Are Electronic or Online Wills Valid in California?

Short answer: No. California has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, so an electronic-only or “e-signed” will is not valid here. A valid California will still needs a physical signed writing witnessed by two people (Probate Code § 6110), or it has to be a fully handwritten holographic will (Probate Code § 6111). An online service that emails you a “signed” PDF has not made you a valid will — you still have to print it and get it properly witnessed.

Code sections verified against the California Probate Code, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

California hasn’t adopted electronic wills

A handful of states have passed versions of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, which lets people sign a will electronically with remote witnesses. California is not one of them. That means the rules for making a valid will here are the same as they’ve been: a real document, on paper, signed the old-fashioned way. A will that exists only as a file on a screen, or that you “signed” by typing your name or clicking a button, doesn’t meet California’s requirements — no matter how official the software looks.

What a valid California will actually requires

Under Probate Code § 6110, a standard California will has to be:

• In writing;
• Signed by the person making it (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction); and
• Witnessed by at least two people who are present at the same time, watch the signing (or hear the person acknowledge it), and understand the document is meant to be a will.

Two witnesses, present together, signing a physical document. That’s the core. There’s one alternative: a holographic will under Probate Code § 6111, which is valid with no witnesses at all — but only if the material provisions and the signature are in the person’s own handwriting. A typed page you signed alone is neither a witnessed will nor a holographic one, so it fails both tests.

The online-PDF trap

Here’s the scenario we see. Someone in Camarillo uses an online will service, answers the questions, pays the fee, and gets back a polished PDF with their name in a signature font at the bottom. It feels finished. It isn’t. That PDF is just a draft until it’s printed and signed in front of two qualified witnesses exactly the way § 6110 requires. Many people never take that last step — and their family finds out, too late, that there’s no valid will at all.

If you go the online route, understand that the software gave you a form, not a finished will. You still own the signing and witnessing. Our honest take on those tools is on our page about whether LegalZoom and Nolo wills are any good.

The notary myth: notarizing a will doesn’t make it valid

This one trips up a lot of careful people. A notary is not a witness. Getting your will notarized does nothing to satisfy the two-witness rule of § 6110 — a notary confirms who you are, not that your will was properly executed. You can notarize a will all day and still not have a valid one if you skipped the witnesses.

What notarization is good for is a separate add-on called a self-proving affidavit — a notarized statement by your witnesses that speeds up probate later by proving the will’s execution without dragging the witnesses back into court. That’s a bonus attached to an already-validly-signed will, not a substitute for signing it right. If you want the full picture, see does a will need to be notarized in California.

Remote online notarization is coming — but it’s not an e-will

You may have heard California is moving toward remote online notarization, where a notary can verify you over video. That’s real, and it’s useful for some documents. But don’t confuse it with an electronic will. Remote notarization is about how a notary does their job; it doesn’t change the § 6110 requirement that a will be a signed writing with two witnesses. Even when remote notarization is fully live, it won’t turn a click-to-sign online will into a valid California will.

If you’d rather skip the software questions entirely, a handwritten will is a legitimate California option in a pinch — see handwritten wills in California for how holographic wills work and where they go wrong.

Are electronic or online wills valid in California?

No. California has not adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, so an electronic-only will is not valid. A valid California will must be a signed physical writing witnessed by two people under Probate Code § 6110, or a fully handwritten holographic will under § 6111. An online “signed” PDF is only a draft until you print and properly witness it.

Is a DocuSigned or e-signed will legal in California?

No. An electronic signature does not satisfy California’s will formalities. The signature and the witnessing have to happen on a physical document with two witnesses present, per Probate Code § 6110. E-signature tools that are fine for contracts do not make a valid will in California.

Does notarizing a will make it valid in California?

No. A notary is not a witness, and notarization does not satisfy the two-witness requirement of Probate Code § 6110. Notarization only matters for a separate, optional self-proving affidavit, which speeds up probate for a will that was already validly signed and witnessed.

Can I just print the will an online service emailed me and sign it?

Yes — but printing and signing alone isn’t enough. You must sign it (or acknowledge your signature) in front of at least two witnesses who are present at the same time and know it’s your will, as § 6110 requires. Skip the witnesses and the printed PDF is not a valid will.

Will remote online notarization allow electronic wills in California?

No. Remote online notarization changes how a notary verifies identity over video; it does not change the requirement that a will be a signed physical writing with two witnesses. Even once remote notarization is fully available, a click-to-sign online will still won’t be valid in California.

The bottom line

California has not adopted electronic wills. To make a valid will here you need a printed document signed in front of two witnesses under § 6110, or a will written entirely in your own hand under § 6111. An online service’s emailed PDF is a starting point, not a finished will — and notarizing it doesn’t fix that. If you’ve got a stack of DIY documents and no idea whether any of them count, bring them in. Talk to Eric and get a straight answer.

Sources: Cal. Prob. Code § 6110 (will execution — writing, signature, two witnesses); Cal. Prob. Code § 6111 (holographic wills); California has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.