A Certificate of Trust is an indispensable tool required to manage a trust. Create your own Affidavit of Trust form with our easy-to-use customizable template and save on expensive lawyer fees.
Last Update May 10th, 2023

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- What Is a Certificate of Trust
- How to Get a Certificate of Trust
- Certification of Trust Laws
- Certificate of Trust vs Trust Agreement
- Certificate of Trust Example
- FAQs About Certificate of Trust
What Is a Certificate of Trust
A Certificate of Trust is a legal document that serves to prove the existence of a trust.
The Certificate also provides a trustee with the legal authority to supply important information about the trust to third parties.
In short, a Certificate of Trust is an abbreviated form of a trust agreement.
It outlines pertinent information about the trust and hides any sensitive details that you may not want to disclose to the public.
Certificate of Trust forms typically contain the following elements:
The name of the trust and the date when it was created
The trust tax ID number
The name and address of the settlor (grantor)
The name and address of the trustee
The trustee’s powers (full or limited)
The type of trust (revocable or irrevocable)
A property description (if real estate is involved)
Create your own certificate by using our customizable Certificate of Trust template to avoid inaccuracies and misunderstandings.
How to Get a Certificate of Trust
1. Examine the Original Trust Document
To create a certificate of trust, you must thoroughly study the original trust document.
It is in this document that you will find some of the basic information that you need to include in the certificate.
An example of this is the trust tax number identification or the name and date when the trust was created. Contact the attorney that drafted the trust agreement and request a copy.
2. Make Sure the Original Version of the Trust Hasn’t Changed
Certificates of Trust, like any legal form, must be accurate to be valid in court.
When contacting the trust creator, make sure to ask if there have been any alterations to the original.
Confirm that the information contained in the trust document is still up-to-date.
3. Establish the Scope of Powers That the Trustee Will Have
Trustees can be assigned full or limited powers. Granting trustees full powers means that they will be able to take the necessary legal decisions to administer and control all trust property. If trustees are not to have unlimited legal powers, the restrictions will need to be listed in the certificate of trust.
For example, trustee powers can be limited to improving the profitability of the trust, but they may not be allowed to divide it or sell it.
4. Determine Whether You Will Have Single or Multiple Trustees
A trustee should be a competent individual with the necessary abilities and legal knowledge to administer the trust efficiently and ethically.
You should consider expertise and experience when choosing trustees. Depending on the complexity of the trust, you may want to designate multiple trustees.
For example, you may want to assign different trustees to handle investments and accounting, as they are fundamentally different specialization areas.
5. Create the document
To complete your Certificate of Trust, you must include the following sections:
Header: This mentions the state and county where the document is being created.
Affiant statement: This is a third-party declaration confirming that the information in the certificate is exact.
Trust: This section should provide all details related to the trust.
Names and addresses: The full names and addresses of the settlor, trustee, and successor trustee must be added.
Trustee authority: This section contains the signature of the trustee or trustees, in case there are multiple ones.
Trustee powers: Whether they’re full or limited.
Real estate: This part of the document clarifies if the trust consists of any real property and includes its legal description.
Affiant signature and date.
6. Notarize the Trust Certificate
Like many legal documents, Certificates of Trust need to be notarized.
The notary public must be present when the affiant signs the certificate to acknowledge the process as complete. A specific area at the end of the trust document should be provided for this purpose.
Certification of Trust Laws
States often have their own laws to regulate Certificates of Trust.
Make sure that your document complies with the law specific to the state where the grantor lives.
State | Law |
---|---|
Alabama | § 19-3B-1013 |
Alaska | § AS 13.36.079 |
Arizona | § ARS 14-11013 |
Arkansas | § 28-73-1013 |
California | § PROB 18100.5 |
Colorado | § 15-5-1013 |
Connecticut | § 45a-499zzz |
Delaware | § 3591 |
Florida | § 736.1017 |
Georgia | § 53-12-280 |
Hawaii | § NEW-1013 |
Idaho | § 68-115 |
Illinois | § 760 ILCS 3/1013 |
Indiana | § 30-4-4-5 |
Iowa | §633A.4604 |
Kansas | § 58a-1013 |
Kentucky | § 386B.10-120 |
Louisiana | § 8:452 |
Maine | §1013 |
Maryland | § 14.5-910 |
Massachusetts | § Section 1013 |
Michigan | § 700.7913 |
Minnesota | § 501C.1013 |
Mississippi | § 91-8-1013 |
Missouri | § 456.10-1013 |
Montana | § 72-38-1013 |
Nebraska | § 30-38,103 |
Nevada | § NRS 164 |
New Hampshire | § 564-B:10-1013 |
New Jersey | § 3B:31-81 |
New Mexico | §46A-10-1012 |
New York | No statute |
North Carolina | § 36C-10-1013 |
North Dakota | § 59-18-13 |
Ohio | § 5810.13 |
Oklahoma | §6-902 |
Oregon | § UTC 1013 |
Pennsylvania | § 7790.3 |
Rhode Island | § 34-4-27 |
South Carolina | § 62-7-1013 |
South Dakota | § 55-4-51 |
Tennessee | § 35-15-1013 |
Texas | § 114.086 |
Utah | § 75-7-1013 |
Vermont | § 1013 |
Virginia | § 64.2-804 |
Washington | § 11.98.075 |
Washington D.C. | § 19–1310.13 |
West Virginia | §44D-10-1013 |
Wisconsin | § 701.1013 |
Wyoming | § 4-10-1014 |
Certificate of Trust vs Trust Agreement
Trust Agreements and Certificates of Trust are closely related, yet different.
Certificate of Trust | Trust Agreement |
---|---|
Proves the existence of a trust and grants full or limited powers to a trustee or trustees. | Legal document that gives ownership of assets or property to a trustee to be held in trust for beneficiaries. |
May exclude sensitive information contained in the Trust Agreement. | Lists all information pertaining to a Trust, including that of sensitive nature. |
Certificate of Trust Example
As all legal documents, the information contained in Trust Certificates needs to not only be accurate and truthful, but must also have a certain format to be accepted in court.
The structure of a Certificate of Trust is simple. However, we highly recommend that you use a sample to create yours. The best way to ensure that your Trust Certificate is legally valid is by first examining our Certificate of Trust sample.

FAQs About Certificate of Trust
Certificates of trust are highly sensitive documents that contain important information about a trust and the parties involved.
We have prepared some answers to the most frequently asked questions to help you understand the intricacies of this type of legal document.
How Do I Download a Trust Certificate?
Although sensitive in nature, Certificates of Trust have a standard structure that makes them easy to draft.
There is no need to pay expensive lawyer fees. Using LawDistrict, you can create and download in just a few clicks a Certificate of Trust form with our customizable online template.
What Is the Purpose of a Certificate of Trust?
A Certificate of Trust. It also assigns trustees and defines their authority to manage and administer the trust without having to make public all information contained in the trust agreement.
Trust Certificates typically contain information such as the name of the trust, the date when the trust was created, trustee names and addresses.
It also includes other useful information for third parties, such as credit institutions.
Does a Trust Certificate Need to Be Notarized?
Yes, as with many legal documents, trust certificates must be notarized to be valid in court.
Before notarizing a certificate of trust, be sure that the document contains all the information outlined in the state law where the grantor lives.
It is also a good idea to contact the trust creator to confirm that there have been no changes in the original trust document.