Can a notary notarize a will: the certificate is not the two witnesses

Can a notary notarize a will

The short answer splits into two jobs. People ask for one and need the other.

The person who makes the will is the testator. That is the person whose property the will gives away after death. A witness is another person who watches the signing and then signs the will. An acknowledgment is the notary’s confirmation that the signer is the person named, and that the signer signed for the purpose on the document. A self-proving affidavit is a sworn written statement. The testator and the witnesses swear, in front of an officer, that the signing followed the rule. A court can use that affidavit so the witnesses may not have to come back and testify. The affidavit does not replace the witnesses. It records that they were there.

A notary does not write the will and does not decide that the will is a good plan. The California Notary Public Handbook says a notary may not draft the document, pick the kind of document, or give advice about it. If you do not understand the will, stop and ask a lawyer before anyone notarizes a signature. This page cannot do that job.

The eight states below are here because their signing rules are not the same. A rule from one state does not travel with you. Read the statute for the state whose law the will is using.

Where two witnesses still sign

On California, Probate Code § 6110 says a will is in writing and signed by the testator, or in the testator’s name by someone else in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction. The ordinary witness rule is two people. They sign during the testator’s lifetime. They are present at the same time. Each one sees the testator sign, or hears the testator acknowledge the signature or the will, and understands that the document is the will. That section does not mention a notary. A notary’s certificate is not the two signatures the section asks for.

The same section has a court exception. If the witness rule was missed, the will can still be treated as if it complied when the person offering it proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the testator intended the document to be the will. That is a proof in court. It is not a plan to skip the witnesses.

On Florida, § 732.502 says every will must be in writing. The testator signs at the end, or someone else signs the testator’s name at the end, in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction. The signing, or the testator’s acknowledgment of that signature, must be in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses. Those witnesses sign in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other. The section does not mention a notary. A will in the testator’s handwriting that meets this section is not treated as a holographic will. The two witnesses are still the rule.

Florida’s notarized step is the self-proof, and it is optional. § 732.503 says a will that already complies with § 732.502 may be made self-proved. The testator acknowledges it, and the witnesses give affidavits, before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The officer’s certificate is attached to or follows the will. The statutory form points to the notary identification rule in § 117.05, and it lets the officer mark physical presence or online notarization for the testator and for each witness. The witnesses are still in the form. The notary is swearing them. The notary is not a substitute for them.

On Texas, Estates Code § 251.051 says a will must be in writing, signed by the testator or by another person in the testator’s presence at the testator’s direction, and attested by two or more credible witnesses. Those witnesses are at least 14, and they subscribe their names in their own handwriting in the testator’s presence. § 251.052 is the handwritten exception. A will written wholly in the testator’s handwriting is not required to be attested by subscribing witnesses. That exception does not say a notary replaces the witnesses on an attested will.

The Texas notary shows up on the self-proof. § 251.104 says the testator and the attesting witnesses make the affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The officer affixes the officer’s official seal. The affidavit is attached to the will. § 251.1045 is the one-step form. The will can be executed, attested, and made self-proved at the same time, before that same kind of officer. The form still has the testator and two witnesses. They swear. The officer signs. A notary’s signature on that form is the self-proof. It is not a second way to skip the witnesses.

On New York, Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 3-2.1 is the execution rule in effect on October 18, 2026. The will is in writing. The testator signs at the end, or another person signs the testator’s name in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction. At least two attesting witnesses are required. The testator signs in the presence of each witness, or acknowledges the signature to each of them. The testator declares to each witness that the document is the will. The witnesses sign at the end within a thirty-day period. That section does not mention a notary. The statute’s own note says a later sentence, effective December 12, 2027, also excepts electronic wills authorized by another part. This page does not describe that later path. The New York page on this site treats a will as a document you sign in ink today.

Where a notary can stand in for the witnesses

Two states on this page let the testator choose. Two witnesses can sign. Or the testator can acknowledge the will before a notary. Those are alternatives. A self-proving affidavit is still a different step.

On Colorado, C.R.S. § 15-11-502 in the 2024 official statutes says a will shall be in writing, signed by the testator or in the testator’s name by someone else in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s direction, and either signed by at least two individuals or acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or another person authorized to take acknowledgments. Conscious presence means physical proximity. It does not have to be inside the testator’s line of sight. A will that misses that rule can still be a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions are in the testator’s handwriting.

That choice is not a remote checkout. The Colorado Secretary of State remote notarization FAQ says a notary may not notarize a will, a codicil, or an acknowledgment under §§ 15-11-502 or 15-11-504 except as the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act specifically provides. A codicil is a change to a will. The Colorado page on this site already prints that stop. This page does not restate the electronic-wills act. Do not buy a generic video session to argue with the FAQ.

