Nevada Will Requirements

Nevada will requirements come down to a short list of rules in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), and most people want one answer first: what makes a will valid here. In Nevada, the maker (the testator) must be over 18 and of sound mind, the will must be in writing and signed, and the signature must be attested by at least two competent witnesses who subscribe their names in the testator's presence. Nevada also recognizes a statutory electronic will and a handwritten (holographic) will, and it lets the witnesses sign a self-proving declaration so they do not have to appear later. (See NRS 133.040 and NRS 133.020.)

Use this page as a planning map, not as legal advice or a do-it-yourself signing kit. Nevada courts apply these statutes to the exact facts of each will, and a small signing mistake can put a will at risk. When property, a blended family, or a possible dispute is involved, confirm your plan with a licensed Nevada attorney before you sign.

This guide pairs with the Nevada probate guide for what happens after death, since a valid will is admitted through the district court once someone dies. If no valid will exists, the estate passes under the rules in the Nevada intestate succession guide.

Who Can Make a Will in Nevada

Two capacity rules sit at the front of Nevada will requirements. The statute says every person of sound mind, over the age of 18 years, may dispose of their estate by last will. (Source: NRS 133.020.)

In plain terms:

Age. The maker must be over 18. A person younger than that cannot make a Nevada will.
Sound mind. The maker must understand, in a general way, that they are making a will, the nature and extent of their property, and the people who would normally receive it. A will signed by someone of unsound mind is not valid.

Capacity is judged at the moment of signing, not before or after. A later illness does not undo a will that the testator validly made while they had capacity.

The Three Signing Rules

For a standard typed or printed will, Nevada sets three linked requirements. (Source: NRS 133.040.)

Writing and signature. The will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or signed by an attending person at the testator's express direction.
At least two competent witnesses. The will must be attested by at least two competent witnesses.
Witnesses subscribe in the testator's presence. Those witnesses must subscribe their names to the will in the presence of the testator.

The two-witness rule is the part that trips up homemade wills. Both witnesses have to sign while the testator is present. A witness who signs later, alone, or in another room breaks the chain. Choose witnesses who are not receiving anything under the will when you can, and keep them reachable for probate.

Here is a practical reassurance. Nevada does not require a standard witnessed will to be notarized to be valid. Notarization matters for the optional self-proving step described below. A will signed by the testator and attested by two competent witnesses is valid without a notary.

Self-Proving Affidavits

Nevada lets the witnesses make a will self-proving, which removes a common probate headache: tracking down the witnesses to testify. Any attesting witness to a will may sign a declaration under penalty of perjury or an affidavit stating the facts the witness would have to testify to in court to prove the will. The court can then accept that sworn statement in place of live testimony. (Source: NRS 133.050.)

What this means for a Nevada will:

A self-proving declaration or affidavit is optional. A will without one is still valid if the testator signed it correctly in front of two competent witnesses.
The self-proving step does not replace the witnesses at signing. It is an extra sworn statement by those same witnesses.
With a self-proving declaration, the court can usually admit the will without locating the witnesses, which saves time and avoids problems if a witness has died or moved.

Adding a self-proving declaration is the single easiest way to make a typed Nevada will move smoothly through probate.

Nevada Electronic Wills

Nevada was an early state to authorize a true electronic will, and it remains one of the distinctive parts of Nevada will law. An electronic will is created and maintained in an electronic record and contains the date and the electronic signature of the testator. Beyond that, the record must include at least one of three things. (Source: NRS 133.085.)

The electronic record must carry one of these:

An authentication characteristic of the testator, meaning a unique, measurable feature such as a fingerprint, a retinal scan, voice or facial recognition, a video recording, or a digitized signature.
An electronic notary, shown by the electronic signature and electronic seal of an electronic notary public, placed in the testator's presence while the testator placed an electronic signature on the record.
Two attesting witnesses, shown by the electronic signatures of two or more attesting witnesses, placed in the testator's presence while the testator placed an electronic signature on the record.

A Nevada electronic will is often kept by a qualified custodian, a person who stores the electronic record and can produce it and answer to a court about how it was maintained. (Source: NRS 133.320.) Electronic wills are real Nevada law, but they involve technical custody and authentication steps. Most people still find a traditional typed will, signed before two witnesses and made self-proving, the simplest path.

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills

Nevada recognizes a holographic will, which is a will where the signature, the date, and the material provisions are written by the hand of the testator, whether or not the document is witnessed or notarized. A holographic will is subject to no other form and may be made in or out of Nevada. (Source: NRS 133.090.)

Read the conditions closely:

Handwritten signature, date, and material provisions. The testator's own hand must produce the signature, the date, and the material terms (the gifts and the people who receive them). A printed form with a few handwritten blanks does not meet this rule.
No witnesses required. A valid holographic will does not need witnesses or a notary.

