No, a will does not have to be notarized in Nevada. Under state law, a typed or printed will is legally valid once you sign it and two competent adult witnesses sign it in your presence. Notarization only comes into play if you want to attach an optional self-proving affidavit, which makes probate faster but has nothing to do with whether the will itself is enforceable.
What Actually Makes a Nevada Will Valid
NRS 133.040 sets three requirements for a standard formal will: you sign it (or direct someone to sign it in your presence), two competent witnesses watch you sign, and those witnesses sign the document while you’re still present.1Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 133 – Wills That is the whole list. No notary, no attorney, no special paper. Once the three signatures are on the page, the will is enforceable.
Witness competency is a low bar. The witnesses need to be adults who understand they are watching someone sign a will. No legal training required.
One trap catches people who try to keep the signing simple by using whoever is handy. Nevada allows a beneficiary named in the will to serve as a witness, but NRS 133.060 automatically voids any gift to a subscribing witness unless the will has at least two other competent witnesses who are not beneficiaries.1Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 133 – Wills If you have only two witnesses and one of them inherits under the will, that person loses their inheritance entirely. The will stays valid; the gift to that witness disappears. Choose witnesses who have nothing to gain under the document.
When Notarization Does Matter: The Self-Proving Affidavit
Notarization becomes useful, though still not mandatory, if you want to make your will self-proving under NRS 133.050.2Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 133.050 – Attesting Witnesses May Sign Self-Proving Declarations or Affidavits to Be Attached to or Associated With Will A self-proving affidavit is a separate document attached to the will in which the witnesses swear under oath that they watched you sign, that you declared the document to be your last will, and that you appeared to be of sound mind. The witnesses sign the affidavit in front of someone authorized to administer oaths — that is where the notary public comes in. The notary verifies the witnesses’ identities with government-issued photo ID, administers the oath, and applies an official seal.
Nevada also gives you a notary-free path to the same result. Witnesses can sign a declaration under penalty of perjury instead of a sworn affidavit, and that declaration does not require a notary at all. Either option makes the will self-proving. The statute offers suggested language and asks only that the affidavit or declaration be in “substantially the following form,” so minor wording variations will not invalidate it. Staying close to the statutory template is still the safer choice, because the further you drift from it, the more room you leave for a challenge.
What Skipping the Affidavit Costs You
Leaving the self-proving affidavit off does not invalidate your will. It affects what happens later. When a will enters probate, the court normally has to confirm it was properly signed, which usually means tracking down the witnesses and having them testify — sometimes years after the signing, when memories have faded and people have moved or died. A self-proving affidavit eliminates that step because the witnesses’ sworn statement is already on file.
Without one, your executor may need to locate your witnesses during probate, which can add weeks or months and generate legal fees if a witness cannot be found. The notarization is cheap insurance against that delay, but it is insurance, not a validity requirement.
Other Nevada Wills That Don’t Need a Notary Either
If you have heard that your particular will “needs” to be notarized, it may be worth knowing that Nevada recognizes two other will formats where notarization plays no role at all.
Holographic Wills
Under NRS 133.090, a holographic will — one where the signature, date, and all material provisions are in your own handwriting — is legally enforceable with no witnesses and no notary.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 133.090 – Holographic Will You can write one on a napkin and it counts, as long as everything important is in your hand.
That simplicity is also the weakness. Holographic wills draw litigation. The most common fight is whether the writer even intended the document to serve as a will. A handwritten note saying “I want you to have the house” could be read as affection or as a testamentary instruction, and if the family disagrees, a judge decides. Documents that do not label themselves as a will, or that suggest a formal will was coming later, are especially vulnerable. Ambiguous handwriting, vague descriptions of property, and a missing date all create openings for disputes. A holographic will works in an emergency; for anything beyond the simplest estate, the formal route with two witnesses and a self-proving affidavit provides far stronger protection.
Electronic Wills
Nevada was among the first states to authorize electronic wills, governed by NRS 133.085. An electronic will must be created and stored as an electronic record, include the testator’s date and electronic signature, and incorporate at least one authentication characteristic — a measurable biological or physical trait unique to you, such as a fingerprint, retinal scan, facial recognition, or voice recognition.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 133.085 – Electronic Will
The electronic will must be maintained by a qualified custodian named in the will itself, who keeps the authoritative copy secure, unaltered, and accessible for probate. All other questions about validity and interpretation are handled the same way as a traditional formal will under NRS 133.040.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 133.085 – Electronic Will The authentication technology and custodian requirements make this format better suited to people working with an attorney or an estate planning platform than a DIY project. Notarization is not part of the picture here either.
What Notarization Costs in Nevada
If you do choose to add a self-proving affidavit, the notary fee is one of the cheapest line items in estate planning. Under NRS 240.100, a Nevada notary can charge up to $15 for the first signature and $7.50 for each additional signature. For a jurat, which is the notarial act used on a self-proving affidavit, the fee is $15 per signature.5Nevada Secretary of State. FAQs – Notary With both witnesses signing, the notary portion comes to well under $50.
So the short version stands: your Nevada will is valid without a notary. Spend the small fee anyway if you want to spare your executor the trouble of hunting down witnesses later, or use the penalty-of-perjury declaration route if you want the self-proving benefit without visiting a notary at all.