Baltimore City Certificate of Trust Form (Maryland)

All Baltimore City specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Certificate of Trust Form

Baltimore City Certificate of Trust Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Baltimore City compliant document last validated/updated 9/18/2024

Certificate of Trust Guide

Baltimore City Certificate of Trust Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Baltimore City compliant document last validated/updated 8/9/2024

Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Baltimore City Completed Example of the Certificate of Trust Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Baltimore City compliant document last validated/updated 10/24/2024

When using these Certificate of Trust forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Baltimore City. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

City of Baltimore Land Records

Courthouse - 110 North Calvert St, Rm 610, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Hours: 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday

Phone: 410-333-3760

Local jurisdictions located in Baltimore City include:

  • Baltimore
  • Brooklyn

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 Baltimore City 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 Baltimore City using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Baltimore City?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Baltimore City 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 Baltimore City that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Baltimore City.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Maryland or Baltimore City. 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 Baltimore City 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.

How to Execute a Maryland Certification of Trust

The certification of trust is codified under 14.5--910 of the Estates and Trusts Article of the Maryland Code. The document is an abbreviation of a trust instrument, verifying the trust's existence and the trustee's authority to enter into the impending transaction.

A certification of trust contains only information essential to the transaction at hand; for example, it need not provide the dispositive terms of the trust, so the identities of trust beneficiaries remain private. The rights of certain persons to obtain the trust instrument are reserved for the instances stated under Md. Code Ann., Estates and Trusts 14.5-910(h).

The information required in a Maryland certification of trust includes a statement that the trust exists, the date of the trust instrument under which it was formed, and the identity of the trust's settlor. A settlor is defined under the Maryland Trust Act as "a person...that creates or contributes property to a trust" and can include more than one person (Md. Code Ann., Estates and Trusts 14.5-103(v)).

The certificate includes the name and address of each acting trustee at the time of the certificate's execution, as well as a description of the powers the trustee has related to the pending transaction. For example, if a certificate of trust is presented by a trustee wishing to execute a trustee's deed, a power of sale should be referenced. Recipients of the certificate can request, in addition, the excerpts from the trust instrument which designate the trustee and establish the relevant powers (Md. Code Ann., Estates and Trusts 14.5-910(e)).

The document also identifies the trust as either revocable or irrevocable and, if the former, the identity of anyone having a power to revoke the trust. For living trusts, the settlor generally retains this power. In the case of co-trustees, the certificate tells which can authenticate documents and whether all or fewer are required in exercising trustee powers. Any trustee may sign a certification of trust in the presence of a notary public.

The taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the trust is required, unless this number is the Social Security number (SSN) of the settlor. Irrevocable trusts are assigned their own taxpayer ID, separate from a SSN.

Finally, the certificate contains the name by which the trust is to hold title to assets, including real property. Where the certificate is used in transactions involving real property, a legal description of the property subject to the trust should be included. The certificate must contain a statement "that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in a manner that would cause the representations in the certification of trust to be incorrect" (Md. Code Ann., Estates and Trusts 14.5-910(c)).

Recipients of a certificate may rely on the correctness of its content, and are protected under Md. Code Ann., Estates and Trusts 14.5-910(f).

Contact an attorney with any questions regarding Maryland trusts and certifications of trust, as trust law can quickly become complicated and each situation is unique.

(Maryland COT Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Baltimore City 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 Baltimore City 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 - ( 4434 Reviews )

James S.

November 21st, 2024

Forms used, created quitclaim deed that the county accepted without a second look (turns out they see deeds.com forms regularly via erecording and in person). Will be back for any real estate related forms I need and they carry. Will always be my first stop. Also, will use erecording next time, mad I didn't see it this time.

Reply from Staff

Thanks for the kind words James, glad we could help. Look forward to seeing you again.

Thomas G.

November 21st, 2024

Wasn’t what I expected

Reply from Staff

Sorry to hear that your expectations were missed. Your order has been canceled. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your expectations elsewhere. Do keep in mind that purchasing legal forms should not be an exploratory endeavor.

Jimmy P.

November 20th, 2024

They sent me everything I would need to do this. Easy purchase -Easy download. Great!! I'll be back here for all my document needs.

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Everette W.

March 5th, 2023

This form was very helpful ... I wish I had run across your before it would have saved me a lot of money.

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September 8th, 2022

Simple and quick access to the form I needed

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April 3rd, 2024

Consistent and quick. This site saves me so much time away from my desk. It's a great resource for my small business!

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Carol A.

February 6th, 2023

great

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Armando B.

October 23rd, 2021

This was so simple to get around your web site. Guide was easy to follow. Great experience. Would use again.

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Jerry O.

July 10th, 2020

Everything I needed including detailed instructions to transfer the deed on my house from me alone to me and my wife as joint owners with right of survivorship. Formatting was compliant and blanks for all information required were provided in all the right places.

5 stars

Reply from Staff

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James S.

January 21st, 2019

Order Process: 5 Stars - very easy
Material Received: 2 Stars
Issues:
1. Printing- Document would not print in format displayed. Format would continually shrink to approx 2/3 size thus not useable for formal doc submission to County Records office.
2. Document Format- Data insertion fields (addresses) were not of correct size for data input. I needed a 4 line input space but was limited to only 3 lines. Also, Date field (year) was mis-oriented in-so-much that the 3rd digit (inputted) overlapped on 2nd digit (pre-printed) and also was of noticeably different font.
3. Useability- Hand-written input space provided (for Notary) was deficient in space and spacing. It was a challenge to utilize the space available to complete fully and maintain legibility.

Overall - the document worked marginally as advertised, I did need to re-write the entire document myself. It is a good concept but I'd recommend that Deeds company improve the downloaded forms for actual useability, readability, functionability.
regards,
Jim S

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Walter R.

February 15th, 2022

I was able to get all the Forms I required and it was straight forward and easy.
Thank you ,
Walt R.

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Kenneth R.

October 12th, 2021

Thank you. After searching for the correct forms and instructions on my county website, and finding nothing, I was very pleased with the Pinal County, AZ, acceptable forms and instructions I was able to download at a very reasonable cost from Deeds.com.

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John R.

November 6th, 2019

All the material included made preparing the quit claim deed very easy. Good product.

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Michael F.

May 15th, 2020

VERY EFFICIENT AND PLEASANT.

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Larry T.

May 19th, 2023

Excellent service!!!!! A 5STAR

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