Updated August 1, 2026. Quick answer: it depends entirely on where you sign it. Of the 42 states whose statute we have read, 21 accept an unwitnessed handwritten will, 4 accept one only in narrow circumstances, and 17 do not accept one at all. In that last group a handwritten will is not a weaker will — it is not a will, and the estate passes as though you had written nothing.
Where it works
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
The requirements are not identical and the differences are the kind that decide cases. Michigan requires the document to be dated (MCL 700.2502(2)); Oklahoma requires it to be entirely written, dated and signed in the testator’s own hand (84 O.S. § 54); California and Arizona require only that the signature and the material provisions be handwritten, which means a filled-in form can qualify where the filled-in parts are yours (Cal. Prob. Code § 6111(a)). Texas requires the will to be written wholly in your handwriting (Tex. Est. Code § 251.052) — a printed form with handwritten blanks fails that test where it would pass California’s.
Two states that get miscounted
Pennsylvania appears on no standard list of holographic-will states, and yet a handwritten will works there — because Pennsylvania requires no witnesses for any will signed by the testator (20 Pa.C.S. § 2502). It gets to the same place by a different route. Virginia accepts a wholly handwritten will but adds a burden at the other end: the handwriting must be proved after death by at least two disinterested witnesses (Va. Code § 64.2-403(B)), so the witnesses you avoided at signing become witnesses your executor has to find.
Where it does not work
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
And in narrow cases only: Maryland, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island — typically limited to armed-forces members in active service, with the will expiring some period after discharge. These are not general-purpose options and should not be read as one.
Why it is still usually a bad idea where it is legal
Nothing above says a handwritten will is a good plan. It says it is admissible. Holographic wills fail disproportionately for reasons that have nothing to do with the handwriting rule: ambiguous wording that names no residuary beneficiary, no executor appointed, gifts of property already sold, and no self-proving affidavit, so proving it means finding someone who can identify your handwriting. It is a genuine emergency instrument — before surgery, before a flight, in a state that accepts one — and a poor permanent one.
The full formalities table by state — witnesses, notarisation, handwritten and electronic. When DIY is defensible covers the middle route, which for most people beats both a handwritten page and a four-figure engagement.
The safer route than a handwritten page
A handwritten will is a real will in some states and scrap paper in others, and the question is settled at the worst possible moment. A witnessed, state-specific will removes it entirely; LawDepot builds one through a guided form.
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Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or code site; states we could not verify are absent rather than assumed. General information, not legal advice.
Then you move. Florida excludes holographic wills from the rule that saves out-of-state wills, so a handwritten will valid where you signed it can be worth nothing after a move — what a move actually breaks.
Every state we have read, with its statute
Added August 6, 2026. Of the 42 jurisdictions whose wills statute we have read at the state’s own source: 21 recognise a handwritten unwitnessed will, 17 do not, and 4 recognise one only in limited circumstances — almost always for armed-forces members in active service, which is a wartime relic rather than a planning option.
| State | Handwritten will | Statute | What the statute requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Recognised | AS 13.12.502(b) | Signature and material portions in the testator’s own handwriting; valid whether or not witnessed. |
| Arizona | Recognised | A.R.S. § 14-2503 | Valid whether or not witnessed if the signature and material provisions are in the testator’s handwriting. |
| California | Recognised | Cal. Prob. Code § 6111(a) | Signature and material provisions must be in the testator’s own handwriting; no witnesses required. |
| Colorado | Recognised | C.R.S. § 15-11-502(2)-(3) | Signature and material portions in the testator’s handwriting; valid whether or not witnessed; intent may be shown by extrinsic evidence. |
| Hawaii | Recognised | HRS § 560:2-502(b)-(c) | Valid whether or not witnessed if the signature and material portions are in the testator’s handwriting; intent may be shown by extrinsic evidence. |
| Idaho | Recognised | Idaho Code § 15-2-503 | Signature and material provisions in the testator’s own handwriting; no witnesses required. |
