Will Execution Requirements in Nevada

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Nevada's will rules are in the Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 133. An ordinary paper will is governed by NRS 133.040, which keeps the traditional common-law model — a written will signed before two witnesses. Nevada is unusual in offering two additional, fully valid forms in the same chapter: a handwritten (holographic) will under NRS 133.090, and a fully electronic will under NRS 133.085. Nevada was the first state in the country to authorize electronic wills, back in 2001, and has expanded the rules since.

Minimum age & capacity

Every person of sound mind who is over 18 may make a Nevada will (NRS 133.020). The statute states only the "sound mind" requirement; Nevada courts supply the working test — you must know the nature and extent of what you own, know who your family members are, and be able to form a rational plan for how to distribute your estate. Capacity is measured at the time you sign.

Writing & signature

An ordinary will must be in writing and signed by you, or "by an attending person at the testator's express direction" if you are unable to sign yourself (NRS 133.040). Nevada does not require the signature to be at the end of an ordinary attested will. (The separate holographic and electronic forms have their own signature rules, described below.)

Witnesses required

A Nevada attested will needs at least two competent witnesses who "subscribe their names to the will in the presence of the testator" (NRS 133.040). The key requirement is that the witnesses sign while you are present; Nevada's statute does not additionally require the two witnesses to sign in each other's presence, though having everyone together is the safe practice. On interested witnesses, Nevada uses a purging rule: a gift to someone who also serves as a witness is "void unless there are two other competent subscribing witnesses to the will" (NRS 133.060). The will itself stays valid; it is only the interested witness's gift that is wiped out unless two other, non-beneficiary witnesses signed.

Notarization & self-proving

A Nevada will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not one of the two required witnesses. What a notary supports is the optional self-proving step: any attesting witness may sign a declaration under penalty of perjury, or an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating the facts they would testify to at probate (NRS 133.050). That declaration or affidavit is written on the will or attached to it, and a signature on it counts as a signature on the will (NRS 133.055). A self-proved will can be admitted without the witnesses appearing in court.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Nevada recognizes holographic wills. Under NRS 133.090, "a holographic will is a will in which the signature, date and material provisions are written by the hand of the testator, whether or not it is witnessed or notarized." No witnesses are needed. The statute adds: “Such wills are valid and have the same force and effect as if formally executed.” Note the date requirement: unlike some states that make a date optional, Nevada lists the date as one of the three things that must be in your handwriting, alongside your signature and the material provisions.

Electronic & remote wills

Nevada allows fully electronic wills and was the first state to do so. An electronic will is created and kept in an electronic record and must contain your date and electronic signature, plus at least one of three things (NRS 133.085): an "authentication characteristic" unique to you (a fingerprint, retinal or facial scan, voice recognition, or a digitized signature); the electronic signature and seal of an electronic notary placed in your presence; or the electronic signatures of two or more witnesses placed in your presence. Because Nevada allows these notarial and witnessing acts to be performed electronically (NRS 133.088), an electronic will can be executed remotely. This makes Nevada one of the few states where a will can exist entirely as an electronic record — but the format and storage rules (including a "qualified custodian" regime under NRS 133.300 to 133.340) are strict.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Nevada has no harmless-error rule for ordinary attested wills. It has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code's § 2-503, and NRS 133.040 says no ordinary will "is valid unless" it meets the writing-and-two-witness formalities. So a paper will with a witnessing defect generally cannot be saved by proving intent after the fact. Nevada's flexibility comes not from a curative doctrine but from offering the holographic and electronic wills as separate, independently valid forms — if a document does not qualify as one of those, the ordinary-will formalities must be met exactly.

What trips people up

Notarizing a will is not the same as witnessing it. For an ordinary Nevada will, a notary does not count as a witness. NRS 133.040 requires two competent witnesses; a notarized signature alone does not satisfy that. The notary's role is limited to the optional self-proving declaration under NRS 133.050.

A handwritten will must be dated. Nevada's holographic-will statute lists the date as a required element in the testator's own hand, right alongside the signature and material provisions (NRS 133.090). An undated handwritten will that would pass in some states can fail in Nevada, so date it.

A gift to a witness can vanish. If a beneficiary also serves as one of your witnesses, their gift is void unless two other, disinterested witnesses also signed (NRS 133.060). The will survives, but the witness-beneficiary loses the gift. Use two witnesses who inherit nothing.

An electronic will is not just a signed PDF. Nevada's electronic will is a real option, but it has demanding format, authentication, and storage rules (NRS 133.085 and the qualified-custodian sections). Emailing yourself a signed document does not create a valid electronic will; treat it as its own careful process or use an ordinary witnessed will.

Common questions

Does my Nevada will have to be notarized? No. An ordinary Nevada will needs two witnesses, not a notary (NRS 133.040). Notarization only supports the optional self-proving declaration under NRS 133.050, which speeds up probate but never replaces the witnesses.

Can I handwrite my own will without witnesses? Yes. Nevada recognizes holographic wills: if your signature, the date, and the material provisions are all in your own handwriting, the will is valid with no witnesses (NRS 133.090). Do not leave off the date — Nevada requires it.

Can I make my will entirely electronic or sign over video? Yes, through Nevada's electronic-will process. An electronic will can be signed with an authentication characteristic, an electronic notary, or two electronic witnesses in your presence, and can be executed remotely (NRS 133.085, 133.088). An ordinary paper will still needs two witnesses who signed in your presence.

What if my paper will is missing a witness? Nevada has no harmless-error rule to rescue an ordinary attested will, so a witnessing defect generally voids it (NRS 133.040). Your only fallbacks are whether the document independently qualifies as a valid holographic or electronic will.

Statutes and sources

• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.020 — who may make a will: any person of sound mind over 18. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec020 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.040 — ordinary execution: writing, signature (or signing at your direction), and at least two competent witnesses subscribing in the testator's presence. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec040 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.050 — self-proving declaration or affidavit by the attesting witnesses. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec050 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.060 — a devise to a subscribing witness is void unless two other competent witnesses signed (purging rule). https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec060 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.085 — electronic wills: the electronic record, date, testator's electronic signature, and the authentication-characteristic / electronic-notary / two-witness options. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec085 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.090 — holographic wills: signature, date, and material provisions in the testator's own hand, no witnesses needed. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec090 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 133.100 — nuncupative (oral) wills are invalid. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-133.html#NRS133Sec100 (accessed 2026-08-23)