Are Handwritten Wills Valid? State-by-State (2026)
Which states accept handwritten (holographic) wills without witnesses, and what they require.
| State | The rule |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama law has no exception for handwritten wills: a will signed in Alabama must have two witnesses even if it is entirely handwritten. A handwritten will made where such wills are valid (the place of signing, or the will-maker's domicile or residence) can still be accepted. Ala. Code §§ 43-8-131, 43-8-135 |
| Alaska | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness rules is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the will-maker's handwriting. AS 13.12.502(b) |
| Arizona | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness rules is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material provisions are in the will-maker's handwriting. A.R.S. § 14-2503 |
| Arkansas | Yes. A will written entirely in the will-maker's own handwriting and signed by them is valid without attesting witnesses, but at probate the handwriting and signature must be proved by at least three credible, disinterested witnesses. Ark. Code Ann. § 28-25-104 |
| California | Yes. A will is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the will-maker's own handwriting. Statements of intent may be printed on a commercial form. If the will is undated, it can be invalid to the extent it conflicts with another will unless it is shown to have been made later. Cal. Prob. Code § 6111 |
| Colorado | Yes. A will is valid as a holographic will, whether or not it is witnessed, if the signature and the material portions are in the will-maker's own handwriting. C.R.S. § 15-11-502(2) |
| Connecticut | No, not for wills signed in Connecticut: a will must be signed by two witnesses to be valid. A handwritten will that was validly made under the law of the state or country where it was signed can be admitted to probate in Connecticut. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-251 |
| Delaware | No. Delaware does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills made in Delaware: every will must be signed in front of 2 witnesses, and a will that does not comply is void. A will validly made under the law of the place where it was signed may still be accepted. 12 Del. C. §§ 202, 1306 |
| District of Columbia | No. D.C. law has no exception for handwritten wills: a will that is not attested by two witnesses is void. The only exceptions are limited oral (nuncupative) wills under § 18-107 and electronic wills under the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. D.C. Code § 18-103 |
| Florida | No. Florida does not recognize unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) wills or oral (nuncupative) wills. A handwritten will is valid only if it is signed and witnessed like any other will. A holographic or oral will made in another state is not given effect in Florida even if it was valid there. Fla. Stat. § 732.502(1)-(2) |
| Georgia | No. Georgia has no separate rule for handwritten wills; every will, handwritten or not, must be signed and attested by at least two competent witnesses. O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20 |
| Hawaii | Yes. A will that is not witnessed is valid as a holographic will if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:2-502(b) |
| Idaho | Yes. A handwritten will is valid whether or not it is witnessed, as long as the signature and the material provisions are in the will-maker's own handwriting. Idaho Code § 15-2-503 |
| Illinois | No. Illinois has no exception for handwritten wills: every will must be attested by at least two credible witnesses, so an unwitnessed handwritten will is not valid as a will. 755 ILCS 5/4-3 |
| Indiana | No. Indiana does not have a separate rule for handwritten wills; a written will must be signed by the will-maker and at least two witnesses to be valid. IC 29-1-5-3 |
| Iowa | No. Iowa does not have a separate rule for handwritten wills. Every will signed in Iowa must meet the formal signing and two-witness requirements. A will signed outside Iowa is valid if it was made the way the law of that place or of the will-maker's home state required, as long as it is in writing and signed by the will-maker. Iowa Code §§ 633.279, 633.283 |
| Kansas | No. Kansas has no separate rule for handwritten wills; a handwritten will must be signed and witnessed like any other will. A will made outside Kansas is valid if it follows Kansas law, the law of the place where it was signed, or the law of the will-maker's residence, as long as it is in writing and signed by the will-maker. K.S.A. 59-606, 59-609 |
| Kentucky | Yes. A will written entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator is valid without witnesses. KRS 394.040 |
| Louisiana | Yes. Louisiana calls it an 'olographic testament.' It must be entirely written, dated, and signed in the testator's own handwriting; no witnesses or notary are needed. The signature and date may appear anywhere in the document. Later additions or deletions count only if made in the testator's handwriting. La. Civ. Code art. 1575 |