One point causes confusion, so it deserves a clear statement. Nevada does not honor an ordinary unwitnessed will that is simply typed and signed without witnesses. The unwitnessed path exists only for a true holographic will in the testator's handwriting, or for a statutory electronic will. A typed will still needs two competent witnesses. A holographic will is a real option, but handwriting and intent can be hard to prove later, so a witnessed, self-proving will is usually the cleaner choice.

Witnesses Who Are Also Beneficiaries

A frequent worry is whether a will fails because a witness also inherits under it. Nevada law focuses on whether each witness is competent, and it does not void an otherwise valid will simply because a witness stands to receive something. (Source: NRS 133.040.)

Even so, using disinterested witnesses is the safer practice. It removes any argument about undue influence or bias and keeps the signing clean if anyone ever challenges the will. When you can, pick two witnesses who receive nothing under the document.

Notarization and Oral Wills

Two points close out the basics of Nevada will requirements.

Notarization is not required for a witnessed will. A standard Nevada will is valid when it meets the writing, signature, and two-witness rules in NRS 133.040. A notary is involved in the optional self-proving step or in an electronic will that uses an electronic notary, but a plain witnessed will does not need one.
Oral wills are not a general option. Do not rely on a spoken statement of wishes as a substitute for a written, signed will or a valid holographic or electronic will.

How a Nevada Will Is Revoked or Changed

A valid will can be undone, and the method matters. Nevada lets a written will be revoked by physical act or by a later document. The testator can revoke a written will by burning, tearing, cancelling, or obliterating it with the intention of revoking it, either personally or through another person acting in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction. A later will or codicil, executed as the chapter requires, also revokes the earlier one. (Source: NRS 133.120.)

Two follow-on rules are worth knowing:

No automatic revival. Destroying or revoking a second will does not bring back a first will that the second one revoked, unless the terms or manner of the revocation show the testator meant to revive the first will, or the testator reexecutes it. (Source: NRS 133.130.)
Divorce revokes gifts to an ex-spouse. A divorce or annulment after the will revokes every devise, beneficial interest, or designation to serve as personal representative given to the former spouse, and the will then takes effect as if the former spouse had died before the testator, unless an exception applies. (Source: NRS 133.115.)

Because divorce automatically cuts an ex-spouse out of will provisions, review your full plan after any divorce. The will, beneficiary designations, and any trust may not update on the same rules.

A Community Property Note

Nevada is a community property state, so a will only controls part of a married person's estate. Property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is generally community property, and on a spouse's death the surviving spouse already owns an undivided one-half of it. A will can dispose of the decedent's own one-half of the community property and any separate property, but it cannot give away the share the surviving spouse already owns. (Source: NRS 123.250.) This is one reason married Nevadans should plan the will alongside how each asset is titled, not in isolation.

What This Means for Your Plan

If you want a Nevada will that holds up, the cleanest version usually looks like this:

Confirm the testator is over 18 and of sound mind.
Put the will in writing and have the testator sign it.
Sign in front of two competent, ideally disinterested, witnesses, and have both witnesses subscribe their names while the testator is present.
Add an optional self-proving declaration or affidavit so the witnesses do not have to appear at probate.
Store the original safely and tell your personal representative where it is, because the original is what the court admits.

A will is one piece of a Nevada estate plan. Many people pair it with documents that work during life and tools that reduce probate. See the Nevada power of attorney guide and the Nevada advance directive guide for the lifetime documents, and the Nevada guide to avoiding probate for probate-reduction tools. For what happens with no valid will, read the Nevada intestate succession guide. For the broader picture of how an estate moves through the courts, start at the Nevada probate guide or the Nevada county probate directory.

This guide is general information about Nevada wills. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the county clerk's office or a licensed Nevada attorney before you sign or rely on a will.

Sources

Title: NRS 133.020, Sound mind; age. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.040, Valid wills: Requirements of writing, subscription, witnesses and attestation. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.050, Attesting witnesses may sign self-proving declarations or affidavits. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.085, Electronic will. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.320, Restriction on and duties of qualified custodian. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.090, Holographic will. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.115, Revocation of provisions in favor of former spouse on divorce or annulment; exceptions. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.120, Other means of revocation. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 133.130, Effect of revocation of subsequent will (no automatic revival of an earlier will). Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: NRS 123.250, Rights of surviving spouse in community property. Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-123.html
Title: Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 133 (Wills). Publisher: Nevada Revised Statutes (Nevada Legislature). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html
Title: 2025 Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 133, Wills. Publisher: Justia US Law. Publication Date: 2025 edition, accessed 2026-06-23. URL: https://law.justia.com/codes/nevada/chapter-133/