Rhode Island: Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements

Requirements one by one

Availability and governing law

Rhode Island's mechanism is R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-26. It differs from the
testator-plus-witnesses form used in many states. The affidavit is made by the
subscribing witnesses as probate proof, and the section begins with a condition:
it applies “[i]n the absence of objection by anyone interested in the estate.”

The affidavit does not replace § 33-5-5's validity rules. That section still
requires a written will, the testator's signature or a directed proxy signature,
and two or more witnesses present at the same time who subscribe in the testator's
presence.

Who signs or swears

Any one or more subscribing witnesses may make the affidavit. The testator does
not acknowledge or sign it. The statutory form is written for multiple witnesses,
but subsection (2) expressly permits “any one or more of them,” so one witness is
enough for the statutory proof route.

The witness or witnesses appear before an oath-authorized officer, swear to the
facts, and sign. The officer completes the jurat.

When it may be made

This is the topic's broadest timing rule. The affidavit may be executed “at any
time after execution of the will or codicil,” and the statute removes any doubt by
adding “whether before or after the death of the testator.”

Death therefore does not close the route. A subscribing witness may supply the
affidavit during probate if no interested person objects.

Officer, oath, and seal

The witness may swear before any officer authorized to administer oaths “in or out
of this state.” The statutory form uses a “Notary public” jurat, but the operative
text is broader than notaries. Section 33-7-26 does not expressly require an
official seal.

Required recitals and form

The functional standard is the facts the witness would be required to testify to
in court to prove the will or codicil. The statute then says its form satisfies the
rule if followed “substantially.” The form covers:

• the testator's signature or a proxy signature made in the testator's presence
  and at the testator's express direction;
• the testator's declaration of the instrument as a will or codicil;
• the witnesses' signatures in the testator's presence and in each other's
  presence;
• the testator's apparent sound mind and age of at least eighteen; and
• genuineness of the witness signatures on the will.

The final recital matters because the affidavit may be made years later or after
death: the witness is also authenticating the signatures already on the will.

Attachment to the will

Section 33-7-26 does not use “attached,” “annexed,” “endorsed,” or “following”
language. It describes an affidavit “to” the purported will or codicil, and the
form identifies the testator, the instrument's execution, and the witness
signatures. The statute states no separate physical-placement rule.

Electronic, remote, and out-of-state rules

The section does not create a separate electronic-affidavit or remote-oath
procedure. It does expressly allow the oath officer to act outside Rhode Island.
A subscribing witness who lives elsewhere therefore need not return to the state,
provided the officer administering the oath has authority there.

Probate effect and exceptions

When no interested person objects, an affidavit by any one or more subscribing
witnesses “shall constitute sufficient evidence of the due execution” of the will
or codicil. The probate court may admit the instrument on that proof.

An objection is the express limit. Once an interested person objects, § 33-7-26's
simplified affidavit route no longer supplies the stated basis for admission. The
affidavit is proof of due execution; it does not settle capacity, undue influence,
or other contest grounds.

If there is no affidavit

Section 33-7-26(1) supplies the parallel live-testimony route. In the absence of
objection, oral testimony from any one subscribing witness about due execution is
sufficient evidence. The statute does not require both witnesses to appear.

If someone objects, the case leaves this no-objection shortcut and proceeds under
the ordinary contested-proof rules.

What trips people up

• The testator does not join this affidavit. Rhode Island uses witness proof,
  not the common three-affiant execution-time form.
• One witness is enough. The printed form is plural, but subsection (2)
  expressly permits any one or more subscribing witnesses.
• It may be made after death. The statute says so directly; this is not a route
  that disappears when the testator dies.
• An objection defeats the shortcut. The affidavit is sufficient only under
  the section's no-objection condition.

Common questions

Must both subscribing witnesses sign the affidavit?

No. Section 33-7-26(2) permits an affidavit from “any one or more” of them, even
though the statutory sample form is written in the plural.

Can the affidavit be completed during probate?

Yes. It may be executed after the testator's death. The witness still must swear to
the execution facts and the genuineness of the witness signatures on the will.

Does the witness have to return to Rhode Island?

No. The oath may be taken before an authorized officer “in or out of this state.”

Statutes and sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5 — underlying will execution requirements.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-5.htm (accessed
  2026-08-01)
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-26 — no-objection oral-testimony and subscribing-witness
  affidavit routes, timing, officer, substantial form, and effect.
  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-7/33-7-26.htm (accessed
  2026-08-01)