| Maine | Yes. A will that does not meet the witnessed-will rules is valid as a holographic will, with or without witnesses, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. 18-C M.R.S. § 2-502(2) |
| Maryland | Only in a narrow case: a will entirely in the handwriting of a person serving in the U.S. armed forces, signed while outside the United States and its territories, is valid without witnesses. It becomes void one year after the person's discharge from the armed services (unless the person dies within that year or lacks capacity to make a new will). Other handwritten, unwitnessed wills are not valid. Md. Code, Estates & Trusts § 4-103 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts law has no exception for handwritten (holographic) wills. A handwritten will must be signed by 2 witnesses like any other will. M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502 |
| Michigan | Yes. A handwritten will is valid whether or not it is witnessed if it is dated and the testator's signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. MCL 700.2502(2) |
| Minnesota | Minnesota has no separate rule for handwritten, unwitnessed wills; a will made in Minnesota must meet the two-witness requirement. A will is also valid if it was executed in compliance with the law of the place where it was signed, or where the testator was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national. Minn. Stat. §§ 524.2-502, 524.2-506 |
| Mississippi | Yes. A will that is wholly written and signed by the testator does not need witnesses. Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-1 |
| Missouri | Missouri law has no exception for handwritten, unwitnessed wills; every will must be signed and attested by at least two competent witnesses. RSMo § 474.320 |
| Montana | Yes. A will that is not properly witnessed is still valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-522(2) |
| Nebraska | Yes. A will that does not meet the witnessing rules is valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature, the material provisions, and an indication of the date of signing are in the testator's handwriting. If the date is missing, it can still be valid if it is the only such document, has no conflict with another, or the date can be determined from other evidence. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2328 |
| Nevada | Yes. A handwritten will is valid if the signature, date and material provisions are in the testator's own handwriting. It does not need to be witnessed or notarized. NRS 133.090 |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire has no separate rule for handwritten wills; every will made in New Hampshire must meet the same requirements, including signature by 2 witnesses. A will made in another state or country is valid in New Hampshire if it was valid where it was made. N.H. RSA 551:2, 551:5 |
| New Jersey | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness rules is still valid as a writing intended as a will if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the will-maker's handwriting, whether or not it was witnessed. Extrinsic evidence may be used to show the person intended the document to be a will. N.J.S. 3B:3-2(b), (c) |
| New Mexico | No. New Mexico's will statute requires two witnesses and has no exception for handwritten (holographic) wills. A will made elsewhere may still be valid if it met the law of the place where it was signed. NMSA 1978, § 45-2-502 |
| New York | Generally not valid. A handwritten (holographic) or oral will is valid only if made by a member of the armed forces during a war or armed conflict, a person serving with or accompanying such a force, or a mariner at sea. It expires one year after military discharge (or after service ends), or three years after it was made for a mariner. N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 3-2.2 |
| North Carolina | Yes. A handwritten will is valid without witnesses if it is entirely in the will-maker's handwriting and signed by them (or their handwritten name appears in or on it). Printed matter does not invalidate it if the handwritten words alone form a valid will. To be probated, at least three competent witnesses must testify that they believe the will and the name on it are in the will-maker's handwriting. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-3.4, 28A-2A-9 |
| North Dakota | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness or notary requirements is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. Intent that the document be a will can be shown by outside evidence, including portions not in the testator's handwriting. N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-02(2)-(3) |
| Ohio | Ohio does not recognize unwitnessed handwritten wills. A handwritten will is valid only if it is signed and witnessed by two competent witnesses like any other will. If a document was not properly executed, the probate court may still treat it as a will after a hearing if clear and convincing evidence shows the decedent prepared it, signed it intending it to be a will, and signed it in the conscious presence of two or more witnesses. Ohio Rev. Code 2107.03; 2107.24 |
