Texas: Will Execution Requirements
The short answer
To sign a valid will in Texas you must be at least 18 (or married, previously married, or in the U.S. armed forces) and of sound mind, put the will in writing, sign it yourself (or have someone sign for you in your presence and at your direction), and have two credible witnesses at least 14 years old sign their names on the will in your presence. Notarization is not required — an optional notarized 'self-proving affidavit' just lets the will skip witness testimony at probate. Texas also accepts a will written entirely in your own handwriting with no witnesses, but it has no 'harmless-error' rule: a will that misses these formalities is invalid, though Texas will honor a will that was valid where you signed it.
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This is the general rule in Texas. Ezel applies current Texas law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Texas Estates Code ch. 251 (execution) plus § 254.002 (gifts to witnesses). Texas follows the common-law attested-will model; it is not a notarial-will or electronic-wills state and has no harmless-error statute. The old Probate Code was recodified into the Estates Code effective 2014; §§ 251.001 and 251.051 were last amended in 2017 (H.B. 2271) |
|---|---|
| Minimum age & capacity | Must be 'of sound mind' and, when the will is made, either 18 or older, OR married or previously married, OR a member of the U.S. armed forces, an armed-forces auxiliary, or the U.S. Maritime Service (§ 251.001) |
| Writing & signature | Must be in writing and signed by the testator in person, OR by another person on the testator's behalf 'in the testator's presence and under the testator's direction' (§ 251.051(1)–(2)). No rule that the signature be at the end |
| Witnesses required | Two or more credible witnesses, each 'at least 14 years of age,' who 'subscribe their names to the will in their own handwriting in the testator's presence' (§ 251.051(3)). Texas does not require the witnesses to sign in each other's presence or all be present at once. A gift to a witness is VOID unless the will can be proved without that witness or the witness's testimony is corroborated by a disinterested credible person — and even then the witness keeps no more than their intestate share (§ 254.002) |
| Notarization & self-proving | Notarization is NOT required to sign a will. Texas offers an OPTIONAL self-proving affidavit — the testator and witnesses swear to it 'before an officer authorized to administer oaths' (a notary) — which lets the will 'be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witnesses' (§§ 251.102, 251.104(b)) |
| Handwritten (holographic) wills | Yes. 'A will written wholly in the testator's handwriting is not required to be attested by subscribing witnesses' (§ 251.052) — the WHOLE will, not just its key terms, must be in the testator's handwriting. A handwritten will can also be made self-proved by the testator's own affidavit (§ 251.107) |
| Electronic & remote wills | Not permitted. Texas has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (a 2019 bill died in committee), and § 251.051 requires a physical writing that witnesses 'subscribe … in their own handwriting in the testator's presence.' A will signed only electronically is not valid |
| Harmless-error / curative doctrine | No. Texas has no harmless-error or substantial-compliance statute; a will that does not meet § 251.051's formalities is invalid (strict compliance). One narrow saver: a will valid under the law where it was executed, or where the testator was domiciled, is still honored (§ 251.053) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Texas's will-execution rules are in the Estates Code, Chapter 251. Section 251.001
says who may make a will; § 251.051 sets the writing, signature, and witness rules for
an ordinary (attested) will; § 251.052 carves out handwritten (holographic) wills; and
§ 254.002 handles a witness who is also a beneficiary. Texas uses the traditional
common-law attested will — a written document signed before two witnesses. It is not a
civil-law "notarial will" state, it has not adopted electronic wills, and it has no
harmless-error rule to excuse a botched signing. The Estates Code replaced the old
Texas Probate Code effective January 1, 2014; the execution sections were last touched
in 2017.
Minimum age & capacity
To make a Texas will you must be "of sound mind" and fit one of three categories at the
time you sign (§ 251.001): 18 years of age or older; married or previously married; or a
member of the U.S. armed forces, an armed-forces auxiliary, or the U.S. Maritime
Service. The marriage and military categories let some people under 18 make a valid
will — a narrow exception most states do not have.
Writing & signature
The will must be in writing (§ 251.051(1)) — Texas has no oral will for most people. It
must be signed either by the testator personally or "by another person on behalf of the
testator" who signs "in the testator's presence and under the testator's direction"
(§ 251.051(2)), which covers a testator who physically cannot sign. Texas does not
require the signature to appear at the end of the document.
Witnesses required
An attested Texas will needs "two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years
of age and who subscribe their names to the will in their own handwriting in the
testator's presence" (§ 251.051(3)). Two points set Texas apart. First, the age floor:
a witness must be at least 14 — Texas is one of the few states to put a number on it.
Second, what the statute does NOT say: it does not require the witnesses to watch each
other sign, to all be present at the same time, or for the testator to sign in front of
the witnesses — it requires only that the witnesses subscribe in the testator's
presence. (Many Texas wills recite "in the presence of each other" anyway as a safe
drafting habit, but that is belt-and-suspenders, not a statutory demand.)
