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Does a will need to be witnessed?
Six things people say about witnessing a will, each graded true, false or depends, with the words of the law underneath and the date we read them.
The short answer
In England and Wales, yes. Two or more witnesses, present together when the will is signed or the signature acknowledged. In Scotland the law asks less. Valid in form with the maker's signature alone. One witness is what makes it presumed to be signed by them.
Most of what gets repeated about witnesses is half right. The half that is wrong tends to be the half that matters, so each claim below is graded against the Act itself, with the words of the Act underneath. Northern Ireland has its own wills law, which this page does not cover.
Two witnesses, at the same time
Claim check
A will has to be signed in front of two witnesses who are both there at the same time
- True
England and Wales
True in England and Wales. The person making the will signs it, or acknowledges a signature already on it, with two witnesses there at the same moment. Each witness then signs in front of the person making the will, but not necessarily in front of each other. Nobody needs special wording to witness.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837 section 9, read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
No will shall be valid unless (a) it is in writing, and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction; and (b) it appears that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the will; and (c) the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and (d) each witness either (i) attests and signs the will; or (ii) acknowledges his signature, in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness), but no form of attestation shall be necessary.
When a witness is also left something
This is the one people get most wrong, in both directions.
Claim check
If a beneficiary witnesses a will, the will is invalid
- False
England and Wales
False. Section 15 voids the gift, not the will. If a witness, or the witness's husband, wife or civil partner, is left something in the will, that gift fails and the rest of the will stands. The witness still counts as a witness.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837 section 15, read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
If any person shall attest the execution of any will to whom or to whose wife or husband any beneficial devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift, or appointment, of or affecting any real or personal estate (other than and except charges and directions for the payment of any debt or debts), shall be thereby given or made, such devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift, or appointment shall, so far only as concerns such person attesting the execution of such will, or the wife or husband of such person, or any person claiming under such person or wife or husband, be utterly null and void, and such person so attesting shall be admitted as a witness to prove the execution of such will, or to prove the validity or invalidity thereof
Claim check
If a beneficiary witnesses a will, they always lose the gift
- Depends
England and Wales
It depends. Under the Wills Act 1968, a beneficiary's signature as a witness is disregarded if the will was properly witnessed without them and without any other witness who benefits. In practice that means two other witnesses who gain nothing. Then the gift survives.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1968 section 1, read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
For the purposes of section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 (avoidance of gifts to attesting witnesses and their spouses) the attestation of a will by a person to whom or to whose spouse there is given or made any such disposition as is described in that section shall be disregarded if the will is duly executed without his attestation and without that of any other such person.
Video witnessing
For four years the law allowed it. It covered wills made from 31 January 2020 to 31 January 2024 and no others. A will made after that needs its witnesses there in person.
Claim check
You can have a will witnessed over a video call
- False
England and Wales, for a will made now
False, for any will made now. From 31 January 2020 to 31 January 2024, both days included, the law counted a witness on a live video link as present. That window was not extended. For a will made after it, the witnesses have to be there in person.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837 section 9(2), read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), in relation to wills made on or after 31 January 2020 and on or before 31 January 2024, "presence" includes presence by means of videoconference or other visual transmission.
Why so many pages still say you can
The Ministry of Justice guidance, last updated 12 January 2022, still describes the rule in the present tense. It stopped applying to new wills after 31 January 2024The Ministry of Justice guidance page still reads as if video witnessing were running. It was last updated on 12 January 2022 and gives the end date itself, 31 January 2024. The page even says that once the rule stops, new wills go back to the normal method, which is where things stand.
Source: Ministry of Justice, gov.uk, read 30 September 2026.
The video rule began in 2020 with an end date in January 2022. An order in force from 1 February 2022 pushed the end to wills made on or before 31 January 2024. Section 9 as it stands today still carries that date and no later one.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, SI 2022/18, read 30 September 2026.
Handwritten wills
Claim check
A handwritten will is legally valid
- Depends
England and Wales
It depends. The Wills Act asks for writing and a signature, and does not care whether the writing is by hand or printed. What it does insist on is the same for every will: signed by the person making it, or for them at their direction, with two witnesses present together. A handwritten will with no witnesses does not meet section 9 in England and Wales.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Wills Act 1837 section 9, read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
No will shall be valid unless (a) it is in writing, and signed by the testator
Scotland
Scotland has its own law of wills, the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, and it splits the question in two: what makes a will valid, and what makes it presumed to be genuine.
Claim check
In Scotland a will needs one witness to be valid
- False
Scotland, for the will to be valid in form
False, as the law is written. In Scotland a will is valid in form once the person making it has signed it: the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 says nothing apart from that signature is required for formal validity.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 section 2, read 30 September 2026
- True
Scotland, for the will to be presumed signed by its maker
True for a different job. One witness does not make a Scottish will valid; it makes it presumed genuine. If the will is signed by its maker and by one witness, and the witness's name and address are on it, the law presumes the maker signed it. A will of more than one sheet also has to be signed by the maker on every sheet. Without that witness, the presumption comes only from a court being satisfied that the maker signed. The presumption does not hold if the witness did not know the maker or was under 16.
Receipt: legislation.gov.uk, Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 section 3, read 30 September 2026
What the law says, word for word:
No traditional document required by section 1(2) of this Act shall be valid in respect of the formalities of execution unless it is subscribed by the granter of it or, if there is more than one granter, by each granter, but nothing apart from such subscription shall be required for the document to be valid as aforesaid.
where (a) a traditional document bears to have been subscribed by a granter of it; (b) the document bears to have been signed by a person as a witness of that granter's subscription and the document, or the testing clause or its equivalent, bears to state the name and address of the witness; and (c) nothing in the document, or in the testing clause or its equivalent, indicates (i) that it was not subscribed by that granter as it bears to have been so subscribed; or (ii) that it was not validly witnessed for any reason specified in paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (4) below, the document shall be presumed to have been subscribed by that granter.
Questions people ask
Does a will need to be witnessed in England and Wales?
Yes. Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 the person making the will signs it, or acknowledges their signature, with two witnesses present at the same time, and each witness signs in front of them. The witnesses do not have to sign in front of each other.
Can a beneficiary witness a will?
They can, and the will stays valid, but under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 the gift to that witness, or to their husband, wife or civil partner, fails. The Wills Act 1968 saves the gift if the will was properly witnessed without them.
Can a will still be witnessed by video call?
Not a will made now. The law allowed video witnessing only for wills made from 31 January 2020 to 31 January 2024, both days included, and that window was not extended.
Is a handwritten will valid?
In England and Wales it can be, on the same terms as a printed one: signed by the person making it and witnessed by two people present together. The Act asks for writing, not for print.
How many witnesses does a will need in Scotland?
For a Scottish will to be valid in form, only the signature of the person making it. One witness, with their name and address on the will, makes it presumed to have been signed by that person. Without one, that presumption comes only from a court being satisfied.