Oregon: Will Execution Requirements
The short answer
To sign a valid will in Oregon you must be at least 18 (or married or emancipated) and of sound mind, and the will must be in writing. In front of each of two witnesses you must sign the will, direct someone to sign for you, or acknowledge your signature; each witness must then sign the will within a reasonable time before you die. Oregon does not accept handwritten (holographic) wills or electronic wills — every will needs two witnesses, and the law now says a 'writing' cannot be an electronic record. Notarization is not required. If a will misses a formality, an Oregon court can still honor it on clear and convincing proof you meant it as your will.
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This is the general rule in Oregon. Ezel applies current Oregon law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 112 (Probate Law). § 112.225 sets who may make a will; § 112.235 is the execution statute (writing, signature, two witnesses); § 112.238 is a harmless-error exception; § 112.245 covers a witness who is also a beneficiary. Oregon follows the common-law attested-will model and does NOT recognize holographic or electronic wills. 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34 amended §§ 112.235 and 112.238, effective Jan. 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Minimum age & capacity | 18 or older — OR anyone who 'has been lawfully married' or has been emancipated under ORS 419B.550 to 419B.558 — and 'of sound mind' (§ 112.225). The statute does not define sound mind; Oregon courts apply the usual testamentary-capacity test (understanding the act of making a will, the nature and extent of one's property, and the natural objects of one's bounty), measured at the time of signing |
| Writing & signature | The will must be in writing (§ 112.235(1)), and 'writing' expressly 'does not include an electronic record, document or image' (§ 112.235(4)). In the presence of each witness the testator must sign the will, direct a witness or other person to sign the testator's name (that person also signs their own name), or acknowledge a signature already made (§ 112.235(1)(a)). No signature-at-the-end rule |
| Witnesses required | At least TWO witnesses. Each must see the testator sign, hear the testator acknowledge the signature, or hear or observe the testator direct another to sign — and each must 'attest the will by signing the witness' name to the will within a reasonable time before the testator's death' (§ 112.235(1)(b)). Witnesses need not sign in each other's presence, but must sign before the testator dies. Interested witnesses: a gift to a witness is NOT void — 'A will attested by an interested witness is not thereby invalidated' (§ 112.245); Oregon has no purging statute |
| Notarization & self-proving | Notarization is NOT required to make an Oregon will valid — a notary is not a witness. Oregon has no separate self-proving affidavit signed at execution that dispenses with proof; instead a witness's signature on an affidavit executed at the same time as the will counts as signing the will (§ 112.235(2)), and at probate an attesting witness's testimony may be given by affidavit (ORS 113.055). A properly witnessed will needs no notary |
| Handwritten (holographic) wills | No. Oregon does not recognize holographic (unwitnessed handwritten) wills, or oral (nuncupative) wills. Every will — handwritten or typed — must meet the two-witness formalities of § 112.235; there is no handwriting exception. A will Oregon would reject may still be honored here if it was validly made under the law of the state where it was executed |
| Electronic & remote wills | Not permitted, and now expressly excluded. Oregon has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, and 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34 (eff. Jan. 1, 2026) amended § 112.235 to state that a 'writing' 'does not include an electronic record, document or image' (§ 112.235(4)). The witnesses must actually perceive the signing or acknowledgment; there is no standing remote audio-video witnessing authority. A will signed only electronically is not valid in Oregon |
| Harmless-error / curative doctrine | Yes — § 112.238. A writing not executed in compliance with § 112.235 may still be treated as a will if it was executed before death, the decedent (or another at the decedent's direction) signed it, and the proponent 'establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the writing to constitute' the will (or a revocation or alteration of it). Important limit: because § 112.235(4)'s definition of 'writing' (no electronic record) also governs § 112.238, this cure cannot rescue an electronic document — only a physical writing |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Oregon's will-execution rules are in the Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 112. The core
statute is § 112.235, which sets the writing, signature, and two-witness formalities;
§ 112.225 says who may make a will; § 112.238 is a harmless-error safety valve; and § 112.245
handles a witness who is also a beneficiary. Oregon uses the traditional common-law attested
will — a written document signed before two witnesses — and, unlike about half the states, does
not recognize a handwritten (holographic) will. The 2025 Legislature (2025 Or. Laws ch. 34)
amended §§ 112.235 and 112.238, effective January 1, 2026; those amendments are already in force.
Minimum age & capacity
A will may be made by "any person who is 18 years of age or older or who has been lawfully
married or who has been emancipated" under ORS 419B.550 to 419B.558, and who is "of sound mind"
(§ 112.225). So the usual age is 18, but marriage or a court emancipation lets a younger person
make a will. The statute does not define "sound mind"; Oregon courts apply the standard
testamentary-capacity test — the maker must understand that they are making a will, know the
nature and extent of their property, and know the people who would ordinarily receive it —
measured at the moment of signing.
Writing & signature
An Oregon will must be in writing (§ 112.235(1)), and the law is now explicit that "writing"
"does not include an electronic record, document or image" (§ 112.235(4)). In the presence of
each of the witnesses, the testator must do one of three things: sign the will; direct a witness
or another person to sign the testator's name (that person then signs their own name too, showing
who signed and why); or acknowledge a signature already on the will (§ 112.235(1)(a)). Oregon does
not require the signature to be at the end of the document.
Witnesses required
An Oregon will needs at least two witnesses. Each witness must either see the testator sign, hear
the testator acknowledge the signature, or hear or observe the testator direct someone else to
sign — and each must "attest the will by signing the witness' name to the will within a reasonable
time before the testator's death" (§ 112.235(1)(b)). Two features stand out. First, the witnesses
do not have to sign in each other's presence (unlike some states), and they may sign a bit later —
so long as it is within a reasonable time and before the testator dies. Second, using a
beneficiary as a witness does not hurt the will: "A will attested by an interested witness is not
thereby invalidated" (§ 112.245). Oregon abolished the old rule that voided a gift to a
witness, so an interested witness keeps their gift — though disinterested witnesses are still the
cleaner practice.
Notarization & self-proving
Oregon does not require a will to be notarized — a notary is not a substitute for a witness. Oregon
also does not use the classic "self-proving affidavit" signed at execution that some states use to
lock in validity. Instead, § 112.235(2) provides that a witness's signature on an affidavit
executed at the same time as the will counts as the witness signing the will, and at probate an
attesting witness's testimony can be supplied by affidavit (ORS 113.055) so the witness need not
appear in court. A properly witnessed Oregon will is complete without any notary.
Handwritten (holographic) wills
Oregon does not recognize holographic wills. There is no handwriting exception in § 112.235: a
will written entirely by hand still needs two witnesses, just like a typed one. Oregon likewise
does not recognize oral (nuncupative) wills. One practical cushion: a will that fails Oregon's
formalities may still be honored in Oregon if it was validly executed under the law of the state
where it was signed — but a homemade, unwitnessed handwritten will made in Oregon is not valid here.
Electronic & remote wills
Oregon does not permit electronic wills, and as of January 1, 2026 the statute says so directly.
Oregon has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, and 2025 Or. Laws ch. 34 amended § 112.235
to provide that "writing" "does not include an electronic record, document or image" (§ 112.235(4)).
The witnesses must actually see the signing or hear the acknowledgment, and there is no standing
authority for remote audio-video witnessing. A will that exists only as a computer file, or that
was "signed" electronically, is not a valid Oregon will.
Harmless-error / curative doctrine
Oregon has a harmless-error rule, in § 112.238. Even if a writing was not executed exactly as
§ 112.235 requires, a court may treat it as a will if it was executed before the person's death,
the decedent (or someone at the decedent's direction) signed it, and the person offering it
"establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the writing to constitute"
their will (or a revocation or change to it). That can rescue a will with, say, only one witness.
But the cure has a hard edge: because "writing" excludes an electronic record and that same
definition governs § 112.238, the harmless-error rule cannot save an electronic document — it works
only for a physical writing.
What trips people up
A handwritten will you signed without witnesses is not valid in Oregon. This is the most common
mistake. Oregon does not accept holographic wills; § 112.235 requires two witnesses for every will.
Handwriting the document changes nothing about the witness requirement. (The § 112.238 harmless-error
rule might rescue it, but only by convincing a probate court after the fact — far from guaranteed.)
Electronic and video-only signings do not work. Since January 1, 2026 the statute defines
"writing" to exclude an electronic record (§ 112.235(4)). An online service that emails you a signed
PDF has produced a draft, not a will, until it is printed and witnessed in person.
Witnesses must attest before you die — and it is best to do it at the signing. Section 112.235(1)(b)
lets witnesses sign "within a reasonable time before the testator's death," but a witness who never
gets around to signing, or signs after death, breaks the rule. Have both witnesses sign at the
ceremony.
Harmless error is a backstop, not a plan. Section 112.238 can save a defective will, but it
requires a court petition, notice to interested people, and clear-and-convincing proof of intent —
the expense and uncertainty a properly witnessed will avoids.
Common questions
Does my Oregon will have to be notarized? No. Oregon requires two witnesses, not a notary
(§ 112.235). Notarization is never required to make the will valid.
Can I handwrite my own will in Oregon? You can write it by hand, but it still needs two
witnesses — Oregon does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills. A handwritten, unwitnessed
document is not a valid Oregon will (though a court might, in limited circumstances, honor it under
the harmless-error rule in § 112.238).
Can a beneficiary witness my Oregon will? Yes, without penalty. "A will attested by an
interested witness is not thereby invalidated," and Oregon does not void the gift (§ 112.245). Using
disinterested witnesses is still tidier, but it is not required.
Can I sign my will online in Oregon? No. As of 2026 the law says a "writing" cannot be an
electronic record, document, or image (§ 112.235(4)), so an electronic or video-only will is not
valid in Oregon.
Statutes and sources
- ORS 112.225 — who may make a will: 18 or older, or married or emancipated, and of sound mind.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors112.html (accessed 2026-07-11) - ORS 112.235 — execution: a written will signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses within a reasonable time before death; "writing" excludes electronic records (subsection (4), 2025 amendment).
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors112.html (accessed 2026-07-11) - ORS 112.238 — harmless-error exception: a non-compliant writing may be treated as a will on clear and convincing proof of the decedent's intent.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors112.html (accessed 2026-07-11) - ORS 112.245 — a will attested by an interested witness is not invalidated; no purging of the gift.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors112.html (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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