To notarize a will, you and at least two disinterested witnesses appear together before a notary public with valid government-issued photo ID, sign the will, and then sign a self-proving affidavit under oath that the notary stamps and seals. In most states the will itself does not need a notary to be legally binding — a properly witnessed will is valid on its own. What the notary is really certifying is the self-proving affidavit, a companion document that spares your witnesses from having to testify at probate later.
Two states run differently. Colorado and North Dakota let a testator skip witnesses entirely by acknowledging the will before a notary instead.1Justia. Colorado Code 15 – Execution – Witnessed or Notarized Wills – Holographic Wills2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 30.1-08-02 Execution – Witnessed Wills – Holographic Wills Everywhere else, notarization is about the affidavit, not the will.
What the Self-Proving Affidavit Actually Does
A self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement, signed by you and your witnesses before a notary, declaring that the will was signed voluntarily, that you are of legal age, of sound mind, and under no undue influence. The notary administers the oath, watches everyone sign, and stamps the affidavit with an official seal.
The payoff comes at probate. A will that arrives at court with a self-proving affidavit attached is presumed to have been properly executed. Your witnesses do not need to be found, deposed, or brought to court. Without the affidavit, the court has to independently verify authenticity, which usually means at least one witness must appear in person or file a sworn statement. If those witnesses have moved, become incapacitated, or died, proving the will can require handwriting analysis or testimony from other people who knew about the signing.
You can attach the affidavit at the same signing as the will, or add it later. Later means gathering the same witnesses in front of a notary again, which is why most signings handle both documents in one sitting.
What to Bring
Everyone who will sign — you and both witnesses — needs a current, government-issued photo ID. A driver’s license, state ID card, or passport works. The notary will compare each person’s face to the photo and check that the name matches the documents being signed. Expired IDs get rejected.
Bring these to the appointment:
- Your completed will in its final form. Do not plan to make handwritten changes at the notary’s desk, because any alteration after signing can call the whole document into question.
- The self-proving affidavit. This is a separate page or pages with the sworn declarations and signature lines for you, your witnesses, and the notary. If an attorney drafted your will, the affidavit is usually attached. If you drafted it yourself, check your state’s probate code for the required affidavit language, because the wording must follow the prescribed form or the court may reject it.
- Both witnesses, physically present at the same time. A notary cannot notarize the affidavit if one witness signs earlier or shows up separately.
Choosing Your Witnesses
Most states require two witnesses, and they should be disinterested — meaning they inherit nothing under the will. This is more than a best practice. A slim majority of states have purge statutes that strip an interested witness of some or all of their inheritance, typically capping what they can receive at what they would have gotten through intestacy. There is a narrow exception when the interested witness was unnecessary because you already had enough disinterested witnesses.
The safest approach is simple. Pick witnesses who are not named anywhere in your will. A neighbor, a coworker, or a friend with no financial stake makes an ideal witness. They do not need to read the will or know what it says. They only need to confirm they watched you sign it and that you appeared to be acting freely.
How the Signing Works
The ceremony is short but follows a specific order, and the notary sets the pace.
The notary starts by checking everyone’s identification. This is not a glance. The notary is legally required to confirm each signer’s identity, examine each ID, compare photographs, and often ask you to state your name.
Next, the notary screens for willingness and basic awareness. The standard is not high. The notary is not evaluating whether you understand every clause of your will. They are checking whether you appear aware that you are signing a significant legal document and doing so voluntarily. A notary who sees signs of coercion, intoxication, or apparent confusion is required to refuse the notarization. Pressing ahead anyway risks the notary’s commission and gives someone grounds to challenge the will later.
Then you sign the will in front of both witnesses and the notary. The witnesses sign the will’s attestation clause. Everyone then turns to the self-proving affidavit. The notary administers an oath, typically asking you and the witnesses to swear or affirm that the statements in the affidavit are true. You and the witnesses sign the affidavit while the notary watches.
Finally, the notary completes the notarial certificate on the affidavit, signs it, and applies an official seal or stamp. Most states also require the notary to log the transaction in a notary journal with the date, document type, names of signers, and the ID method used for each person. That journal entry becomes an independent record of the signing.
What It Costs
Most states cap the fee a notary can charge per notarial act, and the caps are modest. Typical maximums fall between $2 and $25 per signature, with $5 to $10 the most common range. A handful of states set no maximum. Because the affidavit takes signatures from you and two witnesses, plan on paying for three notarial acts in one sitting.
Banks and credit unions often notarize free for account holders. Shipping stores and office supply chains with notary desks generally charge the state maximum. If your attorney handles the signing, the notary fee is usually folded into the legal bill.
Mobile notaries travel to your home, office, or hospital room. They charge the same per-signature fee plus a travel or convenience fee that is usually not capped by state law. Travel charges vary widely with distance and time of day, from a flat trip fee to hourly rates that can reach $30 or more for after-hours appointments. If you are homebound or hospitalized, a mobile notary may be the only option, and the extra cost is generally worth avoiding a will without a self-proving affidavit.
Notarizing a Will Remotely
Remote online notarization, or RON, lets you appear before a notary by live video instead of in person. As of 2026, 47 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws authorizing some form of remote notarization.3NASS. Remote Electronic Notarization That does not automatically cover wills. Some states that broadly allow RON carve out wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts. Before scheduling a remote session, confirm your state permits RON for testamentary documents specifically, not just for real estate closings or general affidavits.
Identity verification is more involved than an in-person appointment. Most states require three steps:
- Remote ID presentation. You hold your government-issued ID to your camera so the notary can read it and compare your face.
- Credential analysis. You upload images of your ID, and the platform’s software checks the document’s security features to confirm it is genuine.
- Knowledge-based authentication. You answer a series of personal questions generated from public records and credit data — past addresses, loan amounts, vehicle registrations. You typically need four out of five correct within a two-minute window.
The entire video session is recorded, and the notary must retain it for a period set by state law, often five to ten years. That recording is a strong evidentiary record if the will is later challenged, because a court can watch you answer questions, confirm your identity, and sign. Some estate planning attorneys are still cautious about RON for wills, since video makes it harder to spot subtle signs of coercion or cognitive decline than sitting across a table from the signer.
Storing the Will After You Sign It
Where you keep the original matters. The probate court needs the original document, not a photocopy or scan. If it cannot be found, many states presume you intentionally destroyed it, and your estate can be distributed under intestacy rules as if no will existed.
A fireproof safe at home works if your executor knows the combination or has a key. Filing the original with your local probate court, where available, is even better, because the court holds it in a secure archive and there is no access problem after your death.
Safe deposit boxes are the classic choice that often backfires. When the box holder dies, the bank typically restricts access until someone with legal authority appears, but the document proving that authority — the will naming the executor — is inside the box. Most states have a procedure to petition a court for an order to open the box, but it involves paperwork, fees, and waiting. A bank officer usually supervises the opening, inventories the contents, and delivers the will directly to the court. Weeks or months can pass before your executor can start probate. If you already have a safe deposit box, consider adding your executor as a co-lessee so they can get in independently.
Wherever you store it, tell your executor exactly where it is. Give them the name of your attorney too, if you used one, since attorneys often retain a copy. Many states impose a legal duty on anyone holding a will to file it with probate court promptly after the testator’s death, and some penalize intentional withholding by stripping the offender of their right to inherit.