Updated August 1, 2026. Quick answer: almost certainly not. In 43 of the 44 states whose execution statute we have read, notarisation is not a requirement for a will to be valid — the witnesses are. What the notary signs is the self-proving affidavit: a separate, optional page that lets the will be admitted to probate without tracking your witnesses down years later. It is worth having. It is not what makes the will work.
Two documents that get confused because they are stapled together
| The will | The self-proving affidavit |
|---|---|
| Signed by you, watched by witnesses | Sworn by you and the witnesses in front of a notary |
| Makes the document legally operative | Makes proving it in court quicker |
| Required | Optional in most states, and not offered in all of them |
| Missing witnesses is usually fatal | Missing affidavit just means a witness may have to testify |
This is why the notarised-but-unwitnessed will is such a common and expensive mistake. The notary stamp looks like the official part. It is the part that proves who signed — not the part that makes the document a will.
The exceptions we have verified
Colorado and North Dakota are the structural exceptions: a will may be validly executed by acknowledgment before a notary instead of being attested by witnesses. The notary is an alternative path, not an addition (C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)(c); N.D.C.C. 30.1-08-02(1)(c)). Pennsylvania goes the other way and requires no attesting witnesses at all for a will the testator signs (20 Pa.C.S. § 2502) — witnesses enter only where someone signs by mark or on the testator’s behalf.
Two more worth knowing because they change what the affidavit is worth: California has no execution-time self-proving affidavit at all — proof runs through the subscribing witnesses after death (Cal. Prob. Code § 8220) — and the same is true in Ohio, whose probate chapter contains no such provision (ORC ch. 2107 (full section index 2107.01-2107.77 checked)). In those states, chasing a notary adds nothing to the will.
The one place the answer is yes
Louisiana is the exception that proves the rule, and it is not a quirk — it is a different legal system. Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction, and its ordinary will form is the notarial testament, which is executed before a notary and two witnesses, all of whom sign (La. Civ. Code arts. 1574, 1576). There is no self-proving affidavit there because there is nothing left to prove: the notary is present at execution. Louisiana also offers the olographic testament, entirely handwritten, dated and signed — which needs neither a notary nor a witness (La. Civ. Code art. 1575(A)). So the state that most requires a notary is also one where you can make a valid will without ever meeting one.
Where a notary genuinely earns their fee
Remote and electronic execution. The states that recognise electronic wills generally build the notary into the process rather than leaving them at the edge of it — and that is a different question from whether your paper will needs a stamp. 14 of the states in our library recognise electronic wills in some form.
The full state table gives the witness count, the interested-witness rule, the handwritten-will answer and the electronic-will answer for every state whose statute we have read — with the citation on each cell.
Getting the witnesses right
The notary proves the signature; the witnesses are what make the will. If yours is still to be written or replaced, LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament — and the self-proving affidavit described above is worth completing at the same signing.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link — it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Every statement above traces to statutory text read at a state legislature or official state code site. General information, not legal advice.
When a notary IS needed — for the self-proving affidavit, the deed, the power of attorney — the cost and whether it can be done over video are both set by statute: notary fee caps and remote notarization by state.