Do I Need a Witness for My Legal Document?
A Guide to Witnessing and Notarization
Last Updated: October 18, 2024
Key Takeaways:
- A witness is a neutral third-party observer who watches someone sign a legal document. Their presence helps prevent fraud and ensures the signer understands the document and has the capacity to sign it.
- To be a valid witness, a person must be at least 18 years old, be of sound mind, be a neutral third-party (not a beneficiary, agent, or a spouse of the beneficiary or agent), have a valid ID and provide contact information, and potentially pass a background check (depending on the state).
- Witnesses and notaries have different roles. Witnesses observe the signing, while notaries verify identities and signatures. Some documents require both, so always check state-specific requirements.
Table of Contents
- What is a witness?
- Who can witness a signature on a legal document?
- What is the difference between a witness signature and a notary signature?
- Can a notary act as a witness?
- Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Living Trust?
- Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Power of Attorney?
- Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Quitclaim Deed?
What is a witness?
A witness is a third-party observer present during the signing of a document. Having a witness for legal documents helps prevent fraud and coercion by ensuring that the document’s owner has capacity to sign and is aware of its legality.
A witness’s presence and signature can further validate a document’s authenticity and on some occasions validate the signer’s identity.
When you sign your legal documents, you may be required to have witnesses present and sign in addition to a notary’s acknowledgement.
Who can witness a signature on a legal document?
There are requirements for a witness to be considered valid. A witness must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Be of sound mind and have the capacity to be a witness (e.g., not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol)
- Be a neutral third party (e.g., they cannot be an agent or beneficiary, the spouse of an agent or beneficiary, and in some cases, they cannot be a family member)
- Be able to provide a valid I.D. and their details like an address and contact information
- Understand that they may be called upon to provide evidence on the signature’s authenticity
It’s important to note that some states may even prohibit individuals from being witnesses if they have a criminal record for certain crimes.
What is the difference between a witness signature and a notary signature?
When it comes to adding validity to your legal documents, a witness signature and a notary signature serve different purposes.
On the one hand, a witness is simply an impartial observer who watches a document being signed. Friends, colleagues, and family members are all popular examples of people who can serve as witnesses.
On the other hand, notary publics are government-appointed officials who are authorized to verify identities and witness signatures. Notarization is a formal process that adds an extra layer of security and authenticity to a document.
While a witness can be a helpful addition to many documents, notarization is often required for legal or financial transactions. If you are looking to notarize your documents online, consider using LawDepot’s secure and efficient Online Notary service.
Can a notary act as a witness?
While some states permit notaries to act as witnesses, this practice is generally discouraged. In most cases, it's recommended that a notary either witnesses or notarizes a document, but not both.
If a state allows a notary to serve as a witness, we’ve highlighted that information below.
Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Living Trust?
As we’ve already mentioned, having your legal documents witnessed is a great way to add credibility and validity to them. Some legal documents, including Living Trusts, have state-specific regulations regarding whether or not they need to be witnessed.
Review this table to find out if your state requires a witness when you sign your Living Trust.
Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Power of Attorney?
Each state has different legislation for executing a Power of Attorney (POA). These regulations include how many witness signatures they require when you sign your document.
