Illinois Will Signing Requirements: Witnesses, Notary and the Attestation Clause Under 755 ILCS 5/4-3

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published October 4, 2026. Last reviewed October 4, 2026.

This guide quotes or closely follows the Probate Act's own words for each requirement, as read on the Illinois General Assembly's statute site on October 4, 2026, then covers the attestation clause and affidavit, changes and revocation, the electronic will and remote witness rules, and where to keep the signed original. It is general information, not advice about a particular will.

Who can make a will: 755 ILCS 5/4-1

Every person who has attained the age of 18 years and is of sound mind and memory has power to bequeath by will the real and personal estate which he has at the time of his death (4-1(a)). There is a rebuttable presumption that a will or codicil is void if it was executed or modified after the testator was adjudicated disabled and a plenary guardian was appointed, or a limited guardian was appointed and the court found the testator lacked testamentary capacity; the presumption is overcome by clear and convincing evidence that the testator had capacity when the will was executed (4-1(b)).

The rule: 755 ILCS 5/4-3

Every will shall be in writing, signed by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction and attested in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses (4-3(a)). That single sentence holds the three requirements:

1. In writing

The section says every will, and it makes no exception for a will in the testator's own handwriting; a handwritten will still needs the signature and the two witnesses. The only alternative the section names is a will that qualifies as an international will under the Uniform International Wills Act, which is considered to meet all the requirements of subsection (a) (4-3(b)).

2. Signed by the testator, or for the testator

The testator signs, or some person signs in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction (4-3(a)). The Probate Act section does not say where on the document the signature goes.

3. Attested in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses

The witnesses attest in the presence of the testator (4-3(a)). What they will later be asked to confirm is set out in 6-4(a): that each witness was present and saw the testator, or some person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction, sign the will in the presence of the witness, or the testator acknowledged it to the witness as his act; that the will was attested by the witness in the presence of the testator; and that the witness believed the testator to be of sound mind and memory at the time of signing or acknowledging the will. The simplest way to satisfy all of this is one sitting, with the testator and both witnesses in the same room, the testator signing first and the witnesses signing while the testator watches.

Choosing the witnesses: 755 ILCS 5/4-6

If any beneficial legacy or interest is given in a will to a person attesting its execution or to his spouse, the legacy or interest is void as to that beneficiary and all persons claiming under him, unless the will is otherwise duly attested by a sufficient number of witnesses exclusive of that person; the witness may be compelled to testify as if the legacy had not been given, but is still entitled to receive so much of the legacy as does not exceed the share of the estate he would take if the will were not established (4-6(a)). No individual or corporation is disqualified from acting as a fiduciary, or from being paid for it, because an employee or partner attested the will, and no attorney is disqualified from acting for a fiduciary because the attorney or an employee or partner attested it (4-6(b)). A creditor whose debt the will secures may attest and may testify to its execution (4-6(c)). The practical rule: use two adults who inherit nothing under the will and are not married to anyone who does.

No notary is required: what the attestation clause and affidavit do

Section 4-3 does not mention a notary, and nothing in the signing rule requires one. The notary's role arises later, when the will is proved. When each of 2 attesting witnesses states the three facts listed above, the execution of the will is sufficiently proved to admit it to probate, unless there is proof of fraud, forgery, compulsion or other improper conduct which in the opinion of the court is sufficient to invalidate or destroy the will (6-4(a)). Those statements may be made in one of three ways: testimony before the court; an attestation clause signed by the witness and forming a part of or attached to the will; or an affidavit which is signed by the witness at or after the time of attestation and which forms part of the will or is attached to the will or to an accurate facsimile of it (6-4(b)).

