A certification of trust is a short, notarized declaration, signed by every currently acting trustee, that proves a trust exists and that the trustee has the power to sell, without handing escrow the whole trust. California Probate Code section 18100.5 lists what it may contain, and a title company that relies on it in good faith is protected. When a successor trustee sells a house, escrow asks for the certification together with proof that the prior trustee is no longer acting and a deed showing the house is vested in the trust.
What is a certification of trust?
It is the trust's summary page for strangers. A buyer, an escrow officer or a title underwriter needs to know who can sign and whether they can sell. They do not need to know who inherits what. Section 18100.5 lets the trustee present the certification "in lieu of providing a copy of the trust instrument," and it says the certification does not have to include the dispositive provisions that set out how the trust estate is distributed. Family arrangements stay private; the transaction gets the facts it needs.
It is sometimes called an abstract of trust or a trust certificate. The legal name in California is certification of trust, and the statute decides what makes one valid, not the title on the form.
What does a certification of trust contain?
Subdivision (b) of section 18100.5 lists what the certification may confirm. Escrow and title will look for each item:
- The existence of the trust and the date the trust instrument was signed.
- The identity of the settlor or settlors, and of the currently acting trustee or trustees.
- The powers of the trustee. For a sale, the line that matters is the power to sell real property.
- Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who holds any power to revoke it.
- When there are several trustees, whether all of them or fewer than all must sign to use a given power.
- The trust identification number, a Social Security number or an employer identification number.
- How title to trust assets should be taken.
- The legal description of any real property interest held in the trust.
Subdivision (c) adds two required statements: that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in any way that would make the certification incorrect, and that it is signed by all of the currently acting trustees. It must be an acknowledged declaration, which in practice means signed in front of a notary.
What escrow asks the trustee for, in one table
The certification is the center of the file, not the whole file. These are the documents a successor trustee is commonly asked to supply on a trust sale.
DocumentWhat it provesWho usually prepares it
Certification of trust (Probate Code 18100.5)
The trust exists and the signer can sell
The trust's attorney, or the trustee on a form escrow or title supplies
Affidavit of death of trustee, with certified death certificate (Probate Code 210)
The prior trustee is no longer acting
The successor trustee, often with escrow or the attorney
Current vesting deed
The house is titled in the trust
Pulled by the title company from the county recorder
Trust excerpts, if requested (18100.5(e))
The pages that name the successor and grant the power
The trustee or the attorney
Statement of information
Identity, to rule out judgments and liens against people with similar names
Each signing trustee
Form 593 and the federal FIRPTA certification
State withholding and the seller's tax status
Escrow prepares; the trust's tax professional confirms exemptions
The affidavit of death records in the county where the house sits. For a Claremont house that is the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder; for a house in Upland or Rancho Cucamonga it is the San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Escrow can usually send it to record with the deed or ahead of it.
Can escrow ask for the whole trust anyway?
Escrow and title can ask for more than the certification, within limits. Subdivision (e) lets a person whose interest may be affected require copies of the excerpts that designate the successor trustee or give the trustee power to act in the transaction. Title companies often ask for the signature page, the trustee succession article and the powers article. That is normal and does not mean anything is wrong.
What the statute pushes back on is a demand for the full trust when the certification already answers the question. Under subdivision (h), apart from a beneficiary's request or litigation, a person who demands the trust documents in addition to an acceptable certification can be liable for damages, including attorney's fees, if a court finds the demand was made in bad faith. In practice that rarely comes up. It is the reason most California title companies accept a certification plus excerpts and stop there.
Why title companies can rely on it
Subdivision (f) is the trustee's best friend in escrow. A person who acts in reliance on a certification of trust, without actual knowledge that it is wrong, is not liable for doing so, and the transaction is enforceable against the trust assets. That protection is what lets a title underwriter insure the buyer's title on the strength of a few pages. It does not protect the trustee. Subdivision (f) also says nothing in it limits the beneficiaries' rights against the trustee, which is one more reason to get the certification right and keep the price file in order.
Does the certification have to be recorded?
No. Subdivision (i) allows a certification relating to real property to be recorded in the county where the house is, and says it does not create a requirement to record one for a transfer of title. Whether to record it is the title company's call for that transaction. Some record it with the deed; many simply keep it in the escrow file.