On North Dakota, Century Code § 30.1-08-02 uses the same choice. The will is in writing. It is signed by the testator, or in the testator’s name by someone else in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s direction. Then it is either signed by at least two people, or acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or another person authorized to take acknowledgments. A will that misses that rule can still be holographic, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions are in the testator’s handwriting.

The self-proving affidavit in § 30.1-08-04 is narrower. It starts with a will that is executed with attesting witnesses. The testator acknowledges it, and the witnesses swear, before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The officer’s certificate goes on the will. A will that used only the notary acknowledgment, and never had attesting witnesses, is not the will that section is describing. The North Dakota notary page did not read a will ban in the remote-notary section. That sentence is not permission to sign a will on a video call. The will statute says who must be there for the signing. If the court or the lawyer who prepared the will wants you in the room, stay in the room.

Louisiana asks for the notary and the witnesses

Louisiana does not treat a notary as a stand-in for witnesses. Civil Code article 1576, as amended by Acts 2025, No. 30, says a notarial testament is prepared in writing and dated. It is executed before a notary public in the presence of two witnesses. It is signed by the testator, each witness, and the notary. If the testator cannot sign, the testator may make a mark, or direct another person to sign, in the testator’s presence. The notary is required. The two witnesses are required. One does not erase the other.

A handwritten will is the other Louisiana form. Article 1575 says an olographic testament is entirely written, dated, and signed in the handwriting of the testator. It is subject to no other requirement as to form. That form does not ask for a notary. It is not the notarial testament.

A video session is the wrong product for either will. R.S. 35:623(B) says a testament shall not be executed by remote online notarization. The Louisiana page already lists a will on that stop. If the signing needs a Louisiana notary in the room, that visit is a mobile notary or a walk-in.

An electronic will is a different signing

An electronic will is a will kept as an electronic record. It is not the same product as a notary watching you sign a will in the room, and it is not a reason to skip a rule the statute still prints.

Florida keeps the two witnesses and adds a notary when the signing is remote. § 732.522 says a signature can be an electronic signature. People can be in each other’s presence by audio-video communication when a list of conditions is true. A notary public supervises them under § 117.285. They are authenticated and signing in an online notarization session under § 117.265. The witness hears the signer acknowledge the signature. Questions about the effect of an electronic will that complies are decided the same way as a will under § 732.502. That last sentence is the witness rule again. The Florida page says this path is not “any video checkout is a Florida will.” A qualified custodian has a job in that chapter. This page does not restate it. Ask before you pay.

Nevada splits the ordinary will from the electronic will. NRS 133.040 says no will executed in Nevada is valid, except an electronic will or a holographic will mentioned in the chapter, unless it is in writing, signed by the testator or by an attending person at the testator’s express direction, and attested by at least two competent witnesses who subscribe in the testator’s presence. NRS 133.090 says a holographic will is one whose signature, date, and material provisions are written by the hand of the testator, whether or not it is witnessed or notarized.

NRS 133.085 is the electronic will. It is created and maintained in an electronic record. It contains the date and the testator’s electronic signature, and at least one of three things. One is an authentication characteristic of the testator, such as a fingerprint, a voice, or a video recording. One is the electronic signature and electronic seal of an electronic notary public, placed on the will in the testator’s presence, while the testator places the electronic signature in that notary’s presence. One is the electronic signatures of two or more attesting witnesses, placed the same way. The electronic notary is one of those three choices. It is not an extra certificate pasted on top of two witnesses who already signed. NRS 133.088 says presence for this title can be the same room or a live audio-video connection. The section also lists ways an electronic signing is treated as a Nevada signing, including the case where the attesting witnesses or the electronic notary whose signatures are on the document were physically in Nevada. Read the whole “or” list before you treat one line as the only path. The Nevada notary page grades notaries. It does not grade this will.

A witness affidavit is still a witness document. NRS 133.050 lets an attesting witness sign a declaration or an affidavit before a person authorized to administer oaths. The form is signed by the witnesses. It does not delete them.

What to bring, and when a video session is the wrong product

Bring a current government photo ID, the will, and every person the statute says must sign. Which ID a state accepts is on what do you need to get something notarized. If the witnesses have to see the signing, do not sign alone at home and hope the notary will catch up. The three ways to meet a notary for a document that needs to be notarized are on how to notarize a document. A visit when you cannot travel is mobile notary services. The notary needs an in-state commission for the state where you meet.

Use a video session only when the will statute allows that session and the court or the office that will receive the will will take it. Louisiana says a will shall not be executed that way. Colorado keeps an ordinary will off the remote path except as the electronic-wills act specifically allows. California still means a California notary is in the room. New York still treats a will as a document you sign in ink. A company price is not those statutes. Whether a session is free is a different question, on is online notary free.

A video session with Proof, also called Notarize, or with NotaryLive, is one way to meet a notary on a live call. Use it when the notary’s commission allows the session and the will statute allows it. The buttons below do not write a will, and they do not replace two witnesses a statute still requires.