Rhode Island: Will Execution Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Rhode Island's will-execution rules are in the General Laws, Title 33 (Probate Practice and
Procedure), Chapter 5, "Execution and Revocation of Wills." The core statute is § 33-5-5, which
sets the writing, signature, and witness requirements; § 33-5-2 says who may make a will;
§ 33-5-6 is the narrow military/sailor exception; § 33-6-1 (in Chapter 6) governs a gift to a
witness; and § 33-7-26 (in Chapter 7) is the affidavit-proof mechanism that lets a will be
admitted without live testimony. Rhode Island did not adopt the Uniform Probate Code, so it
keeps the traditional, strict rules: two witnesses who are present at the same time, no general
handwritten (holographic) will, no harmless-error safety net, and no electronic wills.

Minimum age & capacity

"Every person of sane mind and eighteen (18) years or older in age" may make a will (§ 33-5-2).
You must be at least 18 and of sane mind. The statute does not spell out a capacity test; Rhode
Island courts apply the familiar standard — you must understand that you are making a will, know
the people who would normally receive your property (the natural objects of your bounty), and
know the general nature and extent of what you own. Capacity is judged at the moment of signing.

Writing & signature

A Rhode Island will must be in writing and signed by the testator, "or by some other person for
him or her in his or her presence and by his or her express direction" (§ 33-5-5). If you cannot
sign yourself, someone may sign for you — but only in your presence and at your express
direction. There is no rule fixing where the signature must appear, but the signature must be
made or acknowledged in front of the witnesses (see below), so signing privately and showing the
witnesses a finished document only works if you acknowledge your signature to them.

Witnesses required

Rhode Island uses the strict traditional rule: the testator must make or acknowledge the
signature "in the presence of two (2) or more witnesses present at the same time," and the
witnesses "shall attest and shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator" (§ 33-5-5).
Both witnesses have to be together with you at the same time when you sign or acknowledge your
signature — you cannot sign for one witness on Monday and another on Tuesday. No particular form
of attestation clause is required.

On interested witnesses, Rhode Island uses a purging rule. Under § 33-6-1, if a witness is also
given something in the will, that gift is "utterly null and void" as to that witness — but the
witness is still "admitted as a witness to prove the execution of the will." So a beneficiary who
serves as a witness does not void the whole will; the will stands and the witness can prove it,
but the witness loses the gift. Unlike some states, Rhode Island's statute has no carve-out
letting the witness keep up to what they would have inherited without the will. Use two
disinterested witnesses so no gift is lost.

Notarization & self-proving

A Rhode Island will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not one of the two
required witnesses. Rhode Island's way of avoiding live witness testimony at probate is § 33-7-26:
absent an objection, the probate court may admit a will on the sworn affidavit of one or more
subscribing witnesses, made before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The affidavit
states the facts the witness would testify to — that the testator signed and declared the will,
and that the witnesses subscribed in the testator's presence and in the presence of each other —
and the statute gives a form. It can be signed at any time after the will, before or after the
testator's death.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Rhode Island does not recognize a general holographic will. A handwritten will still needs two
witnesses under § 33-5-5, exactly like a typed one; writing it out by hand does not excuse the
witness requirement. There is one narrow exception: § 33-5-6 lets "any soldier or airman in
actual military service, or any mariner or sailor at sea" dispose of personal property by will
"as he or she might heretofore have done" — the old soldier's-and-sailor's informal will, which
does not need the usual witnesses. For everyone else, a handwritten will with no witnesses fails
in Rhode Island — though a handwritten will that was valid where it was made may still be honored
here under § 33-5-7.

Electronic & remote wills

Rhode Island does not permit electronic wills. It has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills
Act or any electronic-wills statute, so § 33-5-5's requirement of a physical signed writing
witnessed by two people present at the same time still controls. A will that exists only as a
computer file, that was "signed" by typing a name, or that was witnessed only over video is not a
valid Rhode Island will.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Rhode Island has no harmless-error rule, and its execution requirements are strict. Section
33-5-5 begins "No will shall be valid ... unless" the formalities are met, and Rhode Island never
enacted a substantial-compliance or harmless-error statute. That means a will that fails a
formality — witnesses who were not present at the same time, or a will signed by only one witness
— cannot be rescued in probate by showing the testator clearly meant it as their will. The only
built-in relief valves are the military/sailor exception (§ 33-5-6) and recognition of a will
valid under the law of the place where it was made (§ 33-5-7). Because Rhode Island is a
strict-compliance state, getting the formalities exactly right matters.

What trips people up

Both witnesses must be together when you sign or acknowledge. Section 33-5-5 requires the two
witnesses to be "present at the same time." Signing in front of one witness now and a second
witness later does not satisfy the statute, and there is no harmless-error rule to fix it. Gather
both witnesses, sign (or acknowledge your signature) in front of both at once, and have each of
them sign while you watch.

A witness who inherits loses the gift. Under § 33-6-1, a gift to a witness is void as to that
witness, even though the witness can still help prove the will. Do not let a spouse, child, or
anyone named in the will act as a witness — pick two people who get nothing under the will.

A handwritten will is not enough by itself. Rhode Island does not accept general holographic
wills (§ 33-5-5). A will you write out by hand still needs two witnesses. The only exception is
the military/sailor rule of § 33-5-6.

Notarizing a will is not the same as witnessing it. A notary is not a witness. Notarization
only matters for the affidavit under § 33-7-26 that makes probate easier; the will itself still
needs two witnesses present at the same time.

Common questions

Does my Rhode Island will have to be notarized? No. Rhode Island requires two witnesses, not
a notary (§ 33-5-5). A notarized affidavit under § 33-7-26 only makes probate smoother; it is not
required for the will to be valid.

Can I handwrite my own will without witnesses? Generally no. Rhode Island does not recognize
holographic wills — a handwritten will still needs two witnesses (§ 33-5-5). The only exception
is for someone in active military service or a sailor at sea (§ 33-5-6).

Can my spouse or a beneficiary be a witness? They can serve, and doing so will not void the
will — but under § 33-6-1 any gift to that witness becomes void. Use two witnesses who receive
nothing under the will so no gift is lost.

Can I sign my Rhode Island will online or over video? No. Rhode Island has not adopted
electronic wills, so a will must be a physical signed writing witnessed in person by two people
present at the same time (§ 33-5-5). Signing electronically or witnessing by video does not make
a valid Rhode Island will.

Statutes and sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-2 — testamentary capacity: every person of sane mind, 18 or older, may make a will.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-2.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5 — execution: writing, signature (or a proxy in the testator's presence and by express direction), and two or more witnesses present at the same time who subscribe in the testator's presence.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-6 — military/sailor exception: a soldier or airman in actual service, or a mariner or sailor at sea, may make an informal will of personal estate.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-6.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-6-1 — gifts to attesting witnesses: a gift to a witness is utterly null and void as to that witness, but the witness may still prove the will.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-6/33-6-1.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-26 — proof of will: absent objection, the court may admit a will on the affidavit of one or more subscribing witnesses (Rhode Island's self-proving mechanism).
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-7/33-7-26.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)