An attestation clause is the paragraph above the witnesses' signatures reciting the 6-4(a) facts; it needs no notary. An affidavit is the same recital sworn before a notary or other officer who administers oaths. Both let the court admit the will without calling the witnesses, which matters years later when a witness has moved or died. The Illinois package on this site includes both: the witnesses sign the attestation clause as part of the will and then sign the affidavit before a notary at the same sitting. The will is admitted on a petition filed in the court of the proper county, which must state, if known, the testator's name and residence, the date and place of death, the date of the will and the petitioner's belief that it is the valid last will, the approximate value of the real and personal estate in Illinois, the names and addresses of all heirs and legatees and whether any is a minor or a person with a disability, and the name and address of the executor (6-2). The proper county is the county where the testator had a known place of residence, or, if none in Illinois, where the greater part of the real estate lies, or failing that where the greater part of the personal estate is located (5-1).

Changing or revoking a will: 4-7 and 4-9

A will may be revoked only by burning, cancelling, tearing or obliterating it by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction and consent; by the execution of a later will declaring the revocation; by a later will to the extent that it is inconsistent with the prior will; or by the execution of an instrument declaring the revocation and signed and attested in the manner prescribed for a will (4-7(a)). No will is revoked by any change in the circumstances, condition or marital status of the testator, except that dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of the marriage revokes every legacy, interest, power of appointment and nomination to fiduciary office given to the former spouse in a will executed before the judgment, and the will takes effect as if the former spouse had died before the testator (4-7(b)). A will that is totally revoked is not revived other than by its re-execution or by an instrument declaring the revival, signed and attested like a will (4-7(c)). An addition, alteration, substitution, interlineation or deletion that does not amount to a revocation is of no effect unless made by the testator or at his direction and the will is thereafter signed and attested again (4-9). Writing on a signed will therefore changes nothing; a new will or codicil signed before two witnesses does.

A will that pours into a trust: 4-4

By a will signed and attested as provided in the act, a testator may bequeath real and personal estate to the trustee of a trust evidenced by an instrument which is in existence when the will is made and which is identified in the will, even though the trust is subject to amendment, modification, revocation or termination; unless the will provides otherwise the property is governed by the trust instrument including later written amendments, and the existence, size or character of the trust's corpus is immaterial to the validity of the bequest (4-4). This is the pour-over will that accompanies a living trust, and it is signed under 4-3 exactly like any other will.

Electronic wills and remote witnesses: 755 ILCS 6

The Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (755 ILCS 6/1-1) took effect upon becoming law on July 26, 2021 (6/99-99), and its Article 11 on nontestamentary documents was added effective January 1, 2024 (Source line of 6/1-1). All electronic wills, paper copies of electronic wills and wills attested under the act remain subject to the Probate Act and the common law, but where those conflict with the act, the act controls (6/1-15). An electronic will is a will created and maintained as a tamper-evident electronic record, meaning any change to the record is displayed; presence includes physical presence and being in a different location but able, using audio-video communication, to know the person is signing a document in real time; and a remote witness is a person attesting to a document who is in the presence of the signer or testator through audio-video communication (6/1-20).

To be valid, an electronic will shall be executed by the testator or by some person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction, and attested in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses; the testator may sign with an electronic signature, and each witness signs with an electronic signature in the testator's presence after seeing the testator sign or acknowledge the signature (6/5-5). An electronic will is revoked by a later will declaring the revocation, by a later inconsistent will, or by a written instrument declaring the revocation; if neither the electronic will nor a certified paper copy can be found after death, it is presumed revoked (6/5-10). A certified paper copy is a printout certified by the person who converted the record, stating the date, the preparer's name, how and when the preparer obtained the record, that the copy is complete and correct and that the record is tamper-evident (6/10-10); a copy may be witnessed after it is prepared, and an electronic will that was not attested by two witnesses may have its certified paper copy attested in the testator's presence after the testator acknowledges the electronic signature (6/10-15). Before a paper copy of an electronic will is admitted it must be certified under 10-10 or supported by enough evidence to overcome the presumption of revocation (6/20-10).

