Minnesota Forms

Pennington County Certificate of Trust Form

Pennington County Certificate of Trust Form

Pennington County Certificate of Trust Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 8/8/2025
Pennington County Certificate of Trust Guide

Pennington County Certificate of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 7/15/2025
Pennington County Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Pennington County Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 6/9/2025

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

Important: Your property must be located in Pennington County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Pennington County Recorder
Address:
101 Main Ave North / PO Box 616
Thief River Falls, Minnesota 56701

Hours: 8:30 to 4:30 M-F

Phone: (218) 683-7027

Recording Tips for Pennington County:
  • Documents must be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
  • Check that your notary's commission hasn't expired
  • Ask if they accept credit cards - many offices are cash/check only
  • Ask about their eRecording option for future transactions
  • Recorded documents become public record - avoid including SSNs

Cities and Jurisdictions in Pennington County

Properties in any of these areas use Pennington County forms:

  • Goodridge
  • Saint Hilaire
  • Thief River Falls

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Pennington County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Pennington County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Pennington County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Pennington County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Pennington County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in Pennington County?

Recording fees in Pennington County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (218) 683-7027 for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

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)

Important: Your property must be located in Pennington County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Certificate of Trust meets all recording requirements specific to Pennington County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Pennington 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 Pennington 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.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4582 Reviews )

Hanne R.

November 17th, 2020

excellent

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August 18th, 2023

Very fast and efficient reply

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JAMES D.

November 5th, 2022

Fast and easy. Sample completed form & guidelines very useful.

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December 14th, 2022

Locating the deed I needed was not too hard. I love that you can download and complete it on your time frame.

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February 16th, 2022

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January 28th, 2025

it was a smooth superb timely experience

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Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us improve. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Rachel F.

February 18th, 2019

Easy and can add our own additional language in spaces provided. Thank you!

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Thank you Rachel!

Michael M.

January 11th, 2019

I downloaded the gift deed and I can not type my info onto it what am I doing wrong. Please advise

Reply from Staff

Sounds like you may be trying to complete the form in your browser. The document needs to be downloaded and saved to you computer, then opened in Adobe.

Todd W.

September 3rd, 2020

Communication is hard. The reps need to be empowered and encouraged to call the customers when necessary. They encourage 300 dpi resolution and under 2 MB PDF file, which is not even possible with our scanner. They made a vague comment about a legal description looking abbreviated but did not explain. They refused to call me. They said the county said "Image is light please darken", but the image looked fine to me. Maybe not their fault, but they refused to help work with the county on that for me. I followed their suggestion though and re-scanned at 300 dpi, but they misunderstood me and did not re-submit it right away. Over 48 hours later, it's still not recorded yet. I hope it will be today.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Todd.

Shawn S.

August 30th, 2019

Seems to be exactly whst j needed. Great job!

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

MARK S.

February 28th, 2020

I filed my beneficiary deed today and it went off without a hitch. I really appreciated the guidelines and the example that came with the form The guide lines cleared up some questions I had regarding tenancy by the entirety which I had been trying to figure out.

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Mark J.

January 28th, 2021

Straightforward, no issues.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Stephenie A.

January 11th, 2019

No review provided.

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Thank you!

Jeanne A.

October 22nd, 2019

great forms, nice that they are fillable pdfs, easy to use, no issues. thanks.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

LEVELL H.

April 20th, 2021

I was very pleased with the ease in use of the forms. I suggest making sure the sample copy is totally aligned with the exact same parts. I was a little confused about the portion "Subject to.." It was easy to make corrections, additions, etc because the page remained open, and I didn't have to re=open the forms continuously.

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Thank you!