Will Execution Requirements in Minnesota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Minnesota's will-execution rules are in Chapter 524, the Uniform Probate Code, Article 2, Part 5. Section 524.2-501 says who may make a will, § 524.2-502 sets the writing, signature, and two-witness rules, § 524.2-503 is the harmless-error provision, § 524.2-504 provides the optional self-proved will, § 524.2-505 covers who may witness, and § 524.2-506 honors wills validly signed elsewhere. Since August 1, 2023 Minnesota has also had the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, which it built into Chapter 524's general definitions (§ 524.1-201) rather than a separate part — so an electronic will, signed and witnessed by live video, is valid too. Minnesota follows the traditional attested-will model with the modern "reasonable time" witnessing rule; it does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills and does not let a notary substitute for the two witnesses.

Minimum age & capacity

To make a Minnesota will you must be "18 or more years of age" and "of sound mind" (§ 524.2-501). The age floor is a flat 18, with no marriage or military exception. The statute does not spell out "sound mind"; Minnesota 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 it.

Writing & signature

Every Minnesota will must be "in writing" (§ 524.2-502(1)). You meet the signature step by signing it yourself, by having "some other individual" sign your name "in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction," or — in the unusual case of a person under conservatorship — by your conservator acting under a court order (§ 524.2-502(2)). Minnesota has no rule that the signature appear at the very end of the document. Under the 2023 Electronic Wills Act, "signed" now also covers affixing or "logically associat[ing]" an electronic symbol or mark with the document with intent to execute it (§ 524.1-201).

Witnesses required

A Minnesota will needs two witnesses, and the timing rule is the modern, forgiving one. "At least two individuals" must each sign "within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will ... or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will" (§ 524.2-502(3)). The witnesses do not have to sign at the exact moment you do — a reasonable time later is fine. Minnesota does not offer a notary-only path: unlike Colorado or North Dakota, a Minnesota will cannot be validly executed by acknowledgment before a notary in place of witnesses.

Any person "generally competent to be a witness" may serve (§ 524.2-505(a)). Minnesota 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" (§ 524.2-505(b)). A beneficiary who also witnesses your will keeps the gift. Using two 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

A Minnesota will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not one of the two required witnesses, and there is no notary alternative to witnessing. What a notary does here is make the will self-proving. Under § 524.2-504 the testator acknowledges the will and the witnesses swear affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths (a notary), certified under official seal. Minnesota lets you do this at the same time you execute the will ("contemporaneously") or at any later date. Since the 2023 Electronic Wills Act, that acknowledgment and those affidavits can be made in the notary's physical OR electronic presence. A self-proved will can be admitted to probate without bringing the witnesses in to testify, but it is a convenience, not a validity requirement.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Minnesota does not recognize holographic wills. Section 524.2-502 requires every will to be signed by at least two witnesses, with no exception for a will in the testator's own handwriting. A handwritten page signed with no witnesses is not a valid Minnesota will — a will can be handwritten, but it still has to be witnessed like any other will. The exception runs the other way: under § 524.2-506, a will validly executed under the law of the place where you signed it, or where you resided or were domiciled — including a holographic will from a state that allows them — is honored in Minnesota.

Electronic & remote wills

Minnesota is one of the states that now permits a fully electronic will. Effective August 1, 2023, its Uniform Electronic Wills Act amended Chapter 524 so that a "will" "includes an electronic will" (§ 524.1-201) — defined as a will "created, signed, or maintained" in an electronic medium that is retrievable and can be verified as unaltered after signing. Two companion definitions make electronic and remote signing work: "signed" includes an electronic symbol or mark, and "presence" or "conscious presence" includes being in a state and "communicating simultaneously with the testator by means of an electronic device or process by sight and sound." Because a witness may be in the testator's "electronic presence," the two required witnesses (and a notary for a self-proving affidavit) may appear by live two-way audio-video. The two-witness rule of § 524.2-502 still applies; the Act changes the medium and the meaning of "presence," not the number of witnesses.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Minnesota has a harmless-error (dispensing) rule. Under § 524.2-503, a document "not executed in compliance with section 524.2-502" 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, an addition or alteration, or a revival). One built-in limit: the rule "applies to documents and writings executed on or after March 13, 2020" (§ 524.2-503(b)), so it cannot rescue an older defective document.

What trips people up

Two witnesses, and no notary shortcut. Minnesota requires two witnesses to execute a will (§ 524.2-502(3)); acknowledging the will before a notary does not, by itself, make it valid the way it does in a "notarized will" state like Colorado. A notary in Minnesota only powers the optional self-proving affidavit.

A handwritten will still needs witnesses. You can write your Minnesota will entirely by hand, but it is valid only if two witnesses sign it (§ 524.2-502). Minnesota does not recognize an unwitnessed holographic will.

The harmless-error rule has a start date. Section 524.2-503 can save a will that missed a formality, but only for documents "executed on or after March 13, 2020" (§ 524.2-503(b)). A defective document signed before that date cannot be rescued by this rule.

Electronic and remote witnessing is real but new. Since August 1, 2023 the two witnesses (and a self-proving notary) may appear by live audio-video under the Electronic Wills Act's "electronic presence" definition (§ 524.1-201). Because these rules are recent, an electronic will should follow the statutory definitions carefully — a casual video call that does not meet the sight-and-sound "presence" standard will not do.

Common questions

Does my Minnesota will have to be notarized? No. Minnesota requires two witnesses, not a notary (§ 524.2-502). Notarizing the optional self-proving affidavit (§ 524.2-504) just lets the will be admitted to probate without calling the witnesses; it is not required for the will to be valid, and a notary cannot take the place of a witness.

Can I write my Minnesota will by hand? You can write it by hand, but it still needs two witnesses — Minnesota does not recognize an unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) will (§ 524.2-502). A holographic will you validly signed in a state that allows them may still be honored in Minnesota under § 524.2-506.

Can I sign my will electronically or over video in Minnesota? Yes, since August 1, 2023. Minnesota's Electronic Wills Act recognizes an electronic will, allows an electronic signature, and lets the two witnesses (and a self-proving notary) appear in your "electronic presence" by live sight-and-sound video (§ 524.1-201). The two-witness requirement of § 524.2-502 still applies.

Can a beneficiary be one of my witnesses? Yes without voiding the gift — "the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it" (§ 524.2-505(b)). Even so, using two witnesses who inherit nothing is the safer practice because it heads off an undue-influence challenge.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-501 — capacity: any person 18 or older of sound mind may make a will. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-501 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-502 — core execution: writing, testator's signature (or by direction, or by conservator), and two witnesses signing within a reasonable time. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-502 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-503 — harmless error: clear and convincing evidence of intent; applies to documents executed on or after March 13, 2020. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-503 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-504 — optional self-proved will by acknowledgment and witness affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths (contemporaneous or later). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-504 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-505 — who may witness; the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-505 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-506 — a will valid where executed, or under the testator's domicile/abode/nationality law, is honored in Minnesota. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.2-506 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Minn. Stat. § 524.1-201 — general definitions, including "electronic will," "signed," "presence"/"conscious presence," and "will" (as amended by the 2023 Electronic Wills Act). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524.1-201 (accessed 2026-07-11)