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What is Section C on a Loan Estimate?
Updated November 2026 · Every dollar figure is an illustrative example, not a quoteSection C, Services You Can Shop For, lists the outside services the lender requires but lets you choose the provider for: on the model form that is the pest inspection, the survey and the title work, including lender's title insurance and the settlement fee. The lender must give you a written list of providers it accepts, and the fees' protection depends on whether you used that list.
Where it is on the form
Page 2, under Loan Costs, below Section B. The model form lists Pest Inspection Fee, Survey Fee, Title – Insurance Binder, Title – Lender's Title Policy, Title – Settlement Agent Fee and Title – Title Search. The lender's written list of providers comes with the Loan Estimate as a separate sheet.
Lender's title insurance and the settlement fee are the bulk of it and depend on the state's rules and the loan amount. The survey and pest inspection, where required, add a few hundred. A lender that places title work in Section B leaves C nearly empty.
The lines in C. Services You Can Shop For
| Line on the form | Paid to | Illustrative range |
|---|---|---|
| Title – Lender's Title Policy | The title insurance underwriter, through the title or settlement company | Varies by state; often several hundred dollars to about $2,500 on a $380,000 loan as the Loan Estimate shows it |
| Title – Settlement Agent Fee | The title, settlement or escrow company that conducts the closing | Often $300–$1,200; depends on the region and on whether it is split with the seller |
| Title – Title Search | The title company or a title abstractor or attorney it hires | Often $150–$500 |
| Survey Fee | A licensed land surveyor | Often $300–$800 for a city lot; more for acreage or an older subdivision |
| Pest Inspection Fee | A licensed pest control company | Often $50–$150; sometimes free from a company hoping to win treatment work |
The written list is the thing to ask for. It must name at least one provider for each service in Section C, and it is what divides the 10% protection from no protection. If the lender lets you shop but never gives you the list, the fees stay in the 10% group whichever company you use. Using the list is the safe choice; bringing your own provider is the cheap choice when you have found a better price, and the price you found is then the price, whatever the lender estimated.
Lenders vary in where they put title. The model form places it here. A lender that puts the whole title set in Section B gives you zero tolerance on it but no shopping. Neither is wrong, and neither should be a surprise: the estimate shows which section each line is in, and the list, or its absence, shows whether you were allowed to shop.
Can you shop for it?
Yes, by definition. The lender must provide a written list of at least one provider for each service here; you may use one from the list or any other provider that meets the lender's requirements. Most borrowers never shop it, and the title lines are where a second quote most often finds a few hundred dollars.
Can it change between the Loan Estimate and closing?
Two rules. If you chose a provider from the lender's written list, the fee joins the 10% group with recording fees: the group's total on the Closing Disclosure can be no more than 10% above the Loan Estimate's. If you chose a provider not on the list, there is no limit, because the lender could only guess at that company's price. And if the lender let you shop but never gave you the written list, the fees still sit in the 10% group whichever company you used, unless that company is the lender's own affiliate, in which case they cannot rise at all.
Questions to ask the lender
- Where is the written list of providers for these services?
- If I bring my own title company, will you accept it, and what are your requirements for one?
- Which of these services has already been ordered, and from whom?
Red flags
- No written list of providers with the Loan Estimate; it is required whenever you may shop, and without it you cannot tell which providers keep you inside the 10% limit.
- Every provider on the list is an affiliate of the lender or the real estate brokerage.
- A title company already named and ordered before you were given a chance to choose.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Section B and Section C?
Both are required services from outside companies. In B the lender chose the provider and the fee cannot rise at closing. In C you may choose, from the lender's list (10% tolerance as a group) or on your own (no limit).
Do I have to use the lender's provider list?
No. The list is who the lender accepts; you may use anyone who meets its requirements. Using the list keeps the fees inside 10% tolerance; going off the list removes that protection but lets you take a better price you found yourself.
Can Section C fees go up at closing?
By up to 10% as a group (together with recording fees) if you used the lender's list or the lender never gave you one, and by any amount if you chose your own provider from a list you were given. A revised Loan Estimate after a real change resets the baseline.
Only have one quote? That's the problem.
Tell us the rate and the fees you were quoted. It is free, there is no credit pull, and nobody calls you. We check whether another lender beats it, fees included. Or start with the free Loan Estimate checker, which reads your rate, points and Section A and flags anything out of the ordinary.
Check my quoteEvery dollar figure on this page is illustrative. Fee ranges are general observations, not a survey or a quote, and are not a loan offer, approval, commitment to lend, or Loan Estimate. Your actual rates and fees depend on qualification with lenders, your state and county, and your closing date. The tolerance rules described are the federal TRID rules in general terms; the rule itself and your own Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure decide how it applies to your loan. comparemyloan does not negotiate with lenders, lock rates, or take loan applications.