| Kentucky | Recognised | KRS 394.040 | Wholly written by the testator; name subscribed by the testator or by another at his direction and in his presence. The two-witness requirement applies only if the will is NOT wholly handwritten. |
| Louisiana | Recognised | La. Civ. Code art. 1575(A) | Entirely written, dated and signed in the testator’s own handwriting; no witnesses and no notary. |
| Maine | Recognised | 18-C M.R.S. § 2-502(2)-(3) | Signature and material portions in the testator’s handwriting; witnessing not required, and intent may be shown by extrinsic evidence. |
| Michigan | Recognised | MCL 700.2502(2) | Dated, with the testator’s signature and the document’s material portions in the testator’s handwriting; witnesses not required. |
| Montana | Recognised | Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-522(2) | Signature and material portions in the testator’s handwriting; witnessing not required. |
| Nebraska | Recognised | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2328 | Signature, material provisions and an indication of the date of signing must be in the testator’s own handwriting; witnesses not required. |
| Nevada | Recognised | NRS 133.090 | Signature, date and material provisions must be in the testator’s own handwriting; witnessing and notarisation are both irrelevant. |
| North Carolina | Recognised | N.C.G.S. § 31-3.4 | Written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and subscribed by the testator; no attesting witness required. |
| North Dakota | Recognised | N.D.C.C. 30.1-08-02(2)-(3) | Valid whether or not witnessed if the signature and material portions are in the testator’s handwriting; intent may be shown by extrinsic evidence. |
| Oklahoma | Recognised | 84 O.S. § 54 | Entirely written, dated and signed in the testator’s own handwriting; no witnesses required. |
| Pennsylvania | Recognised | 20 Pa.C.S. § 2502 | No dedicated holographic statute is needed: a wholly handwritten, testator-signed instrument qualifies under the general execution rule, which requires only writing and signature at the end. |
| Texas | Recognised | Tex. Est. Code § 251.052 | Written wholly in the testator’s own handwriting; attesting witnesses not required. |
| Utah | Recognised | Utah Code § 75-2-502(2)-(3) | Valid whether or not witnessed if the signature and material portions are in the testator’s handwriting; intent may be shown by extrinsic evidence. |
| Virginia | Recognised | Va. Code § 64.2-403(B) | Wholly in the testator’s handwriting and signed; no witnesses at execution, but the handwriting must be proved after death by at least two disinterested witnesses. |
| Wyoming | Recognised | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 2-6-113 | Entirely in the testator’s handwriting and signed by the testator’s own hand; no witnesses required. |
| Maryland | Limited only | Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-103 | Only for a testator serving in the U.S. armed services, entirely handwritten, signed outside a U.S. state/D.C./territory; void one year after discharge unless the testator died first or then lacks capacity. |
| New York | Limited only | EPTL § 3-2.2 | Only for armed-forces members in actual service during war, persons serving with or accompanying such a force, and mariners at sea; expires one year after discharge (three years for mariners). |
| Oregon | Limited only | ORS 112.238(1) | No standalone holographic statute. ORS 112.238 lets a court admit a signed but non-compliant writing on clear and convincing evidence of testamentary intent. |
| Rhode Island | Limited only | R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-6 | A preserved common-law privilege for active-duty soldiers or airmen and mariners at sea disposing of personal estate only; not a general handwritten-will exception, and the statute does not use the word holographic. |
| Alabama | Not recognised | Ala. Code § 43-8-131 | No holographic exception anywhere in ch. 8 art. 7 div. 1 (§§ 43-8-130 to 43-8-141). |
| Connecticut | Not recognised | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-251 | Not recognized for wills executed in Connecticut; a holographic will valid where made can still be admitted under the out-of-state savings clause. |
| Delaware | Not recognised | 12 Del. C. § 202(a)-(b) | No holographic exception; a will not complying with § 202(a) is void. |
| District of Columbia | Not recognised | D.C. Code § 18-103 | No holographic exception; § 18-103 voids any will not attested by two witnesses, the only alternates being nuncupative wills for military/mariners (§ 18-107) and electronic wills (ch. 9). |
| Florida | Not recognised | Fla. Stat. § 732.502(2) | Not recognized. The savings clause for wills executed by nonresidents out of state expressly excludes holographic wills. |
| Iowa | Not recognised | Iowa Code §§ 633.279(1), 633.283 | No holographic exception in ch. 633; every will must be witnessed by two competent persons. The only cross-reference (§ 633.283) is a conflict-of-laws savings clause for foreign-executed wills. |
