Will Execution Requirements in Texas

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Texas's will-execution rules are in the Estates Code, Chapter 251. Section 251.001 says who may make a will; § 251.051 sets the writing, signature, and witness rules for an ordinary (attested) will; § 251.052 carves out handwritten (holographic) wills; and § 254.002 handles a witness who is also a beneficiary. Texas uses the traditional common-law attested will — a written document signed before two witnesses. It is not a civil-law "notarial will" state, it has not adopted electronic wills, and it has no harmless-error rule to excuse a botched signing. The Estates Code replaced the old Texas Probate Code effective January 1, 2014; the execution sections were last touched in 2017.

Minimum age & capacity

To make a Texas will you must be "of sound mind" and fit one of three categories at the time you sign (§ 251.001): 18 years of age or older; married or previously married; or a member of the U.S. armed forces, an armed-forces auxiliary, or the U.S. Maritime Service. The marriage and military categories let some people under 18 make a valid will — a narrow exception most states do not have.

Writing & signature

The will must be in writing (§ 251.051(1)) — Texas has no oral will for most people. It must be signed either by the testator personally or by another person on the testator's behalf, in the testator's presence and under the testator's direction (§ 251.051(2)), which covers a testator who physically cannot sign. Texas does not require the signature to appear at the end of the document.

Witnesses required

An attested Texas will needs "two or more credible witnesses who are at least 14 years of age and who subscribe their names to the will in their own handwriting in the testator's presence" (§ 251.051(3)). Two points set Texas apart. First, the age floor: a witness must be at least 14 — Texas is one of the few states to put a number on it. Second, what the statute does NOT say: it does not require the witnesses to watch each other sign, to all be present at the same time, or for the testator to sign in front of the witnesses — it requires only that the witnesses subscribe in the testator's presence. (Many Texas wills recite "in the presence of each other" anyway as a safe drafting habit, but that is belt-and-suspenders, not a statutory demand.)

Notarization & self-proving

A Texas will does not need to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not a witness. What notarization does is power the optional "self-proving affidavit." Under § 251.104(b) the testator and the witnesses swear to that affidavit "before an officer authorized to administer oaths" (a notary), who affixes an official seal. A will made self-proved this way "may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witnesses" (§ 251.102(a)) — so no one has to track the witnesses down years later. A self-proved will is otherwise treated no differently than any other will (§ 251.102(b)). The affidavit is a convenience, not a validity requirement; skipping it does not make the will invalid, only harder to probate.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Texas recognizes holographic wills: "a will written wholly in the testator's handwriting is not required to be attested by subscribing witnesses" (§ 251.052). The key word is "wholly" — unlike states that ask only that the "material provisions" be handwritten, Texas requires the entire will to be in the testator's hand. A form with printed text filled in by hand generally will not qualify. A holographic will can be made self-proved during the testator's lifetime by attaching the testator's own affidavit swearing to the basic facts (§ 251.107).

Electronic & remote wills

Texas does not permit electronic wills. A bill to adopt an Electronic Wills Act was introduced in 2019 and died in committee, and Texas has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act since. Section 251.051 still requires a physical writing that witnesses "subscribe … in their own handwriting in the testator's presence," so a will that exists only as a computer file, or that was "signed" electronically, is not a valid Texas will.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Texas is a strict-compliance state. There is no harmless-error or substantial-compliance statute, so a will that misses one of § 251.051's formalities — for example, only one witness — is simply invalid, no matter how clearly the testator meant it as a will. The one built-in saver is for out-of-state wills: § 251.053 honors a written will that was validly executed under the law of the place where it was signed, or where the testator lived, even if it would not satisfy § 251.051.

What trips people up

A notary is not a substitute for witnesses. Some people sign a will in front of a notary and stop, thinking that makes it official. It does not — Texas requires two credible witnesses under § 251.051(3). The notary matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit, which rides on top of an already properly witnessed will.

"Wholly" in your handwriting means the whole thing. A holographic will is valid with no witnesses, but only if the entire will is handwritten (§ 251.052). Filling handwritten blanks into a printed will form usually fails that test, and because Texas has no harmless-error rule, a court cannot rescue it.

Leaving a gift to a witness can wipe out the gift. If a beneficiary also signs as one of the two witnesses, § 254.002 voids that gift unless the will can be proved without them or a disinterested credible person corroborates their testimony — and even then the witness keeps no more than their intestate share. Use two witnesses who inherit nothing.

Strict compliance means there is no second chance. Unlike California and other harmless-error states, Texas cannot excuse a defect in signing based on clear intent. If the formalities of § 251.051 are not met, the will fails — the reason the self-proving affidavit and careful witnessing matter so much.

Common questions

Does my Texas will have to be notarized? No. Texas requires two credible witnesses (age 14 or older), not a notary (§ 251.051(3)). Notarizing the optional self-proving affidavit just makes the will easier to admit to probate later (§ 251.102(a)); it is not required for the will to be valid.

Can I write my Texas will by hand? Yes. A will "written wholly in the testator's handwriting" needs no witnesses at all (§ 251.052). Write the entire will in your own hand and sign it — but if any part is typed or pre-printed, it is not a valid holographic will.

How old do my witnesses have to be? At least 14 years old, and they must be "credible" (§ 251.051(3)). It is also wise to choose witnesses who are not named as beneficiaries, because a gift to a witness can be voided under § 254.002.

I signed a valid will in another state and moved to Texas. Is it still good? Very likely yes. Section 251.053 honors a written will that was validly executed under the law of the state (or country) where you signed it or where you were domiciled, even if it would not meet Texas's own § 251.051 formalities.

Statutes and sources

• Tex. Est. Code § 251.001 — who may make a will: sound mind plus age 18, or marriage, or military service. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.051 — core execution rule: writing, signature, and two credible witnesses (14+) who subscribe in the testator's presence. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.052 — holographic wills: a will wholly in the testator's handwriting needs no witnesses. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.053 — foreign/out-of-state wills valid where executed or where the testator was domiciled are honored. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.102 — a self-proved will may be admitted to probate without subscribing-witness testimony; otherwise treated the same as any will. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.104 — the self-proving affidavit must be sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths (a notary) and annexed to the will. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 251.107 — a wholly handwritten will may be made self-proved by the testator's own affidavit. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.251.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Tex. Est. Code § 254.002 — a gift to a subscribing witness is void unless the will can be otherwise proved or the witness is corroborated; the witness may keep up to their intestate share. https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.254.htm (accessed 2026-08-23)