Houston County Certificate of Trust Form (Minnesota)
All Houston County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Certificate of Trust Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Houston County compliant document last validated/updated 5/19/2025
Certificate of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Houston County compliant document last validated/updated 6/4/2025
Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Houston County compliant document last validated/updated 6/9/2025
The following Minnesota and Houston County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Certificate of Trust forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Houston County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:
Houston County Recorder
304 South Marshall St / PO Box 29, Caledonia , Minnesota 55921-0029
Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday
Phone: (507) 725-5813
Local jurisdictions located in Houston County include:
- Brownsville
- Caledonia
- Eitzen
- Hokah
- Houston
- La Crescent
- Spring Grove
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Houston County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Houston County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Houston County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Houston County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Can the Certificate of Trust forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Houston County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Houston County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Minnesota or Houston County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Houston County Certificate of Trust forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
The certificate of trust is codified under the Minnesota Trust Code at Minn. Stat. 501C.1013.
This document is an abstract of the trust instrument setting forth "fewer than all of the provisions . . . and any amendments to the instrument," and contains only essential information relevant to the transaction for which it is being presented (Minn. Stat. 501C.1013, Subd. 1). It "serves to document the existence of the trust, the identity of the trustees, the powers of the trustees and any limitations on those powers, and other matters the certificate of trust sets out, as though the full trust instrument had been recorded or presented" (Subd. 4).
Presented to a recipient in situations regarding personal property, or filed with the county recorder in situations regarding real property, a certificate of trust is "prima facie proof as to matters contained in it" (Subd. 4).
A certificate is valid when executed by settlor or trustee "any time after the execution or creation of a trust" (Subd. 1). The basic content requirements include the name of the trust; the date of the trust instrument; the name and address of each acting trustee; the number of trustees required to act; and the powers of the trustee relevant to the transaction at hand. The certificate also declares whether the trust has terminated or the trust instrument has been revoked (Subd. 1 (1-6)).
For use in real property transactions, the certificate requires the name of each settlor and original trustee, along with a specific statement relating to the authority of the trustee and any restrictions on the trustee's power "to sell, convey, pledge, mortgage, lease, or transfer title to any interest in real property" (Subd. 2). Transactions affecting real property may also require an affidavit of trustee under Minn. Stat. 501C.1014.
The representations contained within the certificate are made by the executing trustee or settlor under oath before a public notary and as such the executing party ensure there are no provisions in the trust instrument or subsequent amendments to limit the power of the trustee in the transaction or "to exercise any other power identified in the certificate" (Subd. 1).
Contact an attorney with any questions regarding trusts or certificates of trust, as each situation is unique.
(Minnesota COT Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Houston County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.
Save Time and Money
Get your Houston County Certificate of Trust form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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June 26th, 2025
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June 24th, 2025
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June 23rd, 2025
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March 18th, 2022
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July 16th, 2020
tl;dr - Bookmarked and anticipating using this site for years to come.
My justification for rating 5/5
1. Provide intuitive method for requesting property records.
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May 13th, 2021
Easier than I had expected. Was looking for the 'I have to get information that I don't understand' part which never appeared.
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January 16th, 2022
To set the service was incredibly easy and the results came back very fast. Very reasonable price.
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PETER A.
May 15th, 2025
Got the forms I needed after getting forms for the wrong county and paying twice. My bad!
Thanks for your feedback! Just to clarify—when an order is placed for the wrong county, we’re happy to help. In this case, we canceled the original order and refunded the payment so there was no duplicate charge. Glad you got the correct forms in the end!
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September 16th, 2024
Extremely useful! The guide was excellent with the sample. Used and went exceptionally smoothly.
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January 3rd, 2020
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February 4th, 2020
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March 18th, 2020
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March 7th, 2021
Easy to purchase and a reasonable price. Documents were easy to add information. Examples proved handy.
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October 16th, 2021
Fantastic deed forms, formatting was spot on, nice not to have to worry about it considering how picky our clerk is. Great job you guys and gals!
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December 11th, 2019
Easy process! Submit payment, fill out forms using the document guide provided, and print!
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