How to Fill Out and Submit Chase Bank’s Certification of Trust Form

To open or service a trust account at Chase, you’ll need to complete a Chase certification of trust form — a short, notarized document that proves your trust exists and names you as a trustee with authority to act — then bring it to an in-person branch appointment along with the required ID. The certification stands in for your full trust agreement, giving the bank the operational facts it needs while keeping beneficiary names and inheritance instructions private. Chase accepts the certification, the full trust agreement, or a court order establishing the trust, but the certification is usually the cleanest option.¹

Information You’ll Fill In

Pull out your original trust agreement and keep it open beside you while you complete the form. Every entry on the certification needs to match the trust instrument word for word, because a mismatch between the two is one of the fastest ways to get sent home from a branch appointment with nothing accomplished.

Expect to provide:

The full legal name of the trust, exactly as it appears in the trust agreement
The date the trust instrument was originally signed
The name of every settlor or grantor who created or funded the trust
The name and current address of each currently acting trustee, plus any named successor trustees
A summary of the trustee powers the trust grants — opening deposit accounts, signing checks, buying and selling securities, borrowing against trust assets, and similar financial actions
Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who holds the power to revoke it
If there is more than one trustee, whether all must sign or fewer than all can act
The taxpayer identification number for the trust (see the next section)
The exact form in which the trust takes title to property, for example “John Smith, Trustee of the Smith Family Trust dated January 1, 2020”

The form must also carry a statement that the trust has not been revoked or amended in any way that would make the information on it inaccurate. Dispositive terms — who inherits what when the trust ends — do not belong on the certification, and Chase does not need to see them.

In the trustee powers section, list only the specific financial actions your trust agreement actually authorizes. Over-describing powers the trust is silent about will get flagged during review.

Which Tax ID to Enter

The taxpayer identification number depends on how the trust is structured. A revocable trust where the grantor is still alive and in control typically uses the grantor’s own Social Security Number, because the IRS treats it as a grantor trust and all income flows through to the grantor’s personal return. An irrevocable trust is its own taxpaying entity and needs a separate Employer Identification Number.

A trust that started out revocable sometimes needs a new EIN. The IRS requires one when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable (often triggered by the grantor’s death), when a living trust converts to a testamentary trust, or when trust property is distributed to a residual trust. Routine changes like swapping a trustee or updating an address do not trigger a new EIN.² Putting the wrong number on the certification creates IRS reporting problems later, so confirm which one applies before your branch appointment.

Notarizing and Signing

Most states require the certification to be notarized. The notary verifies that the person signing really is who they claim to be. Some Chase branches offer notary services to account holders, but not every branch has a notary on staff and availability varies, so call ahead to confirm or get the document notarized independently before you go.

The trustee signs the certification. It does not need to be prepared or signed by an attorney, though if your trust is complex, having an estate planning attorney review the completed form before you submit it is a reasonable precaution.

What to Bring to Your Chase Appointment

Chase requires an in-person meeting with a banker to open or service a trust bank account. You cannot do this online.¹ Before the appointment, gather:

Your completed, notarized certification of trust (or alternatively the full trust agreement or a court order establishing the trust)¹
Two forms of government-issued ID for each trustee that confirm a current U.S. residential address³
Any trust amendments executed since the original trust was created, so Chase can verify your certification matches the current terms
A death certificate, if you are stepping in as successor trustee after the original trustee died¹

If the trust has more than one trustee, all trustees may need to be present at the meeting.³ Schedule through Chase’s online meeting scheduler or by calling your local branch so everyone can coordinate.

What Happens at the Branch

At the appointment, the banker reviews your certification alongside your IDs and any supporting documents. For a standard checking or savings trust account, the banker handles the setup during the meeting.¹

Chase’s internal review team may take additional time to verify the documents, particularly for irrevocable trusts or trusts with multiple co-trustees. The bank does not publish a specific turnaround time. If more documentation is needed, Chase will reach out, so keep your phone accessible in the days after submission.

Updating the Certification Later

A certification of trust has no fixed expiration date. It stays valid until you notify the bank in writing that the trust has been revoked or modified. Any time you amend the underlying trust agreement in a way that changes something on the certification — a new trustee, expanded powers, a change in revocability — file an updated certification with Chase. The bank is entitled to rely on the last certification it received, and an outdated one could block transactions you now have authority to make, or allow actions the amended trust no longer permits.

Common triggers for an update include adding or removing a co-trustee, changing the trust’s name or tax identification number, and amending the trustee powers section. Bring the new certification to a branch meeting with the relevant trust amendment attached.

If the original trustee dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns, the successor trustee named in the trust needs to establish authority with Chase before touching any accounts. That means a new certification listing the successor as the currently acting trustee, a death certificate or other documentation explaining why the original trustee is no longer serving, an in-person branch meeting, and two forms of government ID.¹ Changing the trustee alone does not require a new EIN, so the tax identification number on the account stays the same unless the trust’s structure also changed, such as a revocable trust becoming irrevocable at the grantor’s death.²

1
Chase. Trust Accounts
2
Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
3
JPMorgan Chase. Open a Trust Account