't make sense to have any Joe Blow with a pencil and a computer doing a search when that is the foundation for everything else in the process.

The real problem is that abstractors are way underpaid!  If abstractors were able to charge a decent fee for their searches, the costs of licensing would be nominal and it would provide job security.

Just my opinion,
Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE