# Iowa — Will execution requirements by state: witnesses, notarization, holographic and electronic wills

For Iowa, witnesses required is witnessed, at the testator’s request, by two competent persons who signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other; self-proving affidavit is An attested will may be made self-proved at the time of its execution, or at any subsequent date, by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses; statute citation is Iowa Code § 633.279, recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.

- **State:** Iowa
- **Witnesses required:** witnessed, at the testator’s request, by two competent persons who signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Self-proving affidavit:** An attested will may be made self-proved at the time of its execution, or at any subsequent date, by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute citation:** Iowa Code § 633.279 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> All wills and codicils, except as provided in section 633.283, to be valid, must be in writing, signed by the testator, or by some person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s express direction writing the testator’s name thereto, and declared by the testator to be the testator’s will, and witnessed, at the testator’s request, by two competent persons who signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Self-proving affidavit

> An attested will may be made self-proved at the time of its execution, or at any subsequent date, by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before a person authorized to administer oaths and take acknowledgments under the laws of this state

## Source

- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/633.279.pdf

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2028-02-24.
Part of [Will execution requirements by state: witnesses, notarization, holographic and electronic wills](https://referencesource.org/will-execution-requirements-by-state/).