Pennsylvania: Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements
The short answer
Yes, if the will is attested. The testator acknowledges the will and the witnesses swear affidavits, either before an oath-authorized officer or through Pennsylvania's two-step attorney-certification route; the officer's sealed certificate must be attached or annexed. The register accepts the affidavit as probate proof only when the will is uncontested and was not signed by mark or by another person.
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This is the general rule in Pennsylvania. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Pennsylvania law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Availability & governing law | Yes. 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132.1 makes an attested will self-proved; Pennsylvania otherwise permits an ordinary will with no attesting witnesses, so self-proof requires adding witnesses that validity alone does not (§§ 2502, 3132) |
|---|---|
| Who signs or swears | The testator acknowledges; the attesting witnesses swear. Section 3132 requires two competent proof witnesses, while § 3132.1's singular/plural form and separate-affidavit rule allow each witness to swear separately. The attorney route changes the taker/certification chain, not the testator-and-witness signer set |
| When it may be made | At execution or any subsequent date. The testator's acknowledgment necessarily occurs during life; a witness whose affidavit is not taken at the same time may use a separate affidavit, with no separate statutory deadline stated (§ 3132.1(b)) |
| Officer, oath & seal | Officer authorized to administer oaths under Pennsylvania law or the law of the state where execution occurs; official seal and officer certificate required. Alternative: qualifying attorney takes the acknowledgment/affidavit, then certifies that fact to an oath-authorized officer, whose sealed certificate completes the route (§ 3132.1(b)-(c)) |
| Required recitals & form | Substantial compliance with the UPC form or Pennsylvania's form. Testator: attached/foregoing instrument is the Last Will, signed willingly as a free and voluntary act. Witnesses: saw execution, testator acted willingly/free, each witness signed in testator's hearing and sight, and testator was 18+, sound, unconstrained, and free of undue influence (§ 3132.1(b)) |
| Attachment to the will | The officer's certificate under official seal must be attached or annexed to the will. Separate affidavits are expressly allowed for witnesses sworn at different times (§ 3132.1(b)) |
| Electronic, remote & out-of-state | Current self-proof is for a paper attested will, but Pennsylvania remote-notary law lets a remotely located individual appear by communication technology if § 306.1's safeguards are met and the certificate says technology was used. Section 3132.1 also accepts officers/attorneys of the state where execution occurs; SB 1138 would add electronic wills and logical association but is not law |
| Probate effect & exceptions | Absent a validity contest and excluding wills signed by mark or by another, the register accepts a conforming witness affidavit as proof of its stated facts as if sworn at probate (§ 3132.1(a)). A contest or mark/proxy signature defeats this shortcut; the affidavit does not cure invalid execution |
| If there is no affidavit | The will remains valid if § 2502 was met. Probate ordinarily requires two competent witnesses; subscribing witnesses are preferred for a testator-signed will, while a mark/proxy will normally must be proved by subscribing witnesses, with reasonable-diligence and other-proof fallbacks (§ 3132) |
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Requirements one by one
Availability and governing law
Pennsylvania offers self-proof under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132.1, but only for an
"attested will." That qualification matters because § 2502 lets a testator sign an
ordinary valid will with no witnesses at all. A person who wants the self-proof
shortcut therefore adds witnesses for probate convenience, not because witnesses are
always required for validity.
Who signs or swears
The testator acknowledges the will; the witnesses make affidavits. Section 3132
requires two competent witnesses to prove every will, so the complete self-proof
package ordinarily supplies two witness affidavits. Section 3132.1 nevertheless uses
singular and plural witness forms and expressly permits separate affidavits, so each
witness need not appear at the same time. The attorney route does not replace any
affiant—it changes who receives the acknowledgment and affidavits and how they are
certified.
When it may be made
An attested will may be made self-proved at execution or "at any subsequent date."
The testator must still be alive to acknowledge the will. A witness whose affidavit is
not taken with that acknowledgment may use a separate affidavit; § 3132.1 states no
separate deadline for that later witness affidavit.
Officer, oath and seal
The ordinary route uses an officer authorized to administer oaths under Pennsylvania
law or the law of the state where execution occurs. The officer must issue a
certificate under official seal. Pennsylvania also has an unusual two-step lawyer
route: a qualifying Pennsylvania or execution-state attorney receives the testator's
acknowledgment and witness affidavit, then certifies to an oath-authorized officer
that the signing occurred before the attorney; that officer supplies the final sealed
certificate. An attorney's signature alone does not complete the statute.
Required recitals and form
The acknowledgment and affidavits must substantially follow the UPC or Pennsylvania
form. The testator acknowledges the attached or foregoing instrument as the Last Will
and says it was signed willingly and as a free and voluntary act. Each witness states
that the witness saw execution, that the testator acted willingly and freely, that the
subscribing witnesses signed in the testator's hearing and sight, and that the testator
was at least 18, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence. The form
does not require the witnesses to sign in each other's presence.
Attachment to the will
The officer's certificate, under official seal, must be "attached or annexed to the
will." The statute expressly allows a separate affidavit for each witness whose oath
is taken at a different time from the testator's acknowledgment. A loose, unsealed
notary block does not track § 3132.1.
Electronic, remote and out-of-state rules
The current will remains a signed paper writing, but the notarial act can be remote.
Under 57 Pa.C.S. § 306.1, a remotely located individual may appear before a
Pennsylvania notary by communication technology when the identity, record,
audio-visual-recording, certificate, and related safeguards are satisfied. Section
3132.1 also recognizes an oath officer—and, in the certification route, an
attorney—under the law of the state where execution occurs. SB 1138 would add a true
electronic-will system, but remains pending.
Probate effect and exceptions
In an uncontested case, the register accepts a conforming witness affidavit as proof
of the facts stated, just as if it had been made under oath at probate. Two express
exceptions matter: the shortcut does not apply if there is a contest over validity,
and it does not apply to a will signed by mark or by another person under § 2502. The
affidavit is proof, not a cure for an improperly executed will.
If there is no affidavit
The will is not invalid. Section 3132 calls for two competent proof witnesses. For a
will signed by the testator, readily available subscribing witnesses are preferred,
and proof of the testator's signature is preferred to proof of a subscribing
witness's signature. A mark/proxy will normally must be proved by its subscribing
witnesses, but the register may accept other execution proof when reasonable diligence
cannot produce them.
Statutes and sources
- 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132.1 — self-proof availability, exceptions, timing, signer roles,
forms, sealed attachment, separate affidavits, and attorney certification.
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.031..HTM (accessed 2026-08-09) - 20 Pa.C.S. § 3132 — ordinary probate by two competent witnesses and special
proof rules for testator-signed and mark/proxy wills.
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.031..HTM (accessed 2026-08-09) - 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2502 and 2504.1 — paper-will execution, mark/proxy signatures,
and domicile-law validity.
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/20/00.025..HTM (accessed 2026-08-09) - 57 Pa.C.S. § 306.1 — notarial acts for remotely located individuals.
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/57/00.003..HTM (accessed 2026-08-09) - PA SB 1138, PN 1375 — pending electronic-wills and electronic-estate-planning
proposal.
https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/HTM/2025/0/SB1138/PN1375
(accessed 2026-08-01)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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