Most title professionals don’t fear mortgage payoffs.

They underestimate them.

Ordering a payoff feels administrative. Routine. Almost boring. Until it isn’t.

A payoff ordered too late, requested without proper authorization, calculated to the wrong “good-through” date, or missing a satisfaction fee can quietly distort your entire settlement statement. It doesn’t explode on contact — it lingers. It shifts numbers. It compresses timelines. It forces last-minute CD revisions. It creates pressure where there didn’t need to be any.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Payoff mistakes rarely happen because someone doesn’t know how to request one.

They happen because teams rely on memory instead of process.

They happen because FHA timing rules weren’t considered.
Because per diem wasn’t double-checked.
Because no one confirmed whether the lender includes recording fees.
Because the payoff was valid — but not valid long enough.

This guide walks through exactly when to order a payoff, how to structure the request correctly, how to avoid lender-specific landmines, and how to build simple guardrails that prevent quiet settlement-day chaos.

If your office has ever revised a CD more times than you’re willing to admit…
or felt that subtle “I hope these numbers hold” anxiety the day before closing…

You’ll want this dialed in.

Because payoff ordering isn’t clerical.

It’s operational risk control.