Will Execution Requirements in District of Columbia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The District of Columbia keeps two parallel regimes for wills, both in D.C. Code Title 18. Ordinary paper wills live in Chapter 1 (§§ 18-101 to 18-112): the core execution rule is § 18-103, with capacity at § 18-102 and the interested-witness rule at § 18-104. Electronic wills live in Chapter 9, the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (§§ 18-901 to 18-911), which the Council enacted as D.C. Law 24-296, effective March 10, 2023. So DC has a traditional, strict two-witness paper regime and, since 2023, a modern electronic-will option that even allows remote witnessing.

Minimum age & capacity

A will "is not valid for any purpose unless the person making it is at least 18 years of age and, at the time of executing or acknowledging it..., of sound and disposing mind and capable of executing a valid deed or contract" (§ 18-102). Eighteen is the floor, with no exception for a younger person. DC ties testamentary capacity expressly to the ability to make a valid deed or contract, and the familiar test also applies: you must understand that you are making a will, know the people who would normally inherit (the natural objects of your bounty), and know the general nature and extent of your property. Capacity is judged at the time you execute or acknowledge the will.

Writing & signature

A paper will is "void unless it is... in writing and signed by the testator, or by another person in his presence and by his express direction" (§ 18-103(1)). If you cannot sign yourself, another person may sign for you — but only in your presence and at your express direction. The statute states no rule that the signature go at the end of the document. For an electronic will, § 18-905 requires instead a record that is readable as text, signed by the testator (or a proxy in the testator's physical presence and by the testator's direction).

Witnesses required

DC requires two witnesses. A paper will must be "attested and subscribed in the presence of the testator, by at least two credible witnesses" (§ 18-103(2)) — meaning the two witnesses must sign in your presence. The safest practice is for you and both witnesses to be together and to sign in one sitting.

On interested witnesses, DC uses a purging rule (§ 18-104). A gift to an attesting witness is "void as to him," so a beneficiary who also serves as a witness generally loses the gift — but there is a cushion: if that witness would have inherited something in intestacy, they may still take up to their intestate share (§ 18-104(b)). The interested witness is not disqualified as a competent witness, and the will itself stays valid (§ 18-104(d)); only the excess gift is purged. The clean fix is to use two disinterested witnesses so nothing is at risk.

For an electronic will, the two witnesses may be in the testator's physical or electronic presence — DC allows live audio-video (remote) witnessing — and each must sign within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the testator's acknowledgment (§ 18-905(a)(3)).

Notarization & self-proving

Notarization is never required to make a DC will valid, and a notary is not a witness. DC is unusual in that it has no statutory self-proving affidavit for ordinary paper wills: Chapter 1 provides none, so the witnesses to a paper will may have to prove it in the Probate Division. In practice lawyers still attach a notarized witness affidavit to ease probate, but it is not a codified "self-proving" procedure for paper wills. A codified self-proving mechanism exists only for electronic wills: under § 18-908, the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an authorized officer can make an electronic will self-proving at the moment of execution.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

DC does not recognize holographic wills. Because § 18-103 makes a paper will "void unless" it is attested by at least two credible witnesses, and DC has no holographic-will provision, a purely handwritten, unwitnessed will is not valid in the District. The only oral or informal exception is a narrow nuncupative will for someone "in actual military or naval service or a mariner at sea," limited to personal property and tightly conditioned (§ 18-107). A handwritten will that was valid where and when it was made elsewhere may still be honored in DC under ordinary foreign-will principles, but you cannot create a valid holographic will in the District itself.

Electronic & remote wills

DC permits a fully electronic will. Its Uniform Electronic Wills Act (Chapter 9), effective March 10, 2023, provides at § 18-905 that an electronic will must be a text-readable record, signed by the testator (or a proxy in the testator's physical presence), and signed by at least two witnesses. Those witnesses may be in the testator's physical or electronic presence — DC expressly allows live audio-video, remote witnessing — so long as each witness is located in a state and signs within a reasonable time after witnessing. An electronic will can be made self-proving (§ 18-908) and turned into a certified paper copy for probate (§ 18-909).

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

DC's harmless-error rule cuts only one way: it rescues defective electronic records, not defective paper wills. Under § 18-906, a text record that fails the electronic-will execution rules is "deemed to comply" if the proponent proves by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended it as their will (or a revocation, modification, or revival). There is no equivalent for a paper will — § 18-103 flatly makes a noncompliant paper will "void." So a paper will that misses a formality (say, only one witness) cannot be saved in DC no matter how clear the intent, while a comparable electronic record can be.

What trips people up

A handwritten will alone will not work here. DC does not accept holographic wills. A will you write out and sign but do not have witnessed is void in the District (§ 18-103), even if it is entirely in your handwriting. You need two credible witnesses, or a valid electronic will.

Notarizing a paper will does not make it "self-proving" in DC. Unlike most states, DC has no self-proving-affidavit statute for paper wills. A notary adds nothing to validity, and the witnesses may still have to prove the will in probate. The only codified self-proving path is for electronic wills (§ 18-908).

Harmless error will not rescue a paper will. The clear-and-convincing-evidence rescue in § 18-906 applies only to electronic records. A paper will with a missing witness is void under § 18-103 — get both witnesses right the first time.

A witness who inherits can lose the gift. Under DC's purging rule (§ 18-104), a beneficiary who also witnesses the will generally forfeits the gift (keeping at most an intestate share). Use two disinterested witnesses so no one's inheritance is at risk.

Common questions

Does my DC will have to be notarized? No. Notarization is never required to make a DC will valid, and for a paper will DC has no self-proving affidavit, so notarizing does not even streamline probate the way it does in most states. For an electronic will, a notarized self-proving affidavit under § 18-908 is available.

Can I make a valid handwritten will in DC? No. DC does not recognize holographic (unwitnessed handwritten) wills. Your will must be signed by two credible witnesses in your presence (§ 18-103), unless you make a valid electronic will instead.

Can my witnesses watch me sign over video? Only for an electronic will. DC's Uniform Electronic Wills Act allows the two witnesses to be in your "physical or electronic presence" — live audio-video (§ 18-905). A traditional paper will still needs the witnesses to sign in your physical presence.

If my will is missing a witness, can a court still accept it? Only if it is an electronic will. DC's harmless-error rule (§ 18-906) can save a defective electronic record on clear and convincing evidence of intent, but a paper will that fails § 18-103 is void and cannot be rescued.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code § 18-102 — capacity: at least 18, of sound and disposing mind, and capable of executing a valid deed or contract. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-102 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• D.C. Code § 18-103 — paper will void unless in writing and signed by the testator (or a proxy in his presence and by his express direction) and attested and subscribed by at least two credible witnesses in the testator's presence. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-103 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• D.C. Code § 18-104 — interested-witness purging rule: gift to an attesting witness void as to him, except up to his intestate share; witness stays competent and the will remains valid. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-104 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• D.C. Code § 18-905 — execution of an electronic will: text record, testator's signature, two witnesses in the testator's physical or electronic presence signing within a reasonable time. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-905 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• D.C. Code § 18-906 — harmless error for electronic records only, on clear and convincing evidence of the decedent's intent. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-906 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• D.C. Code § 18-107 — nuncupative (oral) wills valid only for military/naval service members and mariners at sea, limited to personal property. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/18-107 (accessed 2026-07-11)