Is a Handwritten Will Valid in Ontario?

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The rule for handwritten wills

Section 6 of the Succession Law Reform Act (the SLRA) says you may make a valid will wholly by your own handwriting and signature, without formality, and without any witness being present or signing. Lawyers call this a holograph will. The Ontario government lists it, alongside online tools and will kits, as one of the ways people prepare their own will, and it warns that a will prepared incorrectly will not be valid.

Two requirements carry all the weight:

Wholly in your handwriting. Every operative word, the gifts, the names, the appointment of an estate trustee, has to be written by your own hand. Typed text, printed blanks, or words written by someone else are not part of a holograph will.
Signed by you. Your signature has to be placed so that it is apparent you meant it to give effect to the writing as your will. Section 7 is generous about where on the page it sits, but it must be at, after, beside or opposite the end of what you wrote.

Everything else that applies to any will still applies: it must be in writing (section 3), and you must be old enough and mentally capable when you write it. Ontario’s guidance says you can make a will at 18 or older if you understand what property you have and what you are doing by making a will, and section 8 lists the narrow exceptions for people under 18. The full set of rules for every type of will is in what makes a will valid in Ontario. The planning side is covered on our wills and powers of attorney page.

How a holograph will works, from writing to probate

A handwritten will has no signing ceremony, but it still goes through steps, most of them after your death. Knowing them shows why the small details matter.

You write it. In ink, on paper, by hand, from start to finish. Clear wording matters more than legal language: who gets what, who your estate trustee is, and who steps in if that person cannot act.
You sign at the end. Under section 7(3), anything written below your signature, or added after you signed, is not given effect by that signature.
You keep the original safe. At home, with a lawyer, or on deposit with the Superior Court of Justice, which accepts the wills of living people for safekeeping under section 2 of the Estates Act and Rule 74.02. Your estate trustee needs to know where it is.
After your death, someone identifies the handwriting. When your estate trustee applies to the court, Rule 74.04(1)(d)(ii) of the Rules of Civil Procedure requires the original will attached to an affidavit attesting that the handwriting and signature are yours. That affidavit is Form 74F. A formal typed will uses Form 74D, an affidavit of execution from a witness, instead.
The court issues the certificate. With the affidavit and the rest of the application, the estate trustee can be confirmed by the court. The process is explained in how to apply for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.

Step four is where holograph wills create the most work. A Form 74F affidavit is sworn evidence, so the person swearing it has to be able to recognize your handwriting and signature. If nobody can, or the people who can are also the people who benefit, the estate trustee may have a harder application.

Handwritten will, filled-in kit and formal will compared
Document	Is it a holograph will?	Witnesses needed	Affidavit at probate	Where the rule is
Will written entirely by hand and signed	Yes	None	Form 74F (handwriting and signature)	SLRA s. 6; Rule 74.04(1)(d)(ii)
Printed will kit with blanks filled in by hand	No: not wholly in your handwriting	Two, present together, who sign in your presence	Form 74D (execution)	SLRA s. 4(2); Rule 74.04(1)(d)(i)
Typed will signed by hand	No	Two	Form 74D	SLRA s. 4(2)
Typed or emailed will with an electronic signature	No	Not a valid will	Not applicable	SLRA s. 3; Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, s. 31(1)
Handwritten change on a formal typed will	No	Signed by you and witnessed near the change	Form 74E may be needed for an unattested change	SLRA s. 18(2); Rule 74.04(1)(d)(i)(B)

Why a filled-in will kit is not a holograph will

This is the single most common misunderstanding. People buy a printed form, fill in the names and gifts by hand, sign it, and assume that because they wrote part of it, it counts as handwritten. It does not. Section 6 requires the will to be made “wholly” by your own handwriting. A form is partly printed, so it is not a holograph will; it is a formal will, and it needs two witnesses under section 4(2).

The same goes for a typed will you sign without witnesses, or a printed page where you have handwritten only the last line. Without the witnesses, these documents fail the ordinary rule and do not fit the holograph exception either. After a death, the only route left may be a court application under section 21.1, discussed below. If you like the idea of a kit, sign it properly: two witnesses together in the room, or by live video with a lawyer as one witness, as explained in can you sign a will by video in Ontario. The trade-offs between a kit, a handwritten will and a lawyer-drafted will are set out in do you need a lawyer to make a will in Ontario.

What changes the answer

Where you sign

Section 7(1) accepts a signature placed at, after, following, under, beside or opposite the end of the will, so long as it is apparent you meant it to give effect to the writing. Section 7(2) adds that a blank space before the signature, or a signature on a separate page, does not by itself make the will invalid. Section 7(3) is the limit: a gift written underneath the signature, or inserted after you signed, is not given effect by that signature.

Changes after you sign

Under section 18(1), an alteration made after the will was made has no effect unless it is made the way the Part requires, except that it can wipe out words it makes impossible to read. For a holograph will, section 18(2) says a change is validly made if you sign in the margin or near it, or at the end of a note referring to it. No witnesses are needed for that, because the original needed none.

