I agree wholeheartedly with you.  ALTA has always been about title companies.....as has most of the state organizations.  They will give mouth service today - today because there are finally enough independent abstractors to make a difference in the membership fees being submitted.  Everyone acts as though belonging to ALTA is a tremendous act - that tests were passed, certificates given - all these incredible things happened that just qaudrupled credibility. WRONG.  You pay a fee. You are a member.  I don't see that as credibility.  I have a strong suspicion that by the time NALTEA gets through with establishing a certification process - it WILL mean something.  If nothing else - to those of us in the industry who have been through hard knocks, and seen a lot of things that even management in most title companies has never heard of.  How many of you experienced abstractors out there have worked with (or for) people who had not a clue where to go or what to do to run a title search in the counties they serviced?  I have seen people issuing policies in title companies who don't even know what a subordination is - let alone a special warranty deed.  One of the companies I worked for tried to join ALTA a number of years ago in the ST Louis area.  It was a small company that ran orders from the public records - we were not "allowed" to be full members - only Associate members because we were NOT IN THE TITLE PLANT.   It was kind of like being the illegitemate child.  Uggghhhhhhhhh.......left a bad taste in my mouth for "organizations".  Most of the time, licensing - whatever- in the State of Missouri - means simply paying a fee. Period.  And that folks is what makes it easy for green, naive newcomers to jump on  the wagon and run cheap, erroneous title searchs. And they call themselves legitimate - cause in our state - they are.

...like they say...everyone is entitled to their opinions....
Ellen