South Carolina Certification of Trust
CERTIFICATION OF TRUST
Date: [__/__/____]
To: [RECIPIENT NAME AND ADDRESS]
Re: [PENDING TRANSACTION OR PROPERTY]
Under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(a), I, [TRUSTEE NAME], furnish this certification to a person other than a beneficiary in place of a copy of the full trust instrument, in connection with the transaction identified above.
Trust identification
| Required item | Certification |
|---|---|
| Existence and execution date | The [TRUST NAME] exists. Its trust instrument was executed on [__/__/____]. |
| Settlor or settlors | [FULL LEGAL NAME(S)] |
| Currently acting trustee or trustees | [FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF EACH CURRENTLY ACTING TRUSTEE] |
| Trustee powers | For this transaction, the trustee has authority to [DESCRIBE ACT AND RELEVANT POWERS FROM THE TRUST INSTRUMENT OR APPLICABLE TRUST CODE]. |
| Revocability | ☐ Revocable ☐ Irrevocable |
| Person or persons holding power to revoke, if any | [FULL NAME(S), OR "NONE"] |
| Cotrustee signing and exercise authority | ☐ Sole trustee ☐ All cotrustees must act ☐ [NUMBER] cotrustees may act ☐ Other: [DESCRIBE]. Required signatures or authentication for this transaction: [DESCRIBE]. |
| Manner of taking title to trust property | [EXACT TITLE/VESTING LANGUAGE] |
The trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would make a representation in this certification incorrect. This certification does not state the trust's dispositive terms. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(c)-(d).
A recipient may request excerpts from the original trust instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer the power to act in this transaction. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(e).
Trustee signature or authentication: [________________________________]
Printed name: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]
Acknowledgment for a real-property transaction
Property county: [____________________], South Carolina
Property description or recording reference: [________________________________]
The undersigned witnesses observed [TRUSTEE NAME] sign this certification and acknowledge it as [HIS/HER/THEIR] act.
Witness 1 signature: [________________________________] Printed name: [________________________________]
Witness 2 signature: [________________________________] Printed name: [________________________________]
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF [____________________]
I, [NOTARY NAME AND TITLE], certify that [TRUSTEE NAME] personally appeared before me this day and acknowledged the due execution of this certification.
Date: [__/__/____]
Notary signature: [________________________________]
Official seal: [________________________________]
Commission expiration: [__/__/____]
About this template
- Last updated
- October 17, 2026
- Citations checked
- October 17, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- South Carolina
- Category
- Estate Planning & Wills
Legal authority
- S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013 (Certification of Trust)
- S.C. Code § 30-5-30 (Prerequisites to recording)
Estate planning documents decide what happens to your property, your children, and your medical care when you cannot make those decisions yourself. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives each serve different purposes and each have to meet state law requirements for signing, witnessing, and notarization. A document that looks fine on the page but was not executed correctly can be rejected in probate, which is exactly when it is too late to fix.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on October 17, 2026.
S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(a)(1)-(7) (checked October 17, 2026): "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust containing the following information: (1) that the trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed; (2) the identity of the settlor; (3) the identity and address of the currently acting trustee; (4) the powers of the trustee which may make a reference to the powers set forth in the South Carolina Trust Code; (5) the revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke the trust; (6) the authority of cotrustees to sign or otherwise authenticate and whether all or less than all are required in order to exercise powers of the trustee; and (7) the manner of taking title to trust property."
S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(b)-(d) (checked October 17, 2026): "A certification of trust may be signed or otherwise authenticated by any trustee. (c) A certification of trust must state that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would cause the representations contained in the certification of trust to be incorrect. (d) A certification of trust need not contain the dispositive terms of a trust."
S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(e) (checked October 17, 2026): "A recipient of a certification of trust may require the trustee to furnish copies of those excerpts from the original trust instrument and later amendments which designate the trustee and confer upon the trustee the power to act in the pending transaction."
S.C. Code Ann. § 62-7-1013(j) (checked October 17, 2026): "In a transaction involving title to real property, the certificate of trust must be executed and acknowledged in a manner that permits its recordation in the Office of the Register of Deeds or Clerk of Court in the county in which the real property is located."
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