The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in North Carolina?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 30, 2026 8 min read

Quick answer

No. A will does not have to be notarized in North Carolina to be valid. A typed (attested) will is valid if you sign it and two competent witnesses sign in your presence (N.C.G.S. §31-3.3). North Carolina is also one of the states that recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills: if a will is entirely in your own handwriting and subscribed by you (or has your name written in or on it in your own handwriting), it's valid with no attesting witness at all (N.C.G.S. §31-3.4). The former requirement that the will be found among your valuable papers was repealed by S.L. 2021-85, s. 1(b), effective July 8, 2021, for decedents dying on or after that date. Notarization isn't required for either — and a notary's stamp by itself doesn't make a will valid. The only notarized document is the optional 'self-proving affidavit', whose forms N.C.G.S. §31-11.6 sets out. The probate effect is set elsewhere: under N.C.G.S. §28A-2A-8(a)(4), an attested written will executed as provided by §31-3.3 may be probated upon a showing that it has been made self-proved in accordance with §31-11.6 — instead of on the testimony of the attesting witnesses.

Educational guide — not legal advice. Will-execution rules are state-specific and change over time. Confirm current requirements with a licensed North Carolina attorney before relying on them.

The short answer

No — a will does not have to be notarized in North Carolina to be valid. North Carolina recognizes two different kinds of valid will — the attested will under N.C.G.S. §31-3.3 and the holographic will under N.C.G.S. §31-3.4 — and neither one requires a notary.

1. An attested (typed) will — N.C.G.S. §31-3.3

  • In writing
  • Signed by you (the testator), or by someone at your direction in your presence
  • Witnessed by two competent witnesses, who sign in your presence

This is the form most North Carolina wills take. Notarization is not required.

2. A holographic (handwritten) will — N.C.G.S. §31-3.4

North Carolina is one of the states that honors a fully handwritten will. Under N.C.G.S. §31-3.4(a) it is valid — with no attesting witness and no notary — if it is:

  • Written entirely in your own handwriting. Other words or printed matter on the page do not defeat the will, so long as the words in your handwriting are by themselves enough to make a valid will and the printed matter does not affect their meaning (§31-3.4(a)(1)).
  • Subscribed by you, or carrying your name written in or on the will in your own handwriting (§31-3.4(a)(2)).

No attesting witness is required (§31-3.4(b)).

A third requirement — that the will be found after death among the testator’s valuable papers or effects, in a safe-deposit box, or with a person for safekeeping — was §31-3.4(a)(3). It was repealed by S.L. 2021-85, s. 1(b), effective July 8, 2021, and applies only to estates of decedents dying before that date. A reader who finds that requirement in an older source is reading superseded law.

Proving a holographic will at probate is a separate question from whether it is valid. Under N.C.G.S. §28A-2A-9 a holographic will may be probated only on the testimony of at least three competent witnesses who believe the will is written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and that the testator’s name on it is in the testator’s handwriting. That section was amended by the same 2021 act (S.L. 2021-85, s. 1(a)).

The North Carolina twist: the self-proving affidavit (this one is notarized)

Here’s where a notary actually helps. North Carolina uses a self-proving affidavit (N.C.G.S. §31-11.6), and that document is notarized.

A self-proving affidavit is a short sworn statement, signed by you and your two witnesses in front of a notary, confirming the will was properly executed. It’s attached to a typed, witnessed will. §31-11.6(a) provides the form for taking it at the same time the will is executed, and §31-11.6(b) the form for taking it at any time afterwards. What it does at probate is set by a different section:

  • Under N.C.G.S. §28A-2A-8(a)(4), an attested written will executed as provided by §31-3.3 may be probated upon a showing that the will has been made self-proved in accordance with §31-11.6. That is one of four listed routes; the other three (§28A-2A-8(a)(1)–(3)) run on the testimony of the attesting witnesses or on proof of handwriting.

Stated precisely: the will itself doesn’t need notarization, but the optional self-proving affidavit does. Most attorney-drafted North Carolina wills include one.

So do you need a notary or not?

  • For validity: No notary required. Sign a typed will with two witnesses, or write one entirely by hand and sign it.
  • For the self-proving affidavit: a notary, because N.C.G.S. §31-11.6 prescribes an affidavit sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths. It is optional.

A North Carolina will without a self-proving affidavit is valid. The difference is procedural: §28A-2A-8(a)(1) probates the will on the testimony of at least two of the attesting witnesses, and §28A-2A-8(a)(2)–(3) set out what is required where the testimony of one or of none of them is available — proof of the witnesses’ handwriting, proof of the testator’s handwriting, and proof of other circumstances satisfying the clerk of the superior court as to the genuineness and due execution of the will.

A notarized but unwitnessed typed will

A will typed, signed before a notary and not witnessed does not meet the execution requirements set out above. A notary’s acknowledgement is not among them.

