Certification of Trust Requirements in Florida

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Florida requires the common contents plus directed-trust facts

Florida Statutes § 736.1017(1) lets a trustee furnish a certification to a person other than a beneficiary instead of the trust instrument. The certification must state the trust's existence and execution date, the settlor, the acting trustee and address, trustee powers, revocability and the holder of any revocation power, cotrustee authority, and the title format.

Florida adds a directed-trust branch in subsection (1)(e). If the trust contains powers of direction, the certification must identify the current trust directors, identify the trustee powers subject to direction, and say whether the directors have directed or authorized the trustee to enter the proposed transaction.

Section 736.1017(3) separately requires the statement that no revocation, modification, or amendment makes the certification's representations incorrect. The statute does not list a taxpayer identification number, situs statement, homestead disclosure, or governing-law declaration as required content.

Any trustee may authenticate; the section adds no notary or witnesses

Section 736.1017(2) says a certification “may be signed or otherwise authenticated by any trustee.” It does not require every cotrustee to sign.

That execution rule is separate from subsection (1)(g), which requires the document to state how many cotrustees are needed to exercise trust powers. Section 736.1017 itself states no oath, acknowledgment, notarization, or witness requirement.

Dispositive terms stay private, subject to focused excerpts

Section 736.1017(4) says the certification need not contain dispositive terms. Subsection (5) lets the recipient demand excerpts from the original instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer power for the pending transaction.

The certification section does not create a general entitlement to every trust term. It also does not create a damages or attorney-fee remedy merely because a person asks for the full instrument.

Reliance uses knowledge and good faith

Under § 736.1017(6), a person who relies without knowledge that the certification is incorrect is protected from liability and may assume the stated facts without inquiry. Holding some or all of the trust instrument does not by itself impute knowledge of its terms.

Section 736.1017(7) lets a person who enters the transaction in good faith enforce it against trust property as if the certification were correct. Subsection (8) preserves the right to obtain the trust instrument when another law requires disclosure or in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust.

The certification statute does not supply a recording effect

Section 736.1017 states no requirement or permission to record the certification and no certification-specific constructive-notice, priority, public-record, or title- transfer effect. A separate deed or transaction may have its own formalities, but they are not certification requirements stated in this section.

What trips people up

• Directed trusts need an extra content block. Omitting current trust directors, directed trustee powers, or transaction authorization can leave out information expressly required by § 736.1017(1)(e).
• Any-trustee authentication is not the same as cotrustee transaction authority. One trustee may authenticate the certification even though the document must state how many cotrustees are needed for the underlying power.
• Florida's certification section does not award demand damages. Do not import the damages or attorney-fee provisions used by other states.

Common questions

Must the certification include an SSN or EIN?

No. A taxpayer identification number is not among § 736.1017(1)'s required items. Whether another law or transaction requires tax information is a separate question.

Does the certification need witnesses or notarization?

Not under § 736.1017. Subsection (2) allows any trustee to sign or otherwise authenticate; the section states no witness, acknowledgment, or notary rule.

May the recipient ask for trust excerpts?

Yes, but § 736.1017(5) limits the statutory excerpt right to provisions designating the trustee and conferring power for the pending transaction.

Can the recipient ever obtain the full trust instrument?

Yes when another law requires it or in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust, as subsection (8) expressly preserves. This certification section creates no separate damages remedy for a full-instrument demand.

Does Florida require recording the certification?

Section 736.1017 does not. It states no certification-specific recording command or notice effect.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 736.1017(1)–(5) — required contents, trust-director disclosures, any-trustee authentication, no-change statement, omitted dispositive terms, and permitted excerpts. Official Florida Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Fla. Stat. § 736.1017(6)–(8) — knowledge-based reliance, good-faith enforcement, and the statutory-disclosure and judicial-proceeding exception. Official Florida Statutes (accessed 2026-07-31).