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A will cannot be signed electronically

Indian law does not let a will be made with an electronic signature. It must be printed, signed in ink or with a thumb mark, and witnessed on paper. Waseeyat will never offer anything else for a will.

Indian law does not let a will be made with an electronic signature. It must be printed, signed in ink or with a thumb mark, and witnessed on paper. Waseeyat will never offer anything else for a will.

The law

The Information Technology Act, 2000 is the law that gives electronic records and electronic signatures legal effect. It does not apply to the documents listed in its First Schedule (section 1(4)).

Entry 4 of the First Schedule is a will as defined in the Indian Succession Act, 1925, "including any other testamentary disposition by whatever name called". A codicil is covered too.

So an electronic signature, an OTP or an Aadhaar eSign cannot meet the signing rules for a will in section 63 of the Indian Succession Act.

Other documents on the same list

The First Schedule also excludes:

  • a trust as defined in section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (entry 3);
  • a power of attorney, except one that lets certain regulated financial institutions act for the person making it (entry 2);
  • most negotiable instruments, with exceptions for cheques, demand promissory notes and bills of exchange issued to or endorsed by certain regulated financial institutions (entry 1).

What Waseeyat does

  • Your will is generated for printing. You and your witnesses sign the paper.
  • Waseeyat's software refuses electronic signing by document type for wills, codicils, trusts, powers of attorney and any other document type it does not recognise. Electronic signing is used only for documents the law allows, such as an engagement letter with Waseeyat.

Sources

  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000), section 1(4) and the First Schedule, entries 1 to 4 (entries 1 and 2 as substituted and amended by notification S.O. 4720(E) of 26 September 2022). India Code consolidated text as on 27 June 2025, read 9 October 2026: https://indiacode.gov.in/act/d41fe391-b9c0-40b1-afdc-ad034c7ac62f
  • The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Act 39 of 1925), sections 2(h) and 63. India Code consolidated text as on 19 June 2026, read 9 October 2026: https://indiacode.gov.in/act/3eeb6aec-1e1f-42d4-9673-c04d21829663

General information about Indian law, not legal advice. Waseeyat is not a law firm.

Answers come straight from the text below, with the part it came from.

Waseeyat is a technology-enabled will-drafting and succession-planning service. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice; where an advocate is involved, the advocate is independently responsible for their own work. A will made with Waseeyat is only valid once it is printed and signed by you on paper in the presence of two witnesses who also sign (section 63, Indian Succession Act 1925); a will cannot be signed electronically under Indian law. No outcome is guaranteed. All AI-assisted drafts are reviewed by a person before they reach you.