Will Execution Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Colorado's will-execution rules live in the Colorado Probate Code, Title 15, Article 11, Part 5. Section 15-11-501 says who may make a will, § 15-11-502 sets the writing, signature, and witnessing rules (and the notary alternative and holographic-will rule), § 15-11-503 is the harmless-error provision, § 15-11-504 provides the optional self-proved will, § 15-11-505 covers who may witness, and § 15-11-506 honors wills validly signed elsewhere. Colorado has also adopted the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act (§§ 15-11-1301 to -1311, effective July 2, 2021), so a fully electronic will is valid too. Colorado follows the modern Uniform Probate Code approach: a will may be either witnessed or notarized, handwritten wills are recognized, and a court can excuse an execution defect.

Minimum age & capacity

To make a Colorado will you must be "eighteen or more years of age" and "of sound mind" (§ 15-11-501). The age floor is a flat 18, with no marriage or military exception. Colorado's statute does not spell out "sound mind"; its courts apply the traditional testamentary-capacity test — at the time of signing you understand that you are making a will, know in a general way what you own, and know the people who would ordinarily inherit from you. Capacity is judged at the moment of signing, so a later illness does not undo a will validly made while you had capacity.

Writing & signature

Every Colorado will must be "in writing" (§ 15-11-502(1)(a)). You meet the signature step by signing it yourself, or by having "some other individual" sign your name for you "in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction" (§ 15-11-502(1)(b)). Colorado has no rule that the signature appear at the very end of the document. One Colorado-specific detail: "conscious presence" is defined by statute to require physical proximity to you "but not necessarily within [your] line of sight" (§ 15-11-502(4)) — so someone signing for you must be physically near, though not necessarily where you can see them.

Witnesses required

Colorado gives you a choice that most states do not: a will is validly executed if it is either signed by two witnesses OR acknowledged before a notary (the notary path is covered in the next section). On the witness path, "at least two individuals" must each sign "within a reasonable time" after witnessing your signing of the will, or your acknowledgment of your signature or of the will (§ 15-11-502(1)(c)(I)). Two features stand out: the witnesses do not have to sign at the same moment you do — a reasonable time later is fine — and the statute even lets a witness sign "either prior to or after the testator's death."

Any person "generally competent to be a witness" may serve (§ 15-11-505(1)). Colorado does not punish an interested witness: "The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it" (§ 15-11-505(2)). Unlike states with a "purging" rule, a beneficiary who also witnesses your will keeps the gift. Using disinterested witnesses is still the safer practice because it removes an easy undue-influence argument, but it is not a validity requirement.

Notarization & self-proving

Two different things use a notary here, and Colorado is unusual on the first. First, notarization is a full ALTERNATIVE to witnesses: a will is validly executed if it is "acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments" (§ 15-11-502(1)(c)(II)). Colorado is one of a small group of states whose statute validates a notarized will with NO witnesses at all. Either path — two witnesses or one notary — works on its own; you do not need both.

Second, and separately, a witnessed will can be made self-proving. Under § 15-11-504 the testator and witnesses swear an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths (a notary), certified under official seal. Colorado offers a "one-step" affidavit signed at the same time the will is executed and a "two-step" affidavit added later. A self-proved will can be admitted to probate without bringing the witnesses in to testify; the affidavit is a convenience, not a validity requirement. (The self-proving affidavit under § 15-11-504 applies to the witnessed will; the notary-execution path in § 15-11-502(1)(c)(II) is a different thing.)

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Colorado recognizes holographic wills. A will that does not meet the witnessed-or-notarized formalities "is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting" (§ 15-11-502(2)). There is no requirement that the will be dated. And intent that the document be your will "can be established by extrinsic evidence, including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting" (§ 15-11-502(3)) — so a handwritten will on a partly pre-printed form can still qualify, as long as the signature and the material terms are in your own hand.

Electronic & remote wills

Colorado is one of the states that permits a fully electronic will. Under the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act, "an electronic will is a will for all purposes of the law of this state" (§ 15-11-1303). An electronic will must be a record "readable as text at the time of signing," signed by the testator (or by another in the testator's name, physical presence, and at the testator's direction), and then either signed by "at least two individuals" in the testator's "physical or electronic presence" — each a resident of a state and physically located in a state — OR "acknowledged by the testator before and in the physical or electronic presence of a notary public" located in Colorado (§ 15-11-1305). Because a witness or notary may appear in the testator's "electronic presence," the Act supports remote (audio-video) witnessing and remote online notarization. The harmless-error rule applies to electronic wills as well (§ 15-11-1306).