Where co-trustees get stuck
Item 5 on the list causes more delays than any other. If two siblings serve together and the trust requires both to act, both sign the certification, the deed and the escrow instructions. If one lives out of state, that person signs in front of a notary where they live; California Civil Code section 1189 accepts an acknowledgment taken under another state's law. Plan those appointments when the offer is signed, not when escrow is ready to close.
If the trust allows either co-trustee to act alone, the certification should say so plainly. A vague line here sends the title company back to the trust instrument, and the file waits.
What the certification does not cover
A certification proves authority over property the trust owns. It cannot put a house into the trust. If the vesting deed still shows the late settlor as an individual, no certification fixes it; the path runs through a court petition or probate. Our guide to houses never transferred into the trust and the Heggstad petition explains that route.
It also does not answer the question beneficiaries ask about price. Escrow needs the certification. Beneficiaries need the comparable sales, the deductions and the net behind the number. That record is covered in our pillar guide, selling a house from a trust: what a successor trustee needs on paper, and whether a judge needs to see any of it is answered in does a trust sale need court approval in California.
What this looks like in practice
These are the kinds of files that come in, described without names or figures.
- A Claremont trust with two co-trustees, one local and one out of state, where the trust requires both to sign. The certification, the deed and the escrow instructions go out together with a notary booked in each city.
- An Upland trust where the successor trustee has the death certificate but no recorded affidavit of death yet. Escrow prepares the affidavit and records it with the San Bernardino County recorder ahead of the deed.
- A trust amended several times over the years, where the title company asks for the excerpt from the latest amendment naming the successor. The trustee's attorney supplies those pages and nothing more.
Where a cash offer fits, and where listing wins
The certification is the same whoever buys. What changes is the timeline around it. A financed buyer's lender sets its own document deadlines, and a missing co-trustee signature can push a closing past a rate lock. A cash purchase offer can be scheduled around the trustee's paperwork and close once title is clear.
That is not the same as a better price. If the house is in good condition and the beneficiaries can wait through a listing, the open-market read, a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal, often nets the trust more, and when it does the written recommendation says so. Either way, one walkthrough produces both numbers with the comps and deductions attached. See how we handle trust sale cash offers for successor trustees, browse the trust sales knowledge center, or call (909) 498-3977. There is no cost and no obligation to get the two numbers and the written report.
Sources
- California Probate Code section 18100.5 (certification of trust): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- California Probate Code section 210 (recording evidence of death): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- California Probate Code section 16226 (trustee's power to dispose of property): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- California Civil Code section 1189 (acknowledgments taken in another state): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- Franchise Tax Board, real estate withholding and Form 593: ftb.ca.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- Internal Revenue Service, FIRPTA withholding: irs.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, property document recording: lavote.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
- San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, document recording: arc.sbcounty.gov, accessed October 31, 2026
Mr. Cali Offers is not a law firm or a title company. Cash offers come from independent buyers and investors who buy for their own account and may resell for profit; a cash offer is generally below what the open market would bring. Any value shown is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a certification of trust in California?
It is a notarized declaration signed by all currently acting trustees, under Probate Code section 18100.5, that confirms the trust exists, who the trustees are, their powers and how title is held, so a trustee can prove authority without providing the full trust document.
Does a certification of trust show who inherits?
No. Probate Code section 18100.5 says the certification does not have to contain the dispositive provisions that set out how the trust estate is distributed, so beneficiaries and their shares stay private.
Can escrow or a title company ask for more than the certification of trust?
They can ask for excerpts, such as the pages naming the successor trustee and granting the power to sell. A demand for the full trust on top of an acceptable certification can expose the person demanding it to damages if a court finds it was made in bad faith.
Do all co-trustees have to sign the certification of trust?
Yes. Section 18100.5 requires the certification to be signed by all currently acting trustees. Whether all of them must also sign the deed depends on the signature authority the trust grants, which the certification states.
Does a certification of trust have to be recorded to sell a house?
No. California law allows it to be recorded with the county recorder but does not require recording for a transfer of title. The title company decides what it needs for that transaction.
Written by
Anthony Grynchal
Anthony Grynchal is a California real estate salesperson with eXp Realty, licensed since November 2009 (CA DRE #01873626), and the owner of Mr. Cali Offers.
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