What Is a Certificate of Trust?
A certificate of trust is a short document a trustee signs to prove two things to a third party: that the trust actually exists, and that the trustee has the authority to act on its behalf in the transaction at hand. It does that without disclosing who the beneficiaries are, how much each one receives, or when.
In Utah, this document is governed by Utah Code § 75B-2-1013, which calls it a "certification of trust." In everyday use — among banks, title companies, and clients — the same document is almost always called a "certificate of trust." They're the same thing; only the phrasing differs depending on who's talking.
A note on the section number: if you've seen this cited as Utah Code § 75-7-1013 in an older form or article, that's not a mistake — it's the same statute under its previous number. Effective May 7, 2025, Utah recodified its trust statutes out of Title 75, Chapter 7 and into a new standalone Title 75B (Trusts). The certification of trust requirements themselves didn't meaningfully change; only the section number did.
Why Not Just Hand Over the Whole Trust?
A full trust instrument typically spells out exactly who inherits what, in what proportions, under what conditions, and who takes over if the current trustee can't serve. That's precisely the information a bank teller opening a checking account, or a title company closing on a house sale, doesn't need — and often shouldn't have.
Handing over the complete document to every institution a trustee deals with creates real exposure with no offsetting benefit:
- It discloses beneficiaries' identities and shares to people who have no legitimate need to know them.
- It puts sensitive family details — a spendthrift provision for one child, a special needs provision for another, an unequal distribution — into a stranger's file, where they may sit indefinitely.
- It can't easily be un-shared once it's been handed over, scanned, and filed by an institution's back office.
A certificate of trust solves this by giving the recipient exactly what the law says they're entitled to rely on — no more, no less.
What Must a Utah Certificate of Trust Include?
Under Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(1), a certificate of trust may contain:
- That the trust exists, and the date the trust instrument was executed.
- The identity of the settlor (the person who created the trust).
- The identity and address of the currently acting trustee.
- The trustee's powers relevant to the pending transaction.
- Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who — if anyone — has the power to revoke it.
- If there are co-trustees, whether all of them must sign to act, or only one or a majority.
- The name in which title to trust property may be taken.
The statute also requires the certificate to affirmatively state that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any way that would make these representations incorrect — so the recipient knows they're looking at current, accurate information, not something that's since been superseded.
What the Certificate Does Not Have to Include
Under Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(4), a certification of trust "need not contain the dispositive terms of a trust." That single sentence is the whole point of the statute — it's what lets a trustee prove authority to act while keeping who-gets-what completely private.
Authority: Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(4).
Who Can Sign One?
Any trustee may sign or authenticate a certification of trust — it doesn't require every co-trustee to sign, and it doesn't require a court order or anyone else's approval. In practice, many trustees have an attorney prepare the certificate to make sure it includes everything a recipient is entitled to under the statute, correctly reflects the current trustee and their powers, and doesn't accidentally disclose more than it needs to.
What Protection Does It Give the Bank or Title Company?
Institutions generally aren't willing to accept a shortcut unless the law protects them for relying on it — and Utah's statute does exactly that. Under § 75B-2-1013(6) and § 75B-2-1012:
- A person who relies in good faith on a certificate of trust, without actual knowledge that its representations are wrong, isn't liable for having relied on it — and can assume the facts in it are true without conducting further investigation.
- Merely holding a copy of part of the trust doesn't mean the recipient is deemed to "know" its terms — so a bank can't later be accused of having constructive knowledge just because a partial excerpt crossed its desk.
- A person who enters into a transaction in good-faith reliance on a certificate of trust can enforce that transaction against the trust property as if the certificate's representations were accurate — even if it later turns out something in the certificate was wrong.
That combination is why banks, title companies, and brokerages generally accept a certificate of trust without a fight: the statute gives them essentially the same legal protection they'd have gotten from reviewing the full document, without the liability of holding a family's private financial architecture in their files.
Not sure what your situation calls for?
An incomplete or inaccurate certificate can create the exact liability problem it's meant to prevent. Start with a free consultation to talk through what the institution actually needs and what to do next.Can an Institution Still Demand More?
Yes — within limits. Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(5) allows a recipient to require the trustee to produce specific excerpts from the trust instrument — the pages that name the trustee and confer the power to act in that particular transaction — rather than the certificate alone. That's a narrower ask than the full document, and it's a reasonable one: an institution is entitled to confirm the certificate matches what the trust actually says on the points that matter to them.
