Certification of Trust Requirements in Virginia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Virginia requires eight fact groups, including the tax number

Under Va. Code § 64.2-804(A), the trustee may give a person other than a beneficiary a certification instead of the trust instrument. The required contents are the trust's existence and execution date, settlor identity, current trustee identity and address, trustee powers, revocability and any revocation-power holder, cotrustee authority, the trust's taxpayer identification number, and the manner of taking title.

Subsection (C) adds the statement that no revocation, modification, or amendment makes the certification's representations incorrect. The taxpayer-number item is a required part of Virginia's list, not an optional transaction field.

Any trustee may authenticate

Section 64.2-804(B) says any trustee may sign or otherwise authenticate the certification. It does not require every cotrustee to execute the document.

That rule is separate from subsection (A)(6), which requires disclosure of cotrustee authority and whether all or fewer trustees must act to exercise trust powers. Section 64.2-804 states no separate oath, acknowledgment, witness, or notarization form.

Dispositive terms may be omitted, but focused excerpts remain available

Section 64.2-804(D) says the certification need not contain dispositive terms. Subsection (E) permits the recipient to require excerpts from the original instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer power for the pending transaction.

The permitted request is transaction-focused; it is not a general right under this section to every trust term.

Reliance protects the recipient and can bind trust property

Under § 64.2-804(F), a person relying without knowledge that the certification is incorrect is protected from liability and may assume its facts without inquiry. Possessing all or part of the trust instrument does not alone establish knowledge of its terms.

Subsection (G) lets a person who enters the transaction in good faith enforce it against trust property as though the representations were correct. Under subsection (H), a court-determined bad-faith demand for the trust instrument in addition to the certification or excerpts creates liability for damages. The subsection does not state an attorney-fee award. Subsection (I) preserves access in a judicial proceeding.

The section states no recording effect

Section 64.2-804 requires the certification to state how title to trust property is taken, but it does not itself authorize or require recording the certification or assign a recorded certification any notice, priority, conveyance, or other real-property effect. Separate transaction documents may follow their own rules.

What trips people up

• The taxpayer identification number is mandatory. It is item seven in the subsection (A) list of information the certification must contain.
• One trustee can authenticate even when multiple trustees must transact. The signer rule in subsection (B) and the cotrustee-authority disclosure in subsection (A)(6) answer different questions.
• The bad-faith-demand remedy says damages, not attorney fees. Subsection (H) does not add costs or a fee award.

Common questions

Does possessing the trust instrument prove knowledge that the certification is wrong?

No. Section 64.2-804(F) says knowledge of the trust terms may not be inferred solely because the relying person holds all or part of the instrument.

Can the certification omit beneficiary distribution terms?

Yes. Section 64.2-804(D) says dispositive terms need not be included, while subsection (E) preserves the narrower right to trustee-designation and transaction- power excerpts.

Can the full instrument be obtained in court?

Potentially. Section 64.2-804(I) expressly preserves the right to obtain a copy in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 64.2-804(A)–(E) — required contents, taxpayer identification number, any-trustee authentication, no-change statement, omitted dispositive terms, and excerpts. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-804(F)–(I) — knowledge-based reliance, good-faith enforceability, bad-faith demand damages, and judicial access. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).