A will attested through audio-video communication, whether electronic or on paper, shall designate Illinois as its place of execution, be signed by the testator or at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence, and be attested in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses who are located in the United States at the time (6/15-10(a) and (b)). During the call the witness determines the testator's identity, the testator signs or acknowledges the signature, and the witness attests in the testator's presence (6/15-10(d)); identity is determined by personal knowledge, a government-issued identification, another photo identification or identity proofing (6/15-15). If the will uses separate signature pages, attestation clauses or affidavits, the testator or a person the testator appoints attaches the witness's signed page to the will within 10 business days of the attestation (6/15-10(e)). A remotely witnessed will is proved when at least 2 witnesses state the usual 6-4 facts plus the method used to determine the testator's identity, by testimony, by an attestation clause attached within 10 business days, by an affidavit signed at attestation and attached within 10 business days, or by a later affidavit attached to an accurate copy (6/20-20). A will attested by witnesses who are all in the testator's physical presence is simply proved under 6-4 of the Probate Act (6/20-15). Documents other than a will, such as a power of attorney, may also be witnessed by audio-video communication, with counterpart signature pages attached within 10 business days and before the signer's death or incapacity (6/15-5).

Storing the signed will

Illinois gives individuals a new option from January 1, 2027. Public Act 104-0719, effective on that date, adds Section 16.2 to the Clerks of Courts Act: the clerk of any circuit court may establish and maintain a will depository for the voluntary safekeeping of original wills before the death of the testator (705 ILCS 105/16.2(a)). The depositor must be a resident of the county where the will is deposited, or a person authorized by court order (16.2(b) and (c)); the clerk may charge a fee up to $25 for each will deposited, with no separate fee for documents deposited at the same time for one testator or for a single joint will of spouses (16.2(d)). The clerk seals the will in an envelope in the depositor's presence, marks it with the date, the depositor's and testator's names and addresses and the executors' names, and indexes it (16.2(e)); the envelope is not a public record (16.2(f)); during the testator's life it is released only to the testator in person or to a court by order (16.2(h)); and after death the clerk releases it to a named executor who presents a certified death certificate and proof of identity, or, after 12 months with no executor collecting it, to an heir, creditor or interested party with a court order (16.2(i)). Depositing a will does not confer validity or any greater or lesser legal weight on it (16.2(m)). The section's own heading notes that it contains text from a public act with a delayed effective date, and its Source line reads effective January 1, 2027; the clerk may, not must, establish a depository, so ask the circuit clerk in your county whether one exists.

A separate, older provision covers lawyers only: an attorney, or the attorney's representative, guardian or estate, may deposit a will with the Secretary of State on certifying that the depositor cannot locate the testator after a diligent search, for a $15 fee, and after the testator's death the Secretary delivers the sealed envelope to the circuit clerk of the county where probate may occur on payment of a $10 retrieval fee (15 ILCS 305/5.15). For everyone else the original stays with the testator, the executor or the drafter in a safe place that the executor knows about. When the testator dies, any person who has the will in his possession shall immediately file it with the clerk of the court of the proper county, and the court may compel its production; a person who wilfully alters or destroys a will without the testator's direction, or wilfully secretes it for 30 days after learning of the death, commits a Class 3 felony (755 ILCS 5/6-1).

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Of the 104th General Assembly's public acts (104-0001 through 104-0854 as of October 4, 2026), the only act touching this page is Public Act 104-0719, the will depository described above, effective January 1, 2027. Sections 4-1, 4-3, 4-4, 4-6, 4-7, 4-9, 5-1, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4 of the Probate Act carry no public act later than the 99th General Assembly in their Source lines, and every section of 755 ILCS 6 cited here carries Public Act 102-167 or 103-301. No act in the list is described as amending the will signing or electronic wills provisions.

Wills and a living trust

An Illinois trust package pairs the living trust with a pour-over will under 4-4, signed under 4-3 like any other will, which sends anything left outside the trust into it at death. The trust itself is not a will; the site's Illinois trust is signed and acknowledged before a notary. The Illinois living trust page lists each document and how it is signed, and the Illinois probate process guide explains what happens to a will after death.