Commodity Title and Custody Verification
Existence, custody and title are three different facts. Goods can exist and be held by someone other than the seller; they can be held by the seller and pledged to a lender; they can be free of liens and still outside the seller's legal power to sell. Payment safety requires all three facts verified — for the specific lot, on the specific date.
The title chain
Title is verified as a chain: from origin (mine, producer, prior purchase) through each transfer to the party being paid. Each link needs documentation, and the chain's weakest link sets its strength. Allocation letters and 'ownership certificates' that cannot be confirmed with their issuers are decoration.
Custody confirmation
Warehouse receipts, vault confirmations and safekeeping receipts are only as good as direct confirmation with the named custodian — using contact details you source independently, since fraudulent custody documents come with fraudulent phone numbers attached. Confirm the holding, the holder of record, and any liens or holds against it.
Encumbrances
Financed inventory is normal in commodities; hidden financing is not. Where a jurisdiction maintains security registers, check them. Where it does not, contractual representations about liens — backed by the custodian's confirmation of holds — are the available substitute.
Verification checklist
- Trace the title chain link-by-link to the party being paid
- Confirm custody directly with the custodian via independently sourced contacts
- Check for liens, holds and financing against the specific lot
- Match lot identifiers across title, custody and inspection documents
- Re-verify custody immediately before payment — positions change
Paste the offer, email or chat into the Free Deal Check and get a preliminary verification posture with a concrete evidence list — no account required.
Run the Free Deal Check