Annual Report · 2026

2026 state-by-state will laws report.

How every U.S. state regulates the execution of a valid will, in one place. Numbers come from primary-source state statutes, last verified in 2026. Tables below are free to cite, screenshot, or embed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

States covered

Notarization required

1 state

Holographic wills

29 states

accept handwritten unwitnessed wills

Electronic wills

19 states

enacted e-wills statutes

Key findings · 2026

Only Louisiana requires a will to be notarized to be legally valid (La. C.C. art. 1577 — notarial testament). Every other state accepts wills with witnesses alone.
50 states require 2 witnesses, 0 states require 3. Witnesses must generally be adult, mentally competent, and disinterested.
29 of 51 jurisdictions recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills — typically only when the material provisions and signature are in the testator's own handwriting.
19 jurisdictions have adopted electronic-wills statutes. The remaining 32 still require a physical signed-and-witnessed document.
48 of 51 jurisdictions offer a self-proving affidavit — an optional notarized statement attached to the will that speeds up probate.
49 states set the standard minimum testator age at 18; the rest vary, with limited exceptions for emancipated minors and members of the armed forces.
15 jurisdictions still recognize nuncupative (oral) wills in narrow circumstances — typically mariners at sea and members of the armed forces in active service.

Full state table

Click any state name for the full breakdown including statute citations.

State	Min age	Witnesses	Notary req.	Holographic	E-wills	Nuncupative	Self-proving
Alabama AL	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Alaska AK	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Arizona AZ	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Arkansas AR	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
California CA	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Colorado CO	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Connecticut CT	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Delaware DE	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
District of Columbia DC	18	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Florida FL	18	2	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Georgia GA	14	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hawaii HI	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Idaho ID	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Illinois IL	18	2	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Indiana IN	18	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iowa IA	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Kansas KS	18	2	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Kentucky KY	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Louisiana LA	16	2	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Maine ME	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Maryland MD	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Massachusetts MA	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Michigan MI	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Minnesota MN	18	2	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Mississippi MS	18	2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Missouri MO	18	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Montana MT	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Nebraska NE	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Nevada NV	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
New Hampshire NH	18	2	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
New Jersey NJ	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
New Mexico NM	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
New York NY	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
North Carolina NC	18	2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
North Dakota ND	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Ohio OH	18	2	No	No	No	Yes	No
Oklahoma OK	18	2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Oregon OR	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Pennsylvania PA	18	0	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Rhode Island RI	18	2	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
South Carolina SC	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
South Dakota SD	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Tennessee TN	18	2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Texas TX	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Utah UT	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Vermont VT	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Virginia VA	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Washington WA	18	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
West Virginia WV	18	2	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wisconsin WI	18	2	No	No	No	No	Yes
Wyoming WY	18	2	No	Yes	No	No	Yes

Methodology

Source. Every entry comes from the underlying state probate statute — not from secondary sources or aggregator sites. Individual state pages link to the citation (e.g., La. C.C. art. 1577, EPTL § 3-2.2).

What we coded. For each jurisdiction we recorded the minimum testator age, required witness count, witness presence rules, whether a notarial seal is required for validity (not the optional self-proving affidavit), whether holographic / electronic / nuncupative forms are recognized, and the controlling statute citation. Edge cases and exceptions are noted on individual state pages.

Update cadence. Verified annually. Material changes mid-year (new e-wills statute, UPC adoption, etc.) trigger an out-of-cycle update; the "last verified" date for each state is on its dedicated page.

Limitations. This is general legal information for research and citation, not legal advice. Statutes evolve, and edge cases (military service wills, foreign testators, blind testators, electronic-will jurisdictional reach) are not always cleanly captured in a binary cell. Use individual state pages for nuance.

Cite this report

This dataset is free to cite, screenshot, embed, or republish under a CC BY 4.0 license. If you reference these tables, link back so readers can verify the source.

Suggested citation

I Don't Have a Will. (2026). 2026 State-by-State Will Laws Report.
Retrieved from https://idonthaveawill.com/data/2026-state-will-laws-report

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This report is general legal information for research and citation; it is not legal advice. Statutes change — always verify current requirements with a licensed attorney in your state before acting on any specific point.