Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements in Utah

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Availability and governing law

Section 75-2-504 gives paper wills two routes: one ceremony that executes, attests, and self-proves the will, and a later acknowledgment-and-affidavit procedure for an already-attested will. Section 75-2-1408 supplies a separate execution-time procedure for an electronic will.

Who signs or swears

The testator acknowledges and signs, and both attesting witnesses make affidavits and sign. For either format, Utah expressly allows the oath officer also to serve as a witness to the will.

When it may be made

A paper will may be self-proved at the execution ceremony or “at any time after its execution.” The later route still calls for the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits. Section 75-2-1408 authorizes only simultaneous execution, attestation, and self-proof for an electronic will.

Officer, oath and seal

The one-ceremony paper route uses an oath officer authorized under the law of the state where execution occurs. The later route uses an oath officer authorized under the law of the state where the acknowledgment occurs. Both require an officer certificate under official seal.

Electronic self-proof likewise uses an execution-state oath officer, who may also be a witness. The sealed certificate is affixed or logically associated with the electronic will.

Required recitals and form

The forms need only be substantially followed. They cover willing signature or direction, the testator's free and voluntary act, age of at least 18, sound mind, freedom from constraint or undue influence, and witness signing in the testator's presence and hearing. The electronic form adapts that last recital to physical or electronic presence.

Attachment to the will

For later paper self-proof, the sealed certificate is attached or annexed to the will. Electronic certificates and affidavits are affixed or logically associated, and a certified paper copy of a self-proved electronic will must include the affidavits.

Electronic, remote and out-of-state rules

The electronic statutory form expressly permits witnesses to act in the testator's physical or electronic presence. Both paper and electronic routes use an officer authorized by the relevant execution or acknowledgment state. Utah Code § 75-2-506 separately recognizes some written wills executed under another place's law, but does not state that foreign self-proof automatically carries over.

Probate effect and exceptions

In a contested case, filing the will with the attached acknowledgment and affidavits makes compliance with signature requirements conclusive. Other execution requirements are presumed but may be rebutted without witness testimony. The shortcut does not apply if fraud or forgery affects the acknowledgment or affidavit.

If there is no affidavit

In an uncontested proceeding, one attesting witness's affidavit or testimony is enough when execution evidence is needed; other evidence or an affidavit may be used if witness evidence is unavailable. In a contested case, one attesting witness who is in Utah, competent, and able to testify is required when execution evidence is necessary, while due execution may also be proved by other evidence.

What trips people up

Paper and electronic self-proof do not share the same timing

Paper self-proof can be added after execution. The electronic statute states only the simultaneous route, so the later paper procedure should not be assumed to carry into an electronic record.

Self-proof creates two different presumptions

Signature compliance is conclusive, but the other execution requirements are only rebuttably presumed. Fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit remains an express exception.

Common questions

May the oath officer also serve as one of the will witnesses?

Yes. Sections 75-2-504 and 75-2-1408 each say the authorized oath officer may also be a witness to the paper or electronic will.

Can an affidavit signature count as a signature on the will?

Yes, when needed to prove due execution. Section 75-2-504(3) supplies that rule for an attached paper affidavit, and § 75-2-1408(4) applies it to a physical or electronic affidavit signature affixed or logically associated with an electronic will.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code §§ 75-2-504 and 75-2-506 — paper forms, timing, officer, seal, attachment, signature spillover, and foreign execution: official current Part 5 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01)
• Utah Code § 75-2-1408 — electronic-will self-proof, form, officer, seal, electronic presence, and logical association: official dated statute PDF (accessed 2026-08-01)
• Utah Code § 75-2-1409 — certified paper copy includes self-proving affidavits: official dated statute PDF (accessed 2026-08-01)
• Utah Code §§ 75-3-405 and 75-3-406 — uncontested and contested proof, conclusive signature presumption, rebuttable execution presumptions, and fraud-or-forgery exception: official current Part 4 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01)