Galveston County Certification of Trust Form

Last validated September 9, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Formatted for recording in Galveston County, for property anywhere in the county: rural and unincorporated areas as well as Bacliff, Dickinson, Friendswood, Galveston, Gilchrist, High Island, Hitchcock, Kemah and 5 more.

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  • 3 documents included
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  • Formatting guarantee

Galveston County Certification of Trust Form

Galveston County Certification of Trust Form

Fill in the blank Certification of Trust form formatted to comply with all Texas recording and content requirements.

Document last validated 8/14/2026
Galveston County Certification of Trust Guide

Galveston County Certification of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Certification of Trust form.

Document last validated 9/9/2026
Galveston County Completed Example of the Certification of Trust Document

Galveston County Completed Example of the Certification of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed Texas Certification of Trust document for reference.

Document last validated 7/18/2026

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

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

Where to Record Your Documents

League City Branch

Address:
174 Calder Road, Rm 149
League City, Texas 77573

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Phone: (281) 316-8732

Galveston County Clerk

Address:
600 59th St, Suite 2001 / PO Box 17253
Galveston, Texas 77552-7253

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Phone: (409) 766-2200

Recording Tips for Galveston County:
  • Bring your driver's license or state-issued photo ID
  • Ensure all signatures are in blue or black ink
  • Documents must be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
  • Double-check legal descriptions match your existing deed
  • Verify all names are spelled correctly before recording

Cities and Jurisdictions in Galveston County

Properties in any of these areas use Galveston County forms:

  • Bacliff
  • Dickinson
  • Friendswood
  • Galveston
  • Gilchrist
  • High Island
  • Hitchcock
  • Kemah
  • La Marque
  • League City
  • Port Bolivar
  • Santa Fe
  • Texas City

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Galveston County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Galveston 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 Galveston County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Galveston County, including margin requirements, font requirements, and other layout standards. This guarantee applies to formatting, not to the legal sufficiency of information entered by the user or the suitability of a form for a particular transaction.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Galveston 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. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is recommended, and most PDF apps also work. 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 Galveston County?

Recording fees in Galveston County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (281) 316-8732 for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

A Texas trustee is regularly asked to prove the trust: a title company examining a sale, a lender refinancing trust property, a bank retitling an account. Handing over the full trust instrument answers the question at the cost of the family's privacy, because the dispositive terms, who ultimately takes and on what conditions, travel with it. Section 114.086 of the Texas Property Code supplies the alternative this form prepares: a certification of trust, signed by a currently acting trustee, that carries the administrative facts a third party legitimately requires and expressly omits the dispositive terms of the trust.

What the Certification Carries

The statute lists seven items: the trust's existence and the date the trust instrument was executed, the settlor's identity, the currently acting trustee and mailing address, the trustee's powers (stated specifically or by reference to the general powers of Chapter 113, Subchapter A), revocability and who holds a power to revoke, the authority of cotrustees, and the manner of vesting title to trust property. Section 114.086(c) adds one required sentence: the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would cause the representations in the certification to be incorrect. The form collects the seven items in numbered sections and performs the certification in a single operative paragraph the trustee signs before a notary.

Reliance the Statute Enforces

What gives the certification its force is the reliance structure built around it. A person who acts in reliance on a certification without knowledge that its representations are incorrect is not liable and may assume without inquiry the facts it contains, and a good faith counterparty may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if the representations were correct. The statute also polices the other side of the exchange: a recipient may require excerpts from the trust instrument showing the trustee's designation and power to act in the pending transaction, but a person who demands the entire trust instrument on top of a certification or those excerpts is liable for damages where a court finds the demand was not made in good faith.

Built for the County Records

No statute conditions the certification on recording, but a certification connected to real property is commonly placed of record so later title examiners find it. The form is built for that path. It carries a notarial acknowledgment, which qualifies it for recording under Property Code Section 12.001(a); an optional section identifying the property by county and legal description, so the recorded instrument indexes against the parcel; and a printed statement that the certification is not a conveyance and transfers no interest in real property. Because Section 114.086(b) lets any trustee sign, the form provides a signature block and a separate acknowledgment certificate for one trustee and for a cotrustee who joins.

What Arrives in the Download

The package contains the certification as a fillable PDF formatted to Texas recording standards, a completed example filled in for a realistic Travis County fact pattern, and a plain language guide covering every numbered section, the signing formalities, and recording, including the photo identification requirement at the recording counter for documents presented in person on or after December 4, 2025. The materials are informational and are not legal advice; a Texas attorney can apply Section 114.086 to a particular trust or transaction.

Important: Your property must be located in Galveston County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the county recording office listed above.

This Certification of Trust meets all recording requirements specific to Galveston County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Galveston County recording format requirements. If there is a rejection caused by our formatting, we will correct the issue or refund your payment. This guarantee applies to document formatting only and does not extend to information entered by the user, the selection of the form, or the legal effect of the completed document.

Save Time and Money

Get your Galveston County Certification 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 - ( 4,800 Reviews )

Michael M. 5 out of 5 stars

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.

Mary Lou Z. 5 out of 5 stars

I was able to download the TOD deed form with no issues and it showed immediately. I appreciate that there is a sample provided on how to complete the form. Once downloaded this form is yours and can be changed ,if you make an error. This form is not complicated and is recognized by the County Court House where I filed the document. I am very pleased this form is available to process on my own and the fee is very reasonable. TY.

Reply from Staff

Thank you, Mary Lou. We are glad the transfer on death deed downloaded smoothly and that the completed sample made the process clear. It is great to hear your county recorded it without any trouble. We built these forms so property owners can handle the filing themselves with confidence, and at a fair one-time price. Thank you for choosing Deeds.com.

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5stars for prompt and fast! Website needs work. Hard to navigate for first time users and hard to find where to pay. Emails are more clear than the "message center". Not sure what happened to my other documents, lol

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Prompt and helpful

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Excellent service!

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STEPHANIE S. 5 out of 5 stars

The documents received and information provided to assist with the recording was exactly what was needed for a successful title transfer. I would highly recommend this site and will continue using it for future transactions.

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Brady D. 1 out of 5 stars

I would give you a zero if possible. The webpage is as cumbersome has all get out. I am on web pages all day every day and this one is by far the hardest one to get around in.

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We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

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Effortless transaction and very thorough paperwork and explanations.

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Thank you!

Tracy M. 3 out of 5 stars

The form is easy to use. However, the quit claim deed form seems to be for parcel of land, because the word "real property" is not in the form.

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Very easy thank you for this quick process.

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