Witnesses must be present in addition to the notary public acknowledging your Power of Attorney. However, there are restrictions on who can be a witness to a POA. A witness must be a neutral third party, at least 18 years of age, and be of sound mind. They cannot be:
- The agent, alternate agent, or anyone who will benefit from the Power of Attorney
- A relative to the principal (i.e., spouse, blood, or adopted relation)
- The spouse of the agent or the spouse of any alternate agent
See the table below to find out if your state requires witnesses when you sign your POA:
| State | Is a witness required? | Legislation |
| Alabama | No | AL Code § 26-1A-105 (2024) |
| Alaska | No | AK Stat § 13-26-600 (2023) |
| Arizona | Yes, one witness is required. | AZ Rev Stat. § 14-5501 (2024) |
| Arkansas | No | AR Code § 28-68-1-5 (2024) |
| California | No, unless a POA is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | CA Prob Code § 4121 (2024) |
| Colorado | No | CO Rev Stat § 15-14-705 (2024) |
| Connecticut | Yes, two witnesses are required. | CT Gen Stat § 1-350d (2023) |
| Delaware | Yes, one witness is required. | 12 DE Code § 49A-105 (2024) |
| District of Columbia | No | DC Code § 21–2601.05 (2024) |
| Florida | Yes, two witnesses are required. | FL Stat § 709.2105 (2024) |
| Georgia | Yes, one witness is required. | GA Code § 10-6B-5 (2024) |
| Hawaii | No | HI Rev Stat § 551E-3 (2024) |
| Idaho | No | ID Stat § 15-12-105 (2024) |
| Illinois | Yes, one witness is required. | ILCS § 755 - 45/3-3 (2024) |
| Indiana | No, unless a POA is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | IN Code § 30-5-4-1 (2024) |
| Iowa | No | IA Code § 633B.105 (2024) |
| Kansas | No | KS Stat § 58-652 (2024) |
| Kentucky | No | KY Rev. Stat. § 457.050 (2024) |
| Louisiana | Yes, two witnesses are required. | LA Civ Code Art. 1577 (2024) |
| Maine | No | 18-C ME Rev Stat §5-905 (2023) |
| Maryland | Yes, two witnesses are required. | MD Estates & Trusts Code § 17–110 (2024) |
| Massachusetts | No | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, § 5-501 (2024) |
| Michigan | No, if it’s a general POA or durable and notarized. If durable and not notarized, two witnesses are required. | MI Comp L § 556.205 (2023) |
| Minnesota | No | MN Stat § 523.01 (2023) |
| Mississippi | No | MS Code § 87-3-1 (2023) |
| Missouri | No | MO Rev Stat § 404.705 (2024) |
| Montana | No | MT Code § 72-31-305 (2023) |
| Nebraska | No | NE Code § 30-4005 (2023) |
| Nevada | No | NV Rev Stat § 162A.220 (2023) |
| New Hampshire | No. New Hampshire also doesn’t allow for electronic signing of POAs. | NH Rev Stat § 564-E - 105 (2024) |
| New Jersey | No | NJ Stat § 46:2B-8.9 (2023) |
| New Mexico | No | NM Stat. § 45-5B-105 (2024) |
| New York | Yes, two witnesses are required. | NY Gen Oblig L § 5-1501B (2023) |
| North Carolina | No | NC Gen Stat § 32C-1-105 (2024) |
| North Dakota | No | ND Cent Code § 30.1-30 (2024) |
| Ohio | Yes, two witnesses are required. | OH Rev Code 1337.06 (2024) |
| Oklahoma | No | 58 OK Stat 58 § 3005 (2024) |
| Oregon | No | OR Rev Stat § 127.005 (2024) |
| Pennsylvania | Yes, two witnesses are required. | 20 PA Cons Stat § 5601b (2024) |
| Rhode Island | No | RI Gen L § 18-16-2 (2024) |
| South Carolina | Yes, two witnesses are required. | SC Code § 62 - 8 -105 (2023) |
| South Dakota | No | SD Codified L § 59-12-4 (2024) |
| Tennessee | No | TN Code § 34-6-102 (2023) |
| Texas | No | TX Est Code § 751.0021 (2023) |
| Utah | No | UT Code § 75A-2-105 (2024) |
| Vermont | No | 14 V.S.A. § 4005 (2023) |
| Virginia | No | VA Code § 64.2-1603 (2024) |
| Washington | No, unless a POA is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | WA Rev Code § 11.125.050 (2024) |
| West Virginia | No | WV Code § 39B-1-105 (2023) |
| Wisconsin | No | WI Stat § 244.05 (2024) |
| Wyoming | No | WY Stat § 3-9-105 (2024) |
Some jurisdictions, such as Massachusetts and Tennessee, don’t specify any signing requirements. Even when no signing requirements are specified, you should sign your Power of Attorney. Additionally, regardless of the witness requirements in your state, it’s good practice to have two witnesses present during your signing and notarization.
Please note it’s important to check the requirements of any financial institution that may be relying on your Power of Attorney, as they may have their own signing and witnessing requirements.
Do I need a witness/witnesses for my Quitclaim Deed?
Like Living Trusts and Powers of Attorney, Quitclaim Deeds have state-specific requirements surrounding witness requirements.
