Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements in Georgia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Availability and governing law

O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24 allows a will or codicil to be made self-proved. The affidavit works with Georgia's two probate tracks: § 53-5-17 governs common-form proof, while § 53-5-21 governs solemn-form proof after notice.

Who signs or swears

The statute calls for affidavits of the testator and the attesting witnesses before the notary. Its supplied form has separate signature positions for the testator and two witnesses and states that all appeared and were duly sworn. The testator declares the instrument to be the will or codicil; the witnesses give the execution, request, age, and sound-mind statements.

Officer, oath and seal

A notary public takes the affidavits. The affidavit must be evidenced by the notary's certificate, affixed with the official seal. The supplied form ends with the notary's signature, official capacity, and seal.

Required recitals and form

Georgia requires form and content "substantially" like § 53-4-24's supplied form, not necessarily a word-for-word copy. The form identifies the testator and witnesses; has the testator declare voluntary execution as a free act; has each witness confirm the testator's declaration, execution, request, and the witness's signing in the testator's presence; and recites that the testator was at least 14 and of sound mind and that each witness was at least 14.

Attachment to the will

The official-seal certificate must be attached or annexed to the will or codicil. Solemn-form probate likewise describes filing "the will and affidavit annexed or attached thereto." A detached generic notary page does not track those words.

Electronic, remote and out-of-state rules

Section 53-4-24 has no separate electronic or remote route; its supplied form uses personal appearance and presence-and-hearing recitals. For a will already probated or established in its domiciliary jurisdiction, § 53-5-33 instead supplies an ancillary-probate route using certified and authenticated court records. A foreign court's sealed records are prima-facie due-execution evidence but remain open to caveat or rebuttal.

If there is no affidavit

In common form, one subscribing witness may prove the will. In solemn form, available witnesses ordinarily testify, but one witness is enough when no caveat is filed. Section 53-5-23 permits in-person testimony, sworn written interrogatories, depositions, or ordinary civil discovery and permits a photocopy to be shown to the witness. If subscribing witnesses are dead, incapable, or inaccessible, § 53-5-24 allows signature proof from two credible disinterested witnesses or other sufficient proof, while preserving the court's power to require more.

What trips people up

The later-signing window closes when any required person dies

The affidavit may be made at execution or afterward, but § 53-4-24 limits the later route to "the lifetime of the testator and the witnesses." It cannot be repaired after death by collecting the remaining signatures. The estate then uses the ordinary proof routes in Chapter 5.

Self-proof changes evidence, not the will's vulnerability

In common form, self-proof supplies execution presumptions without subscribing- witness testimony. In solemn form, those presumptions are expressly subject to rebuttal. Section 53-4-24 also says the instrument may still be contested, revoked, or amended exactly like a will or codicil that is not self-proved.

Common questions

Must Georgia's affidavit use the statutory words exactly?

No. Section 53-4-24 requires substantially the statutory form and content. The signer roles, execution facts, age and sound-mind recitals, notarial certificate, seal, and attachment still need to be preserved.

Can one witness prove a will that has no affidavit?

Yes in common form, and also in uncontested solemn form. A caveated solemn-form case uses the broader witness-proof rule in § 53-5-21.

What if both subscribing witnesses are unavailable?

Section 53-5-24 permits testimony, affidavits, or depositions from at least two credible disinterested witnesses about the testator's signature, or other sufficient signature proof. The court may still demand additional available-witness testimony or other pertinent facts.

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-24 — signer set, lifetime cutoff, notary and seal, substantial statutory form, attachment, and the nonconclusive probate effect. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicourt/cic-code-ga/master/transforms/ga/ocga/r86/gov.ga.ocga.title.53.html#t53c04a03s53-4-24 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• O.C.G.A. §§ 53-5-17 and 53-5-21 — common- and solemn-form proof and their respective self-proof presumptions. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicourt/cic-code-ga/master/transforms/ga/ocga/r86/gov.ga.ocga.title.53.html#t53c05a02s53-5-17 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• O.C.G.A. §§ 53-5-23 and 53-5-24 — witness-examination methods, photocopies, and proof when subscribing witnesses are unavailable. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicourt/cic-code-ga/master/transforms/ga/ocga/r86/gov.ga.ocga.title.53.html#t53c05a04s53-5-23 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• O.C.G.A. § 53-5-33 — ancillary probate of out-of-state and foreign wills by certified and authenticated court records. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/unicourt/cic-code-ga/master/transforms/ga/ocga/r86/gov.ga.ocga.title.53.html#t53c05a05p01s53-5-33 (accessed 2026-08-01)