Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Availability and governing law

Tennessee Code § 32-2-110 creates a witness affidavit for proving a will, but it is not the common testator-plus-witnesses self-proof form. The operative people are the attesting witnesses, and the statute limits the affidavit's acceptance to a will that "is not contested."

Who signs or swears

"Any or all" attesting witnesses may make and sign the affidavit. The testator does not acknowledge or sign it. The statute also does not require both witnesses to join: the sworn statement of "any such witness" is accepted when its other conditions are met.

When it may be made

During the testator's life, the request comes from the testator. After death, the executor or any person interested under the will may request it. Tennessee thus expressly preserves a post-death affidavit route instead of closing the process when the testator dies.

Officer, oath and seal

The witness appears before "any officer authorized to administer oaths in or out of this state." Section 32-2-110 does not separately require an officer's certificate, official seal, or Tennessee commission; the statutory requirements are the witness's signed affidavit and oath before an authorized officer.

Required recitals and form

Tennessee supplies no statutory wording. Section 32-2-110 instead requires the affidavit to state "the facts to which they would be required to testify in court to prove the will." A generic age-and-capacity declaration that omits the execution facts does not answer that statutory description.

Attachment to the will

The first choice is not merely attachment: the affidavit "shall be written on the will." A separate sheet is permitted only "if that is impracticable," and that paper must be attached to the will.

Electronic, remote and out-of-state rules

Section 32-2-110 describes a signed affidavit written on or physically attached to the will and states no electronic-record or remote-oath procedure. It does, however, expressly allow the oath officer to be "in or out of this state."

For a will signed outside Tennessee, the new § 32-1-107(b), effective July 1, 2026, permits admission when the will could be admitted where it was signed, under the law of the testator's execution-time domicile, or through Tennessee's §§ 32-2-104, 32-2-105, or 32-2-110 proof routes.

Probate effect and exceptions

The effect is narrow and procedural. For an uncontested will, the sworn statement of a qualifying witness "shall be accepted by the court of probate ... as if it had been taken before the court." Section 32-2-110 does not create a presumption of due execution and does not dispense with live proof in a contest.

If there is no affidavit

Section 32-2-104(a) requires at least one living subscribing witness to prove an uncontested written will. When the will is contested, all living witnesses must prove it if they can be found, together with any other people produced to support it. Subsection (b) lets the court, in its discretion, take the proof of a witness outside the state or county, or unable to attend, by interrogatories or deposition.

What trips people up

The testator is not an affidavit signer

Section 32-2-110 assigns the affidavit to the attesting witnesses. Requiring the testator to return later is unnecessary under this statute and obscures the express post-death route, when the executor or an interested person may ask the witnesses to complete it.

A narrow old-will signature cure destroys self-proved status

For wills executed before July 1, 2016 only, § 32-1-104(b) can treat witness signatures on a qualifying affidavit as witness signatures on the will, subject to its same-time and content conditions. If that rule is used, the statute says the affidavit "shall not also serve as a self-proving affidavit." It never cures a missing testator signature.

Common questions

Do both attesting witnesses have to sign the affidavit?

No. Section 32-2-110 says "any or all" attesting witnesses may make and sign it and directs the probate court to accept the sworn statement of "any such witness" in an uncontested case.

Can the affidavit be made after the testator dies?

Yes. The executor or any person interested under the will may request the affidavit after death.

What if someone contests the will?

The affidavit shortcut no longer controls. Section 32-2-104 calls for all living attesting witnesses if they can be found, plus other supporting proof; the court may allow an unavailable or out-of-area witness to testify by interrogatories or deposition.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-2-110 — witness-only affidavit, requester and timing, oath officer, content standard, placement, and uncontested effect: public-domain code text (accessed 2026-08-16)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-2-104 — ordinary uncontested and contested witness proof, plus interrogatory and deposition options: public-domain code text (accessed 2026-08-16)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-104(b) — pre-July 2016 affidavit-signature cure and loss of self-proved status: public-domain code text (accessed 2026-08-16)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 32-1-107(b), enacted by 2026 Public Chapter 616, § 1 — current foreign-will proof routes, effective July 1, 2026: official session law (accessed 2026-08-16)