The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Which form was attempted?

Holographic vs notarial vs printed vs video.

Form
02

Were witnesses qualified?

Heirs as witnesses are a classic fail.

Witness
03

Is there a later will?

Revocation by later valid will.

Later
04

Will a PRC notary or registry accept it?

Housing and banks are picky.

Use

Working rule: The Civil Code recognises holographic (handwritten, dated, signed), notarial, printed (with witnesses), recorded/video (with witnesses), and oral wills in extremis.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Phone note
Typed in Notes.app, no witnesses.
Not a printed will.
Beneficiary as witness
Child signed as witness.
Risk of invalidity.
Broader Wills, Succession & Inheritance analysis needed
Second related guide.
Do not.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01The instrumentOriginal, not a photo only.
02Witness identitiesWho was in the room.
03Notary file if anyWill-deposit number.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is a US lawyer will valid in China?

That is the foreign-will page. This page is PRC-form wills.

Do I need a notary?

Not always for validity of a holographic will — but registries often want notarial succession anyway.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Civil Code (NPC laws database)
Ministry of Justice / notary
Gov.cn
National laws database (NPC)