Can You Sign a Will Online? Electronic Wills and Online Notarization

Which states allow electronic wills?

As of October 2026, these jurisdictions allow electronic wills: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington and the District of Columbia. Kentucky's law is the newest; it took effect July 15, 2026. New York enacted an electronic wills law in December 2025, but it doesn't take effect until 2027 (Rivkin Radler). Bills in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia haven't become law.

New Hampshire and Oregon expressly don't allow electronic wills (ACTEC Foundation); since January 2026, Oregon won't treat an electronic record as a will at all. In the remaining states there's no law allowing them, so a will must be on paper.

Each of our state guides says whether that state allows electronic wills and remote witnesses, with links to the statute.

Can witnesses join by video?

In about 20 jurisdictions, yes, but never casually over a video call. Most are electronic-will states, but a few allow video witnesses even for a paper will: Iowa, Illinois and Washington, and, with a supervising local attorney, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Wyoming has allowed video witnesses since 2023. The rules are strict:

• Florida allows remote witnesses only in a session supervised by a Florida online notary. The notary must ask screening questions, and remote witnessing isn't allowed for vulnerable adults. A self-proved electronic will must be kept by a qualified custodian (Fla. Stat. §117.285).
• Colorado and the District of Columbia follow the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. Witnesses can be present by real-time audio and video, and must be in a U.S. state when they sign.
• Indiana counts video presence only when a lawyer or a paralegal working under a lawyer's direction supervises the signing and signs an affidavit of compliance.
• Kentucky requires both witnesses to be Kentucky residents who are physically in Kentucky when they sign.

North Dakota's electronic wills law doesn't expressly allow remote witnesses, so witnesses there should be physically present.

What online notarization can and can't do

Remote online notarization (RON) lets a notary verify your identity and notarize your signature by live video. Most states allow it for ordinary documents. For wills, it does less than people expect:

1. A notary isn't a witness. In almost every state, a will needs two witnesses. Notarizing your signature online doesn't replace them.
2. It can notarize the self-proving affidavit, the optional statement that saves your witnesses a trip to court, but only where state law allows it for wills, and often only if the witnesses are part of the same session.
3. Some states exclude wills from online notarization, or limit it to electronic wills. Colorado, for example, bars remote notarization of paper wills.

Colorado and North Dakota are exceptions to the witness rule: they let you acknowledge a will before a notary instead of using witnesses. In Colorado, that acknowledgment can be remote only for an electronic will made on an approved platform.

What does online signing cost?

Proof (formerly Notarize) is one of the few online notary services that says it supports remote will signings and can supply witnesses. Its published prices start at $25 for the first notarization, $15 for each additional seal, and $15 for each witness it provides (Proof). A typical will signing with two provided witnesses runs about $55 to $70. Signing on paper with your own witnesses is free, and a notary at a bank or shipping store usually charges a few dollars to about $25.

Should you sign online?

For most people, printing and signing in person is the better choice:

• It works in nearly every state. If you move, a properly witnessed paper will is recognized almost everywhere. Out-of-state recognition of electronic wills is still developing.
• There's an original. Probate courts know what to do with a signed paper original. An electronic will needs a secure, unaltered copy, and some states require a qualified custodian.
• It's harder to challenge. Courts have decades of experience with paper wills.

Online signing makes sense when you live in a state that allows it and can't easily gather two witnesses, for example if you're homebound or far from people who don't inherit under your will.

How to sign online, where it's allowed

1. Check your state's rules on our state pages. You must be physically in that state when you sign.
2. Choose a service that supports electronic wills in your state and can provide witnesses if you need them.
3. Upload your will, then join the video session. The notary checks your ID, and you and the witnesses sign electronically.
4. Make it self-proving in the same session if your state allows it.
5. Store the electronic original as your state requires, and tell your executor where it is.

MyLastWill prepares your will for printing. You can upload the PDF to an online signing service if your state allows electronic wills.