A witness who is a beneficiary

For a formal will, a gift to a witness or the witness’s spouse is void under section 12(1). Section 12(4) says that rule does not apply where no attestation is necessary. So if someone happens to sign a holograph will as a “witness“, their gift is not lost on that ground.

Cancelling a will by hand

Section 15 lets you revoke a will by a later will, by a writing that declares an intention to revoke and is made in accordance with the rules for making a will, or by burning, tearing or otherwise destroying it with that intention. A signed note wholly in your own handwriting, stating that you revoke your earlier will, can meet section 15(c). A note that is typed and unwitnessed cannot.

Naming a guardian for your children

A holograph will is still a will, so it can carry the appointment of someone to have decision-making responsibility for your children under section 61 of the Children’s Law Reform Act. That appointment needs the person’s consent (section 61(6)), works only if you are the only person with decision-making responsibility for the child when you die, or if you both die together (section 61(4)), and expires after 90 days unless the person applies to the court within that time (section 61(7)).

When the rules were not met

If the person died on or after January 1, 2022, section 21.1 of the SLRA lets the Superior Court of Justice order that a document which was not properly made is valid as a will, if the court is satisfied it sets out the person’s testamentary intentions. That is a court application with evidence and expense. If no valid will is found at all, the estate passes under the rules in who inherits if you die without a will in Ontario.

Example

For example, imagine Marco, a widower in Newmarket with two adult children. He writes a one-page will by hand at his desk, leaving everything equally to his children and naming his daughter Elena as estate trustee. He signs at the bottom. A week later he remembers his fishing boat and adds a line under his signature: “My boat goes to my friend Tony.”

The main will is valid under section 6. The line about the boat is not, because it sits below the signature and was added afterwards (section 7(3)). Had Marco signed again next to the new line, section 18(2) would have made it a valid change. When Marco dies, Elena files the original with a Form 74F affidavit from Marco’s brother, who has known his handwriting for decades. Because the will names no alternate estate trustee, if Elena had been unable to act, the family would have needed to sort out who could apply instead.

Common mistakes with handwritten wills

Filling in a printed form and skipping witnesses. A kit is never “wholly” handwritten, so it needs two witnesses.
Mixing typed and handwritten parts. Typing the body and signing by hand produces a formal will that still needs witnesses.
Adding gifts below the signature. They have no effect unless you sign the addition too.
Leaving out an estate trustee or an alternate. The will may still be valid, but the estate becomes harder to administer.
Vague wording. Phrases like “my things” or “the family” leave your estate trustee guessing, and nobody can ask you what you meant.
Keeping the only original where no one will find it. The court generally needs the original. Business owners have extra questions to think through, set out in our note on a secondary will for private company shares.

What to do this week

If you have a handwritten will, read it end to end and check that every word is in your own handwriting.
Check that your signature comes after all the gifts, and that nothing was added below it.
Look for crossed-out or added words, and sign next to any change you mean to keep.
Make sure the will names an estate trustee and an alternate.
Tell your estate trustee where the original is, and who knows your handwriting well.
Remember that a will does nothing while you are alive. You also need powers of attorney for property and personal care.
If you want your handwritten will reviewed or replaced, a first consultation takes 30 minutes, by video or in person; you can request one here.

Frequently asked questions

Does a handwritten will need to be witnessed in Ontario?

No. Section 6 of the SLRA allows a holograph will without the presence, attestation or signature of a witness. Having someone sign it does no harm, and section 12(4) means a “witness” to a holograph will does not lose a gift under it.

Does a handwritten will have to be dated?

The SLRA does not list a date among the requirements for a holograph will. A date still matters in practice: if two documents turn up, it is the clearest way to show which one came last.

Is a will written on a tablet with a stylus a handwritten will?

Treat it as a serious risk. A will must be in writing, the Electronic Commerce Act does not apply to wills, and section 21.1(2) of the SLRA, headed “No electronic wills“, keeps the court’s validation power from extending to them. Write on paper.

Can I change my typed will with a handwritten note?

Not easily. A change to a formal will counts only if you sign it and two witnesses sign next to it (section 18(2)). Handwriting a separate, signed codicil wholly in your own hand is another route, but a new will is usually cleaner.

Who swears the affidavit for a handwritten will at probate?

Rule 74.04 requires an affidavit attesting that the handwriting and signature are the deceased’s, on Form 74F. The rule does not name a particular person, so it is usually someone who knew the handwriting well, such as a relative, friend or colleague.

Is a handwritten will made in another province valid in Ontario?

Often it can be. Section 37 of the SLRA treats a will as properly made if it complied with the law of the place where it was made, where you were domiciled or habitually resident, or of which you were a national. Section 36(1) applies the law of the place where land is located to a will of Ontario land, but section 37 can still treat the will as properly made, for land and movables alike, if one of those tests is met.

Does a handwritten will avoid probate?

No. A holograph will goes through the same court application as any other will, with a different affidavit. For what probate involves, see our probate and estate administration page.

Sources

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. It reflects the law as of October 25, 2026.

Is a handwritten will valid in Ontario?