What the statute doesn't tolerate is an institution demanding the entire trust instrument — including the dispositive terms — as a condition of doing business, when a certificate (plus targeted excerpts, if needed) would satisfy the law. Under § 75B-2-1013(8), a person who demands the full trust instrument in addition to a certificate or excerpts is liable for the trustee's costs, expenses, attorney fees, and damages if a court determines the demand wasn't made in good faith. That's real leverage for a trustee dealing with an overly cautious back office.
One limit worth knowing: none of this applies inside an actual lawsuit. § 75B-2-1013(9) makes clear that a court can still order production of the full trust instrument in litigation concerning the trust. The certificate protects privacy in ordinary transactions — it isn't a shield against a judge in a genuine dispute.
| Feature | Certificate of Trust | Full Trust Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Proves the trust exists and who the trustee is | Yes | Yes |
| Discloses beneficiaries and distribution shares | No | Yes |
| Protects a good-faith third party who relies on it | Yes, by statute | Yes |
| Can be demanded in full by a bank or title company as routine practice | No — only relevant excerpts | — |
| Can be ordered produced by a court in litigation | — | Yes, regardless of a certificate |
When a Trustee Actually Needs One
A certificate of trust comes up more often than most people expect once a revocable living trust is funded and in use:
- Opening a trust bank or brokerage account. The institution wants proof the trust exists and that you're authorized to open and manage the account.
- Selling or refinancing real property titled in the trust. Title companies routinely require this before closing.
- A successor trustee stepping in. When a successor trustee takes over after the original trustee dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated, a fresh certificate showing the new trustee's identity and authority is usually the first document institutions ask for.
- Business transactions involving trust-owned interests. If the trust holds an interest in an LLC or other entity, counterparties often want the same proof of authority before signing anything.
Example. After her father's death, Rachel becomes successor trustee of his revocable trust, which holds the family home. The title company handling the sale asks for "a copy of the trust" before it will close. Instead, Rachel's attorney prepares a certificate of trust confirming the trust exists, that Rachel is the currently acting trustee with authority to sell real property, and that the trust has not been revoked or amended.
The title company accepts the certificate — along with the one page of the trust naming Rachel as successor trustee — and closes the sale. Rachel's siblings' respective shares of the estate, spelled out elsewhere in the trust, never appear in the title company's file at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A certificate of trust is a short document a trustee signs to prove a trust exists and to show their authority to act on its behalf — without handing over the entire trust instrument. Under Utah Code § 75B-2-1013, it can include facts like the trust's existence and execution date, the settlor's identity, the trustee's identity and powers, and whether the trust is revocable — but it does not have to disclose beneficiaries or how trust property is distributed.
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Yes. Utah Code § 75B-2-1013 uses the term "certification of trust," and that's the formal name in the statute. In everyday use — among banks, title companies, and clients — the same document is almost always called a "certificate of trust." They refer to the identical document; the difference is just which phrase you'll hear used.
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Utah Code § 75B-2-1013 itself only requires that a certification of trust be "signed or otherwise authenticated" by a trustee — it does not require notarization as a matter of law. In practice, however, many banks, title companies, and county recorders require a notarized signature as their own institutional policy, particularly when the certificate will be recorded with real property. It's worth having the certificate notarized as a matter of course so it's accepted wherever it needs to go.
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They can ask for more, but not for everything. Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(5) allows a recipient to require the trustee to produce specific excerpts from the trust that show who the trustee is and their power to act in that particular transaction — not the full document. If an institution demands the complete trust instrument beyond that, and a court later finds the demand wasn't made in good faith, Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(8) makes that institution liable for the trustee's costs, expenses, attorney fees, and resulting damages.
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It was renumbered, not repealed. Effective May 7, 2025, Utah recodified its trust statutes out of Title 75, Chapter 7 and into a new standalone Title 75B (Trusts). The certification of trust statute, formerly § 75-7-1013, is now § 75B-2-1013, with essentially the same substance. If you come across an older form, article, or letter citing § 75-7-1013, it's referring to the same law under its previous number.
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Any trustee may sign or authenticate a certification of trust under Utah Code § 75B-2-1013(2). Many trustees have an attorney prepare the certificate to make sure it includes everything a recipient is entitled to under the statute and nothing more, since an incomplete or inaccurate certificate can create the exact liability exposure the document is meant to avoid.