Will Execution Requirements in Mississippi

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Mississippi's will-execution rules are in the Mississippi Code, Title 91, Chapter 5 (Wills and Testaments). Unlike states that spread execution across several sections, Mississippi packs the core rules into a single statute, § 91-5-1: who may make a will, the signature, and the two-witness attestation. Nearby sections handle special situations — § 91-5-9 (a gift to a witness), § 91-5-13 (a creditor as witness), and § 91-5-15 (a narrow oral will) — and § 91-7-7, in the probate chapter, provides the self-proving affidavit. Mississippi uses the traditional common-law "attested will" and is not a notarial-will or electronic-wills state.

Minimum age & capacity

Every "person eighteen (18) years of age or older, being of sound and disposing mind" may make a Mississippi will (§ 91-5-1). A person under 18 cannot. The statute states the "sound and disposing mind" standard; Mississippi courts define it in practical terms — you must understand that you are making a will, know your natural heirs, and know the nature and extent of your property. Capacity is judged only at the moment of signing, so a will made during a lucid period is valid even if capacity later fails.

Writing & signature

A Mississippi will must be in writing and "signed by the testator or testatrix, or by some other person in his or her presence and by his or her express direction" (§ 91-5-1). If you cannot sign yourself, someone may sign for you, but only while you are present and at your express direction. Mississippi does not impose a general "signature-at-the-end" rule on an ordinary attested will (the word "subscribed" in the statute applies to the wholly-handwritten form described below). Signing at the end remains the safe practice.

Witnesses required

For the typed or printed will most people use, § 91-5-1 requires that the will "be attested by two (2) or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator." The witnesses attest — in practice, sign — while you are present. Mississippi's statute does not add a rule that the two witnesses be together at the same time, though having everyone present together is the safe practice; Mississippi courts also read "attestation" to require that the witnesses understand the document is your will (publication), so it is wise to tell them.

Interested witnesses are handled gently. Under § 91-5-9, a gift to a subscribing witness becomes void only "if the will cannot otherwise be proven" — that is, only if the will's proof depends on that interested witness — and even then the witness keeps up to the share they would have taken in intestacy. A creditor may serve as a competent witness, but a will provision that favors that creditor's debt (admitting it, providing for payment, or preferring it) is void (§ 91-5-13). The clean practice is still to use two witnesses who inherit nothing and are owed nothing.

Notarization & self-proving

A Mississippi will does not have to be notarized — a notary is not one of the required witnesses. What a notary supports is the self-proving affidavit under § 91-7-7. Execution may be proved by affidavits of the subscribing witnesses, which may be annexed to or made part of the will, must state each witness's address, and "may be signed at the time that the will is executed." A self-proved will can be admitted without dragging the witnesses into court. Without a self-proving affidavit, at least one subscribing witness generally must testify (or, if none is available, the handwriting of the testator and witnesses must be proven), which is exactly the delay a self-proving affidavit avoids.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Mississippi recognizes a holographic will, and it lives inside the same core statute. A will that is "wholly written and subscribed by" the testator needs no witnesses at all (§ 91-5-1) — the two-witness requirement applies only when the will is not wholly in the testator's hand. The whole will and the signature must be in your own handwriting; a printed form with handwritten blanks does not qualify. The statute sets no date requirement, but dating a handwritten will helps establish which of competing wills came last.

Electronic & remote wills

Mississippi does not permit electronic wills. It has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act or any electronic-wills statute, so § 91-5-1's requirement of a physically signed writing attested in your presence still controls. The Legislature has considered the idea and declined it: bills to authorize video-recorded wills died in committee in both 2025 (HB 1153) and 2026 (HB 400). A will that exists only as a computer file, or is "signed" by typing a name or witnessed only over video, is not a valid Mississippi will.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Mississippi has no harmless-error rule. It has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code's § 2-503 or any substantial-compliance cure, and § 91-5-1 states the attestation requirement in mandatory terms — a will not wholly handwritten "shall be attested by two (2) or more credible witnesses." A will with a witnessing or signature defect generally cannot be saved by proving after the fact that you meant it as your will. Mississippi is a strict-compliance state; the wholly-handwritten and narrow oral wills are separate valid forms, not a way to cure a defective attested will.

What trips people up

Notarizing a will is not the same as witnessing it. Taking a typed will to a notary does not satisfy § 91-5-1, which requires two credible witnesses. Notarization matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit under § 91-7-7, attached to an already-witnessed will.

Prove your will in advance with a self-proving affidavit. Mississippi does not force witnesses to sign a self-proving affidavit, but skipping it is risky. If the witnesses have died or cannot be found by the time of probate, proving the will can become a fight — as Mississippi courts have shown, a will can fail for want of adequate proof of its execution. Have the witnesses sign the § 91-7-7 affidavit at the signing.

A handwritten will must be entirely in your hand. Mississippi's holographic will requires the whole document and the signature to be "wholly written and subscribed" by you (§ 91-5-1). A store-bought or printed form filled in by hand is not a valid holographic will; if it is not fully handwritten, it needs two witnesses.

An oral "deathbed" will almost never works. Section 91-5-15 allows a nuncupative (spoken) will only in a last sickness, at home, and — above $100 in value — only if two witnesses prove you called on someone present to bear witness that it was your will. It is a narrow, easily-lost exception, not a substitute for a written will.

Common questions

Does my Mississippi will have to be notarized? No. Mississippi requires two credible witnesses, not a notary (§ 91-5-1). Notarization only supports the optional self-proving affidavit under § 91-7-7, which speeds up probate but never replaces the witnesses.

Can I handwrite my own will without witnesses? Yes, if it is entirely in your handwriting. A will "wholly written and subscribed" by you needs no witnesses (§ 91-5-1). If any part is typed or printed, you need two witnesses.

Can I sign my Mississippi will online or over video? No. Mississippi has not adopted electronic wills, and bills to allow video-recorded wills died in committee in 2025 and 2026. A will must be a physical signed writing attested by two witnesses in your presence (§ 91-5-1).

What happens if a beneficiary was one of my witnesses? The will still stands. Under § 91-5-9 the witness-beneficiary's gift is voided only if the will cannot be proven without that witness, and even then the witness keeps up to their intestate share. Using two disinterested witnesses avoids the question entirely.

Statutes and sources

• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-1 — core execution: age 18 and sound and disposing mind; signature (or signing at the testator's direction); attestation by two or more credible witnesses in the testator's presence; wholly-handwritten wills need no witnesses. https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-5/section-91-5-1/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-9 — a gift to a subscribing witness is void only if the will cannot otherwise be proven, with the witness saved up to their intestate share. https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-5/section-91-5-9/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-13 — a creditor may witness a will, but a provision favoring the creditor's debt is void. https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-5/section-91-5-13/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-15 — narrow nuncupative (oral) will made in a last sickness; two-witness proof required above $100. https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-5/section-91-5-15/ (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-7-7 — proof of due execution and the self-proving affidavit of the subscribing witnesses. https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/chapter-7/section-91-7-7/ (accessed 2026-07-11)