| Oklahoma | Yes. A holographic will is valid if it is entirely written, dated and signed in the testator's own handwriting. No witnesses are required, and it may be made in or out of Oklahoma. 84 O.S. § 54 |
| Oregon | Oregon does not have a separate category for handwritten (holographic) wills; an unwitnessed handwritten will does not meet the normal execution rules. However, a court may treat a signed writing that was not properly witnessed as a valid will if the person offering it proves by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended it to be a will (or a revocation or change of a will). The person offering it must give notice, and those notified have 20 days to file written objections. ORS 112.235; ORS 112.238 |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania has no separate category for handwritten wills, but its general rule only requires that a will be in writing and signed by the testator at the end. A handwritten will signed at the end can therefore be valid without attesting witnesses. To probate it, the will must be proved before the Register of Wills by the oaths or affirmations of two competent witnesses, which for an unwitnessed will typically means people who can identify the testator's signature. Oral (nuncupative) wills are not recognized; that provision was repealed in 1974. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502; § 2503 (repealed); § 3132 |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island has no general rule recognizing handwritten, unwitnessed wills; the standard two-witness requirement applies. A narrow exception lets soldiers, airmen, mariners and sailors in the circumstances described in the statute dispose of personal property as they could under earlier law. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-5-5, 33-5-6 |
| South Carolina | South Carolina does not recognize a handwritten, unwitnessed will made in South Carolina; every will needs two witnesses. A handwritten will valid where it was signed (or under the law of the testator's domicile) can be honored under the choice-of-law rule. A separate handwritten list of tangible personal property referred to in a valid will may be used. S.C. Code §§ 62-2-502, 62-2-505, 62-2-512 |
| South Dakota | Yes. A will is valid as a holographic will, whether or not it is witnessed, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. For a holographic will, intent may be shown by outside evidence, including portions of the document that are not handwritten. SDCL 29A-2-502(a), (c) |
| Tennessee | Yes. A handwritten will needs no witnesses, but the signature and all material provisions must be in the testator's handwriting, and the handwriting must be proved by two witnesses when the will is probated. Tennessee also recognizes a limited oral (nuncupative) will made by a person in imminent peril of death who dies of that peril; it must be declared before two disinterested witnesses, put in writing within 30 days, and submitted for probate within six months. Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-105; § 32-1-106 |
| Texas | Yes. A will written wholly in the testator's handwriting does not need to be attested by witnesses. It can be made self-proved during the testator's lifetime by attaching the testator's own affidavit. Tex. Estates Code §§ 251.052, 251.107 |
| Utah | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness requirements is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. Intent that the document be a will may be shown by other evidence, including portions not in the testator's handwriting. Utah Code § 75-2-502(2)-(3) |
| Vermont | No. Vermont law has no exception for handwritten, unwitnessed wills; a handwritten will is valid only if it is signed and witnessed by two witnesses like any other will. 14 V.S.A. § 5 |
| Virginia | Yes. A will wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator is valid without attesting witnesses, but at probate the handwriting and signature must be proved by at least two disinterested witnesses. Va. Code § 64.2-403(B) |
| Washington | Washington does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed (holographic) wills; every will must be signed and attested by at least two witnesses. A limited oral (nuncupative) will is allowed only to dispose of personal property worth up to $1,000, proved by two witnesses who were present, and offered for probate within six months; real estate cannot pass by an oral will. RCW 11.12.020; RCW 11.12.025 |
| West Virginia | Yes. A will that is wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator does not need witnesses. W. Va. Code § 41-1-3 |
| Wisconsin | No. Wisconsin does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills that lack two witnesses; every will must meet the witnessing rules. A handwritten will signed in another state may be valid in Wisconsin if it was valid under the law of the place where it was signed or of the testator's residence or domicile. Wis. Stat. § 853.03; § 853.05 |
| Wyoming | Yes. A will that does not meet the witness requirements is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if it is entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed by the testator's own hand. W.S. 2-6-113 |
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.