Certification of Trust: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

A certification of trust is a short document that proves a trust exists and states the trustee’s powers without disclosing the trust’s full terms, used to satisfy banks and title companies.

How it works in California

Banks, title companies, and other institutions dealing with a trustee are entitled to proof that the trust exists and that the trustee has authority to act, but they aren’t entitled to read the whole trust, including who the beneficiaries are or what they’ll receive. A certification of trust gives the institution what it needs, the trust’s name and date, the trustee’s identity and powers, how title should be held, without turning over the dispositive terms.

Under Prob. Code, § 18100.5, a person who accepts a certification in good faith, without actual knowledge that its contents are wrong, may rely on it without digging further. That protection is what makes banks and title companies willing to accept a certification instead of demanding the full trust.

Why it matters

A trustee who shows up to a bank or escrow with only a copy of the trust binder can face delay while an officer reviews pages that have nothing to do with the transaction. A certification is built for exactly that moment, and most banks and title companies have their own form they’ll accept instead of the trust itself.

Common mistakes

Trustees sometimes hand over the entire trust when only a certification was requested, disclosing distribution terms to an institution that had no right to see them. Others let a certification go stale, for example after a successor trustee takes over, and try to use one that still names the prior trustee.

Related terms

• Living Trust: the document a certification summarizes without disclosing in full.
• Successor Trustee: needs an updated certification showing they now hold the trustee’s powers.
• Trustee: the person whose authority the certification is meant to prove.

Part of the California estate planning glossary. For the full treatment, see Certification of Trust in California: What the Bank Can Ask For.