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Colorado has a harmless-error (dispensing) rule. Under § 15-11-503, a document that was "not executed in compliance with section 15-11-502" is still "treated as if it had been executed in compliance with that section" if the proponent proves "by clear and convincing evidence" that the decedent intended it as their will (or as a revocation, alteration, or revival). Two limits: the document must be "signed or acknowledged by the decedent" (or be a case where the decedent mistakenly signed a will meant for their spouse), and whether the rule applies is "a question of law to be decided by the court," not a jury (§ 15-11-503(2)-(3)). This same harmless-error rule reaches electronic wills through § 15-11-1306.

What trips people up

Two witnesses OR a notary — not both, and don't skip both. Colorado's headline feature is the notary alternative in § 15-11-502(1)(c)(II): a will acknowledged before a notary is valid with no witnesses. But a typed will with neither two witnesses nor a notary acknowledgment is not validly executed under § 15-11-502(1) — it can only survive as a holographic will (if the material terms and signature are handwritten) or through the harmless-error rule.

A notarized will is not automatically self-proving. The notary-execution path (§ 15-11-502(1)(c)(II)) makes the will valid, but the separate self-proving affidavit under § 15-11-504 is what lets a WITNESSED will be admitted without calling the witnesses. Don't assume that notarizing the signatures alone gives you the § 15-11-504 self-proving benefit; that affidavit has its own required form and wording.

A beneficiary can witness — but the safer move is not to. Section 15-11-505(2) means a gift to a witness is not voided, unlike in "purging" states. Even so, using two disinterested witnesses removes an obvious undue-influence argument if the will is ever challenged.

Electronic and remote wills have location rules. An electronic will's witnesses must each be a resident of a state and physically located in a state, and a notary acknowledging an electronic will must be located in Colorado (§ 15-11-1305). A casual video call that ignores those requirements does not produce a valid Colorado electronic will.

Common questions

Does my Colorado will have to be notarized? No — notarization is one of two options, not a requirement. A will is valid if two witnesses sign it OR if you acknowledge it before a notary (§ 15-11-502(1)(c)). You can also add a separate notarized self-proving affidavit to a witnessed will (§ 15-11-504) so the witnesses need not testify at probate, but that is optional.

Can I write my Colorado will by hand? Yes. Colorado recognizes a holographic will with no witnesses if the signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting (§ 15-11-502(2)). It does not have to be dated. A handwritten will that mixes in some pre-printed text can still qualify, because intent can be shown by extrinsic evidence (§ 15-11-502(3)).

Can I sign my will electronically or over video in Colorado? Yes, within the rules of the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act. An electronic will must be a text-readable record you sign, then either witnessed by two people in your physical or electronic presence or acknowledged before a Colorado notary (§ 15-11-1305) — which allows remote online notarization. An electronic will is treated as a will "for all purposes" (§ 15-11-1303).

What happens if my will misses a formality? Colorado's harmless-error rule can still save it. If a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that you intended the document as your will, it is treated as validly executed even though it missed a step in § 15-11-502 (§ 15-11-503). The document still has to be signed or acknowledged by you, and a judge — not a jury — decides.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-501 — capacity: an individual 18 or older of sound mind may make a will. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-502 — core execution: writing, testator's signature, and either two witnesses (signing within a reasonable time) or notary acknowledgment; holographic wills; "conscious presence" defined. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-503 — harmless error: a document is treated as validly executed on clear and convincing evidence of the decedent's intent; a question of law for the court. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-504 — optional self-proved will by affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths (one-step or two-step). https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-505 — who may witness; the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-506 — a will valid where executed, or under the testator's domicile/abode/nationality law, is honored in Colorado. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-1303 (Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act) — an electronic will is a will for all purposes of Colorado law. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-1305 — execution of an electronic will: text-readable record, signed by the testator, and either two witnesses in physical/electronic presence or acknowledgment before a Colorado notary. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-1306 — harmless error (§ 15-11-503) applies to a will executed electronically. https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)