Notarization & self-proving
A Texas will does not need to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not a witness. What
notarization does is power the optional "self-proving affidavit." Under § 251.104(b) the
testator and the witnesses swear to that affidavit "before an officer authorized to
administer oaths" (a notary), who affixes an official seal. A will made self-proved this
way "may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witnesses"
(§ 251.102(a)) — so no one has to track the witnesses down years later. A self-proved
will is otherwise treated no differently than any other will (§ 251.102(b)). The
affidavit is a convenience, not a validity requirement; skipping it does not make the
will invalid, only harder to probate.
Handwritten (holographic) wills
Texas recognizes holographic wills: "a will written wholly in the testator's handwriting
is not required to be attested by subscribing witnesses" (§ 251.052). The key word is
"wholly" — unlike states that ask only that the "material provisions" be handwritten,
Texas requires the entire will to be in the testator's hand. A form with printed text
filled in by hand generally will not qualify. A holographic will can be made self-proved
during the testator's lifetime by attaching the testator's own affidavit swearing to the
basic facts (§ 251.107).
Electronic & remote wills
Texas does not permit electronic wills. A bill to adopt an Electronic Wills Act was
introduced in 2019 and died in committee, and Texas has not enacted the Uniform
Electronic Wills Act since. Section 251.051 still requires a physical writing that
witnesses "subscribe … in their own handwriting in the testator's presence," so a will
that exists only as a computer file, or that was "signed" electronically, is not a valid
Texas will.
Harmless-error / curative doctrine
Texas is a strict-compliance state. There is no harmless-error or substantial-compliance
statute, so a will that misses one of § 251.051's formalities — for example, only one
witness — is simply invalid, no matter how clearly the testator meant it as a will. The
one built-in saver is for out-of-state wills: § 251.053 honors a written will that was
validly executed under the law of the place where it was signed, or where the testator
lived, even if it would not satisfy § 251.051.
What trips people up
A notary is not a substitute for witnesses. Some people sign a will in front of a
notary and stop, thinking that makes it official. It does not — Texas requires two
credible witnesses under § 251.051(3). The notary matters only for the optional
self-proving affidavit, which rides on top of an already properly witnessed will.
"Wholly" in your handwriting means the whole thing. A holographic will is valid
with no witnesses, but only if the entire will is handwritten (§ 251.052). Filling
handwritten blanks into a printed will form usually fails that test, and because Texas
has no harmless-error rule, a court cannot rescue it.
Leaving a gift to a witness can wipe out the gift. If a beneficiary also signs as
one of the two witnesses, § 254.002 voids that gift unless the will can be proved
without them or a disinterested credible person corroborates their testimony — and even
then the witness keeps no more than their intestate share. Use two witnesses who inherit
nothing.
Strict compliance means there is no second chance. Unlike California and other
harmless-error states, Texas cannot excuse a defect in signing based on clear intent. If
the formalities of § 251.051 are not met, the will fails — the reason the self-proving
affidavit and careful witnessing matter so much.
Common questions
Does my Texas will have to be notarized? No. Texas requires two credible witnesses
(age 14 or older), not a notary (§ 251.051(3)). Notarizing the optional self-proving
affidavit just makes the will easier to admit to probate later (§ 251.102(a)); it is not
required for the will to be valid.
Can I write my Texas will by hand? Yes. A will "written wholly in the testator's
handwriting" needs no witnesses at all (§ 251.052). Write the entire will in your own
hand and sign it — but if any part is typed or pre-printed, it is not a valid holographic
will.
How old do my witnesses have to be? At least 14 years old, and they must be
"credible" (§ 251.051(3)). It is also wise to choose witnesses who are not named as
beneficiaries, because a gift to a witness can be voided under § 254.002.
I signed a valid will in another state and moved to Texas. Is it still good? Very
likely yes. Section 251.053 honors a written will that was validly executed under the
law of the state (or country) where you signed it or where you were domiciled, even if
it would not meet Texas's own § 251.051 formalities.
Statutes and sources
- Tex. Est. Code § 251.001 — who may make a will: sound mind plus age 18, or marriage, or military service.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.051 — core execution rule: writing, signature, and two credible witnesses (14+) who subscribe in the testator's presence.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.052 — holographic wills: a will wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no witnesses.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.053 — foreign/out-of-state wills valid where executed or where the testator was domiciled are honored.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.102 — a self-proved will may be admitted to probate without subscribing-witness testimony; otherwise treated the same as any will.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.104 — the self-proving affidavit must be sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths (a notary) and annexed to the will.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 251.107 — a wholly handwritten will may be made self-proved by the testator's own affidavit.
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - Tex. Est. Code § 254.002 — a gift to a subscribing witness is void unless the will can be otherwise proved or the witness is corroborated; the witness may keep up to their intestate share.
https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/estates-code/est-sect-254-002/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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