A typed will that’s notarized but not witnessed is not valid in North Carolina — the notary doesn’t replace the two witnesses required by §31-3.3. (The only no-witness option is a true holographic will, which must be entirely handwritten — a typed document doesn’t qualify no matter how it’s signed.) If you want a typed will, you need the two witnesses.

Who can witness a North Carolina will?

  • Witnesses must be competent (generally adults of sound mind).
  • A disinterested witness is one who does not inherit under the will. North Carolina does not automatically void a will signed by an interested witness.
  • Both witnesses must sign in your presence, which N.C.G.S. §31-3.3 requires.

Quick checklist for a valid North Carolina will

  • [ ] In writing (typed, or entirely handwritten for a holographic will)
  • [ ] Signed by you
  • [ ] For a typed will: two competent witnesses sign in your presence (not needed for a valid holographic will)
  • [ ] Witnesses are disinterested (don’t inherit) — not a requirement of the execution statute
  • [ ] Self-proving affidavit signed by you + witnesses before a notary — optional under §31-11.6

What to do if your will is notarized but not witnessed

If you typed a will and signed it in front of a notary without two witnesses, treat the typed version as invalid in North Carolina (unless it happens to be entirely in your own handwriting, which would make it a valid holographic will). What the statutes leave available:

  1. Re-execution under §31-3.3 — signature before two competent witnesses who sign in the testator’s presence. A self-proving affidavit may then be taken at that same signing under §31-11.6(a), or added at any time afterwards under §31-11.6(b).
  2. A holographic will under §31-3.4, written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and subscribed by the testator (or carrying the testator’s name written in or on it in the testator’s own handwriting), which requires no attesting witness and no notary.

Re-execution carries no statutory fee; the cost is whatever an attorney or service charges, if one is used.

What about electronic and online wills in North Carolina?

A few practical notes for 2026:

  • North Carolina has no electronic-wills statute. The execution requirements set out above are written for a signed paper document.
  • Remote online notarization may be available for the self-proving affidavit, but remember notarization isn’t what makes a will valid here — it only matters for the optional affidavit, and it never substitutes for the two witnesses on a typed will.
  • If you use an online will service, it will still tell you to print, sign, and witness the final document in front of two people. The document is not executed until that step is completed.

What the record shows

North Carolina does not require a will to be notarised. An attested written will requires the testator’s signature and two competent witnesses (N.C. Gen. Stat. §31-3.3). A holographic will written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and subscribed by the testator, or bearing the testator’s name written in or on it in the testator’s own handwriting, is valid without any attesting witness (§31-3.4). The former “found among valuable papers” requirement at §31-3.4(a)(3) was repealed by S.L. 2021-85, s. 1(b), effective July 8, 2021. Notarisation appears only in the optional self-proving affidavit, whose forms §31-11.6 sets out. The probate effect is set by §28A-2A-8(a)(4): an attested written will executed as provided by §31-3.3 may be probated upon a showing that it has been made self-proved in accordance with §31-11.6, in place of the witness testimony or handwriting proof that §28A-2A-8(a)(1)–(3) otherwise require. A notary’s acknowledgement does not substitute for the two witnesses an attested will requires.

Common questions

Is a will valid in North Carolina without a notary?

Yes. A typed will signed before two competent witnesses is valid with no notary under N.C.G.S. §31-3.3, and a fully handwritten (holographic) will under N.C.G.S. §31-3.4 needs neither witnesses nor a notary. Notarization only matters for the optional self-proving affidavit (N.C.G.S. §31-11.6).

Yes — North Carolina recognizes holographic wills that are entirely in your handwriting and subscribed by you, or that carry your name written in or on the will in your own handwriting (N.C.G.S. §31-3.4). No attesting witness is required. The former requirement that the will be found among your valuable papers was repealed effective July 8, 2021. They’re valid but easier to challenge, so a typed, witnessed will is simpler to probate.

What is a self-proving affidavit in North Carolina?

A notarized statement made by the testator and the attesting witnesses before an officer authorized to administer oaths, in one of the forms set by N.C.G.S. §31-11.6. Under §28A-2A-8(a)(4), a showing that the will has been made self-proved in accordance with §31-11.6 is one of the four routes by which an attested written will may be probated. It is optional, and available for typed wills.

Can I notarize my will instead of using witnesses?

No. For a typed will, a notary does not replace the two witnesses N.C.G.S. §31-3.3 requires. A notarized-but-unwitnessed typed will is invalid; only a fully handwritten will under N.C.G.S. §31-3.4 can skip witnesses.

Educational information only — not legal advice. North Carolina will-execution rules are set by statute and can change; confirm current requirements with a licensed North Carolina attorney before relying on them. Sources: N.C.G.S. §§31-3.3, 31-3.4, 31-11.6, 28A-2A-8, 28A-2A-9; S.L. 2021-85.

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