Are Online Wills Legal? Every State's Answer

Arizona

An electronic will must be created and maintained in an electronic record readable as text at signing, contain the electronic signatures of the testator (or a proxy in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction) and two witnesses, state the date of each electronic signature, and contain a copy of a government-issued identification card of the testator that was current at execution. To be self-proved, an electronic will must additionally carry the electronic signature and seal of a notary public, designate a qualified custodian, and remain under the qualified custodian's exclusive control until offered for probate or reduced to a certified paper original (§ 14-2519).

Colorado

The Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act (enacted 2021 by HB 21-1004, relocated to part 13 by SB 21-266, effective July 2, 2021) requires the electronic will to be a record readable as text at signing. An electronic symbol of a testator or witness must be an electronic image of that person's handwritten signature affixed to the electronic will (§ 15-11-1302(5)(b)), so a typed name or click-to-sign mark does not qualify. The act carries its own harmless-error rule at § 15-11-1306, and § 15-11-1308 lets an electronic will be simultaneously executed, attested and made self-proving, using a Colorado-located notary in physical or electronic presence when fewer than two witnesses are physically with the testator.

Florida

An electronic will executed under § 732.522 is treated the same as a will executed in accordance with § 732.502. Defined terms (electronic will, online notarization, qualified custodian, secure system) are in § 732.521.

Illinois

An electronic will must be executed by the testator (or a person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction) and attested to in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses, each signing with an electronic signature after seeing the testator sign or acknowledge (755 ILCS 6/5-5). The Act has no separate self-proving affidavit mechanism; admission runs through the Probate Act's 6-4 proof methods, and a certified paper copy of an electronic will (art. 10) is how the document is filed.

Indiana

To be valid, an electronic will must be executed by the electronic signature of the testator and attested to by the electronic signatures of at least two witnesses, with the testator stating in the witnesses' presence that the instrument is the testator's will, the witnesses signing in the presence of the testator and each other after the testator signs, and the finalized document maintained as an electronic record (§ 29-1-21-4(a)). An electronic will may be self-proved at signing by incorporating a self-proving clause, again without a notary (§ 29-1-21-4(e)-(f)). An electronic will is legally executed if its execution complies with the law of Indiana, the jurisdiction the testator was actually present in at execution, or the testator's domicile at execution or death (§ 29-1-21-7).

Kentucky

Kentucky enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134, effective July 15, 2026, and it applies to the will of a decedent who dies on or after July 15, 2026 (KRS 394.715). The electronic will must be a record readable as text at signing. The signature rule has a Kentucky twist: an electronic symbol of the testator or a witness must consist of an electronic IMAGE of that person's handwritten signature affixed to the will (KRS 394.706(2)), so a typed name or generic click-to-sign process does not satisfy the statute. Self-proof at execution runs through a notary, with an online notary under KRS 423.455 required when fewer than two witnesses are physically with the testator (KRS 394.710).

Maryland

The certified will is deemed the testator's original will for all purposes, with its stated date of execution (§ 4-102(e)). Wills signed under COVID-era Executive Order 20.04.10.01 while it was in effect are also deemed properly signed and witnessed (§ 4-102(f)). Defined terms (electronic presence, electronic signature, electronic will, remotely witnessed will, supervising attorney) are in § 4-101.

Minnesota

Rather than a standalone electronic-wills chapter, the 2023 Uniform Electronic Wills Act works through definitions: an 'electronic will' is a will or codicil created, signed, or maintained in an electronic or similar medium, retrievable in perceivable form, and capable of verification that the writing has not been altered after its signing (§ 524.1-201(17)); 'will' includes an electronic will (§ 524.1-201(62)); and 'writing' and 'signed' cover electronic records and electronic signatures, so the ordinary § 524.2-502 execution requirements apply. An individual may create a certified paper copy of an electronic will by affirming under penalty of perjury that it is a complete, true, and accurate copy, and the certified paper copy may be substituted whenever an original will is required (§ 524.2-518).

Missouri

An electronic will shall be a will for all purposes of Missouri law, with the general law of wills and principles of equity applying except as modified by §§ 474.540 to 474.564 (§ 474.544). The will must be a record readable as text, signed by the testator or by another under the testator's direction (§ 474.548). Self-proof can be completed before a remote online notary when fewer than two witnesses are physically present with the testator (§ 474.550). A separate provision, § 474.600, validated remote audio-visual execution of estate planning documents, including wills, during the COVID-19 emergency window of April 6, 2020 through December 31, 2021.

Nevada

An electronic will is created and maintained in an electronic record and must contain the date and the testator's electronic signature plus at least one of: an authentication characteristic of the testator (a fingerprint, retinal scan, voice or facial recognition, video recording, digitized signature or other commercially reasonable authentication), the electronic signature and seal of an electronic notary public placed in the testator's presence, or the electronic signatures of two attesting witnesses placed in the testator's presence. So a Nevada electronic will can be valid with no witnesses at all. To be self-proving it must incorporate the witnesses' declarations or affidavits, designate a qualified custodian, and remain in the qualified custodian's custody until reduced to a certified paper original (NRS 133.086).

Washington

An electronic will must be a record readable as text at the time of signing, and testamentary intent may be established by extrinsic evidence. Self-proof under RCW 11.12.450 requires the witnesses' affidavits affixed to or logically associated with the will, made before an officer authorized to administer oaths (or, if fewer than two witnesses are physically with the testator, before a remote notary authorized under RCW 42.45.280), plus a qualified custodian who maintains custody from execution on. Custody is not optional in practice: under RCW 11.20.020(3), an electronic will whose custody has not been maintained by a qualified custodian must be treated as a lost or destroyed will.