Ohio Will Signing Day Kit: Ohio's Witness and Notary Rules, Signing-Day Checklist, Witness Sheet and Original-Will Record

Who it is for

Anyone signing a will in Ohio, and the family member, friend or office helping set up the signing. Who can make a will, per the official page: 18 or older, of sound mind and memory, and not under restraint.

Not the right fit if

The person signing isn't in Ohio, you still need the will written (that's a lawyer's job), or someone may contest it. Not a will form or a legal service.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Ohio will signing data file, checked November 2026 against Ohio Revised Code 2107.03, Method of making will; Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2107, Wills; Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Ohio (e-wills and self-proving); Nolo (secondary source): Self-proving affidavits (D.C. and Ohio don't offer one).
• All 7 Ohio facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.
• Also from the file: A will can be deposited with the probate court for safekeeping during the testator's life, for a $25 fee. A separate section sets the age to witness a will (2107.06).
• For the estate side in Ohio, the Ohio Executor and Estate Kit: Estate assets of $35,000 or less; $100,000 or less when a surviving spouse is entitled to all of them (named in the will, or the sole heir without one). The court's release order can direct delivery of personal property and transfer of real estate.

What is inside

• Start here. The 7 confirmed Ohio facts at a glance.
• Ohio signing-day checklist. Bring 2 witnesses. The rule: Two or more witnesses, who sign in the testator's conscious presence after seeing the signing or hearing it acknowledged. Pick witnesses who get nothing under the will and aren't married to someone who does. If a beneficiary would have to witness, stop and call the lawyer first: A gift to someone who is one of only two witnesses is void. No self-proving affidavit to arrange for this state: Not available. Nolo's Ohio will page and its self-proving affidavits page both say Ohio doesn't offer a self-proving affidavit, and Ohio's will statute (2107.03) provides none, so the witnesses may need to testify about the signing. The rule here: A gift to someone who is one of only two witnesses is void. The testator signs (or acknowledges the signature) while the witnesses watch, then each witness signs. Remote witnessing: Not allowed.
• Witness information sheet. One block per Ohio witness (2 required, plus a spare).
• Original-will storage and location record. Where the original is and who has copies. Handwritten wills in Ohio: A handwritten will is fine, but it still needs two witnesses. There's no separate unwitnessed handwritten will.
• Ohio will signing tracker (Excel). Steps, ID, copies and review dates. Remote witnessing in Ohio: Not allowed. Conscious presence means within range of the testator's senses, not by phone, video or other distant communication. Electronic wills: Not authorized, per Nolo's Ohio will page, which notes that a 2019 bill to allow electronic wills didn't pass.