Are electronic wills legal in England and Wales?

No. As of June 2026, electronic wills are not legally valid in England and Wales. The Wills Act 1837 still requires a will to be in writing, signed by the testator in the physical presence of two witnesses. Making e-wills valid requires new primary legislation, which has not yet been introduced.

What is the 'reliable system' for electronic wills?

In its May 2025 report Modernising Wills Law, the Law Commission recommended that electronic wills should only be valid if made on a 'reliable system' that (1) links the testator's and witnesses' signatures to the will at the moment of signing, (2) makes the original, authentic will identifiable and distinguishable from copies, and (3) protects the will against unauthorised alteration or destruction.

What is the status of the wills reform in 2026?

The Law Commission published its final report and a draft Bill on 16 May 2025. The Government gave a brief interim response the same day but, as of June 2026, has not published its full response, and no Wills Bill was included in the King's Speech of May 2026. The Law Society has publicly urged the Government to act.

How does cryptographic sealing relate to the reliable system?

Cryptographic sealing — hashing a document with SHA-256 and anchoring the fingerprint to a public blockchain — provides tamper-evidence, original-version identification and independent proof of time. These map directly to the integrity functions a reliable system will need, which is why wills platforms are building this layer now, ahead of the law changing.

Can I make any digital preparations for my will today?

A valid will must still be executed on paper under the Wills Act 1837. However, firms and platforms can already create tamper-evident records of will-related documents — drafts, instructions, letters of wishes, capacity evidence — to strengthen the evidential trail. This does not replace valid execution and is not legal advice.

REFORM TRACKER · ENGLAND & WALES

Electronic wills & the “reliable system”: where the law stands, and how to get ready

The Law Commission has recommended making electronic wills valid in England & Wales — but only on a certified “reliable system”. Here is the current legal position, the reform timeline, what a reliable system must do, and how the cryptographic proof layer maps to it.

Last reviewed: 10 June 2026 · Maintained by JurisChain · This page is general information, not legal advice.

Are electronic wills legal in England & Wales today?

No — as of June 2026, electronic wills are not legally valid in England & Wales. A will must still comply with the Wills Act 1837: in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone in their presence and at their direction), in the physical presence of two witnesses who also sign. Making an e-will valid requires new primary legislation, which has not yet been passed.

Anyone offering a fully digital “electronic will” as legally valid in England & Wales today is misstating the law. What is possible today is strengthening the evidential trail around a conventional will — more on that below.

What did the Law Commission recommend?

On 16 May 2025, the Law Commission of England and Wales published Modernising Wills Law (Law Com No 419), a two-volume report with 31 recommendations and a draft Bill that would replace the Wills Act 1837. Among its headline recommendations:

Electronic wills should be capable of being valid, provided they are made on a “reliable system”;
Courts should gain a dispensing power to uphold wills that don't meet formal requirements where the deceased's intention is clear;
Marriage should no longer automatically revoke a will — a significant anti-predatory-marriage measure;
Updated rules on capacity (aligning with the Mental Capacity Act 2005) and undue influence.

What is a “reliable system” for electronic wills?

The reform deliberately avoids naming specific technologies. Instead, the Law Commission defined three functional requirements an electronic-will system must satisfy:

Requirement	What it means	Cryptographic equivalent
1. Link signatures to the will	Reliably connect the testator's and witnesses' signatures to the will at the moment of signing	Sealing the signed version's SHA-256 fingerprint at execution time creates a tamper-evident record of exactly what was signed, and when
2. Identify the original	Distinguish the authentic original will from copies	A cryptographic fingerprint is unique to one exact byte sequence — the “original” is the version whose hash matches the sealed record
3. Protect against alteration or destruction	Prevent or reveal any unauthorised change to the will	Any change to the document changes its hash; anchoring the hash to the Bitcoin blockchain makes the record itself unalterable and independently verifiable

Which systems count as “sufficiently reliable” would ultimately be determined by the courts or by future regulations — the report envisages the Secretary of State having powers to specify qualifying systems, with further consultation before those regulations are made. No certification scheme, technical standard or approved-system list exists yet.

Reform status: the timeline so far

16 MAY 2025

Law Commission publishes Modernising Wills Law with a draft Bill. The Government issues a one-page interim response welcoming the report; the Minister states “the current law is outdated, and we must embrace change”.

NOV 2025

The Law Society publicly criticises Government inaction: “No will to act on wills reform”.

5 FEB 2026

The Lord Chancellor's implementation report classifies the wills report as “awaiting a Government decision on implementation”.

13 MAY 2026

King's Speech opens the 2026/27 parliamentary session — no Wills Bill is included.

16 MAY 2026

The protocol deadline for the Government's full response passes without a published response. The Law Society confirms ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Justice but says no announcement or draft bill is expected “in the short term”.

PENDING

Full Government response · introduction of a Wills Bill · consultation on reliable-system regulations · technical standards and certification.

Realistic reading: the reform direction is set, the timing is not. Reform could accelerate at any fiscal or political moment — and the firms and platforms that prepared early will be the ones ready to operate from day one.

What can firms and wills platforms do today?

While e-wills await legislation, the evidential problems the reform addresses already exist — and can be mitigated now, on top of conventional paper execution:

Seal will-related records: instructions, drafts, attendance notes, capacity assessments and letters of wishes can be cryptographically sealed, creating independent proof of what existed and when — valuable in later disputes about versions, capacity or undue influence;
Build the integrity layer now: wills and probate platforms can integrate document sealing via API today, so that when reliable-system regulations arrive, the hardest technical requirements — tamper-evidence, original identification, independent time — are already in production;
Strengthen storage records: a sealed fingerprint of the executed will (the paper original remains the legal instrument) provides a tamper-evident reference for the version held in storage.

None of this replaces valid execution under current law, and none of it is legal advice — it is evidential infrastructure.

How JurisChain fits in

JurisChain is a UK-built proof layer for legal records: documents are hashed in the user's browser (they never leave the device), and the SHA-256 fingerprint is anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain via the open OpenTimestamps standard, producing certificates and proof files that anyone can verify independently — forever, with or without JurisChain.

That is precisely the integrity function at the heart of the reliable-system concept. We are building it as neutral infrastructure: wills platforms, probate providers and law firms can embed it white-label via API rather than building and self-certifying their own evidence layer.

Honest position: no provider can claim reliable-system certification today, because no certification exists. What we offer is the proof layer such systems will need — operational now for the evidential use cases that are already legal.

Preparing for electronic wills?

If you run a wills, probate or estate-planning platform — or a private-client practice thinking ahead — let's talk about being ready before the law changes.

Request access / partner with us →

Or try the free sealing tool on our homepage.

Sources & disclaimer. Based on public sources reviewed on 10 June 2026, including the Law Commission's Modernising Wills Law report and draft Bill (16 May 2025), the Government's interim response (gov.uk), the Lord Chancellor's report on implementation of Law Commission recommendations (HC 1655, February 2026), Law Society statements (November 2025 – May 2026) and the King's Speech of 13 May 2026. This page is general information maintained by a technology provider; it is not legal advice. For advice on wills, consult a solicitor regulated in England & Wales. JurisChain is not a law firm.