| Kansas | Not recognised | K.S.A. 59-606 | No holographic-will statute. Every will except an oral will under K.S.A. 59-608 must be written, signed and attested by two or more competent witnesses. |
| Massachusetts | Not recognised | M.G.L. c.190B, §§ 2-502, 2-503 | No holographic-will provision; the UPC holographic slot at § 2-503 is expressly reserved and unused. |
| Minnesota | Not recognised | Minn. Stat. § 524.2-502 | No provision for an unwitnessed wholly handwritten will anywhere in ch. 524, art. 2, pt. 5. |
| Missouri | Not recognised | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 474.320 | No distinct category; § 474.320 requires every will to be attested by two or more competent witnesses with no handwritten exception. |
| New Hampshire | Not recognised | RSA 551:2 | No holographic provision anywhere in RSA 551:1 to 551:22; the two-credible-witness rule carries no handwriting exception. |
| Ohio | Not recognised | ORC 2107.03; ORC 2107.24 | Even the curative provision for noncompliant wills still requires signing in the conscious presence of two or more witnesses. |
| South Carolina | Not recognised | S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-502 | No holographic or oral-will provision; every will needs two witnesses. |
| Vermont | Not recognised | 14 V.S.A. ch. 1 (§§ 1-11) | No holographic provision in current Title 14 ch. 1; former §§ 4, 6 and 8 were repealed in 2017. Only the § 7 military exception relaxes the formalities. |
| Washington | Not recognised | RCW 11.12.020; RCW 11.12.025 | No holographic provision. RCW 11.12.025 permits only a narrow oral (nuncupative) will for armed-forces/merchant-marine members or personal property under $1,000. |
| West Virginia | Not recognised | W. Va. Code ch. 41 art. 1 (§§ 41-1-1 to 41-1-6) | No holographic provision; all six sections of ch. 41 art. 1 were read and none creates a carve-out for a testator-handwritten instrument. |
| Wisconsin | Not recognised | Wis. Stat. § 853.03 | None; § 853.03 requires two witnesses for every will and ch. 853 contains no holographic provision. |
Nine jurisdictions are absent because their statutes could not be read: Georgia (exclusive publisher portal), Tennessee and South Dakota (JavaScript-only official sites), Indiana (empty shell), Arkansas (no static code viewer), Mississippi (TLS failure), New Mexico (bot-blocked), plus Illinois and New Jersey where the section was located but the holographic answer was not confirmed. Absent means unread, not “no”.
The trap: valid where you wrote it is not valid everywhere
This is the fact that turns a handwritten will from a shortcut into a risk, and it is why the table above is only half the answer.
The forgiving rule. Uniform Probate Code states accept a will that was validly executed elsewhere. Minnesota: “A will is valid if executed in compliance with section 524.2-502 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the testator executes the will, or of the law of the place where… the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national.” (Minn. Stat. §524.2-506.)
And the carve-out that undoes it for handwriting. Florida applies the same courtesy to out-of-state wills — but not to these: “Any will, other than a holographic or nuncupative will, executed by a nonresident of Florida… is valid as a will in this state if valid under the laws of the state or country where the will was executed.” And it closes the obvious workaround: “A will in the testator’s handwriting that has been executed in accordance with subsection (1) shall not be considered a holographic will.” (Fla. Stat. §732.502(2).)
So a valid handwritten will can become worthless by moving house. Write one in a state that recognises them, retire to Florida, and the document that was perfectly good is not a will there. Same paper, same signature, different state. What a move actually breaks covers the rest of that problem.
What this means if you have written one
Check your state in the table, then check where you plan to live. Both have to work, and the second is the one people never check.
A handwritten will is a bridge, not a destination. Even where recognised, it carries every proof problem a witnessed will avoids: no self-proving affidavit, no witnesses to testify, and a court deciding whether the handwriting and the material provisions meet the statute. What your state requires for a witnessed will is usually two witnesses and no notary — a smaller hurdle than the risk it removes.
If you are replacing one, replace it properly: a codicil or a new will, and how revocation actually works — because a handwritten will you forgot to destroy is exactly the document that surfaces later.
Sources for this section
Every row in the table is from our own statute library, each cell read at that state’s own official source and stored with its citation, URL and confidence in the will-execution dataset. The recognition-trap statutes — Minn. Stat. §524.2-506 and Fla. Stat. §732.502(2) — were read on 2026-08-06. See methodology and corrections. General information about published statutes, not legal advice.