California · Will
California will signing requirements
Says who receives what when you die, and who is in charge of making it happen.
Verified against the current statute text on 2026-09-19 by Michael Seutin, California Notary Public, commission 2518648.
Witnesses
Two witnesses, present at the same time, who see the will being signed or hear the testator acknowledge the signature.
Notary
No — and a notary cannot replace the witnesses. A notarized will with no witnesses is not a validly executed formal will.
The statute
Probate Code §6110 and §6111
Recording
Never recorded. The original goes to the executor or a safe place; after death it is lodged with the superior court.
What California law requires
A California will must be signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and at their direction) and witnessed by at least two people who, during the testator's lifetime, sign the will and who witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. Probate Code §6110.
Notarization is not one of the requirements and does not substitute for the witnesses. A notary can add a jurat to anything, and that jurat proves the signer swore to the document; §6110 does not ask for that.
A will that misses the witness requirements can still be admitted only if the person offering it proves by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended it to be their will. That is a court case after the death, not a plan. Probate Code §6110(c)(2).
A holographic will — the signature and the material provisions in the testator's own handwriting — needs no witnesses at all. Probate Code §6111.
From the signings
The most common bedside mistake is a will with one witness and a notary stamp. The stamp is a jurat on the wrong document: it proves the signer swore to it, and §6110 does not care. I raise the second-witness question on the call before I drive, because it is the one thing my commission cannot fix once I am in the room.
At the signing
- 1
Two witnesses, both in the room at the same time, both signing during the testator's lifetime.
- 2
Choose witnesses who take nothing under the will; a witness who is also a beneficiary creates a presumption the gift was obtained improperly.
- 3
The witnesses sign a declaration under penalty of perjury on the will itself. That declaration is what lets the will be proved later without calling them to court.
- 4
A notary in the room can identify the testator and witness the signing as one of the two witnesses. The stamp is not what makes it valid — the second witness is.
Common questions
No. Probate Code §6110 requires two witnesses and says nothing about a notary. A notarization does not replace a missing witness.
Yes. A notary is an adult who can watch the testator sign, and can sign as one of the two witnesses. It is the second witness, not the seal, that the statute counts.
If the signature and the material provisions are in their handwriting, it is a holographic will under Probate Code §6111 and needs no witnesses.
Sources
General information about how a document is executed under California law, not advice about your situation. A notary public is not an attorney and cannot choose a document for you or fill one in. The full disclaimer.