Even if your state does not require witnesses, it is strongly recommended to have at least one witness present when you sign and notarize your Quitclaim Deed. Let’s break down these laws in the table below:
| State | Is a witness required? | Legislation |
| Alabama | Yes, one witness is required. | AL Code § 35-4-20 (2023) |
| Alaska | No | AK Stat § 34.15.150 (2023) |
| Arizona | No | AZ Rev Stat § 33-401 (2023) |
| Arkansas | Yes, two witnesses are required. | AR Code § 18-12-104 (2023) |
| California | No | CA Govt Code § 27287 (2023) |
| Colorado | No | CO Code § 38-35-104 (2023) |
| Connecticut | Yes, two witnesses are required. One witness can be the notary public. | CT Gen Stat § 47-5 (2023) |
| Delaware | No | 25 DE Code § 122 (2023) |
| District of Columbia | No | D.C. Code § 42-401 (2024) |
| Florida | Yes, two witnesses are required. | FL Stat § 689.01 (2023) |
| Georgia | Yes, one witness is required. | GA Code § 44-5-30 (2023) |
| Hawaii | No | HI Rev Stat § 502-50 (2023) |
| Idaho | No | ID Code § 55-805 (2023) |
| Illinois | No | ILCS § 765-5-20 (2023) |
| Indiana | No | IN Code § 32-21-2-3 (2023) |
| Iowa | No | IA Code § 558.20 (2024) |
| Kansas | No | KS Stat § 58-2209 (2023) |
| Kentucky | Yes, two witnesses are required. | KY Rev Stat § 382.130 (2023) |
| Louisiana | Yes, two witnesses are required. | LA Civ Code Art. 1833 (2023) |
| Maine | No | 33 ME Rev Stat § 203 (2023) |
| Maryland | No | MD. Real Property Code §4-101 (2023) |
| Massachusetts | No | MA Gen L ch 183 § 29 (2023) |
| Michigan | No | MI Comp L § 565.8 (2023) |
| Minnesota | No | MN Stat § 507.24 (2023) |
| Mississippi | No | MS Code § 89-3-1 (2023) |
| Missouri | No | MO Rev Stat § 442.130 (2023) |
| Montana | Yes, one witness is required. | MT Code § 70-21-203 (2023) |
| Nebraska | No | NE Code § 76-211 (2023) |
| Nevada | No | NV Rev Stat § 111.240 (2023) |
| New Hampshire | No | NH Rev Stat §477:3 (2023) |
| New Jersey | No | NJ Rev Stat § 46:14-2.1 (2023) |
| New Mexico | No | NM Stat § 47-1-5 (2023) |
| New York | No | NY Real Prop L § 291 (2023) |
| North Carolina | No | NC Gen Stat § 47-17 (2023) |
| North Dakota | Yes, one witness is required. | ND Cent Code § 47-19-03 (2023) |
| Ohio | No | OH Rev Code § 5301.01 (2023) |
| Oklahoma | No | 16 OK Stat § 2 (2024) |
| Oregon | No | OR Rev Stat § 93.410 (2023) |
| Pennsylvania | No | 21 P.S. § 42 |
| Rhode Island | No | RI Gen L § 34-11-1. (2023) |
| South Carolina | Yes, two witnesses are required. One witness can be the notary public. | SC Code § 30-5-30 (2023) |
| South Dakota | No, a witness is not required if your document is notarized. If your deed is not notarized, then one witness is required. | SD Codified Laws § 43-25-26 (2023) |
| Tennessee | No, a witness is not required if your document is notarized. If your deed is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | TN Code § 66-22-101 (2023) |
| Texas | No, a witness is not required if your document is notarized. If your deed is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001 |
| Utah | No | UT Code § 57-3-101 (2023) |
| Vermont | No | 27 V.S.A. § 341 (2023) |
| Virginia | No | VA Code § 55.1-612 (2023) |
| Washington | No | WA Rev Code § 64.04.020 (2023) |
| West Virginia | No, a witness is not required if your document is notarized. If your deed is not notarized, then two witnesses are required. | WV Code § 39-1-2 (2023) |
| Wisconsin | No | WI Stat § 706.05 (2023) |
| Wyoming | No | WY Stat § 34-1-113 (2023) |