Can Wizards Cast Spells They Haven’T Prepared Ritualistically?

The Wizard version of Ritual Casting does not require the spell to be prepared, only that the Wizard has learned and copied it into their book. However, casting a ritual spell will take longer than normal casting, as it does not expend a spell slot. The Wizard class feature does not specify whether one must prepare the subject spell to cast it as a ritual.

If a wizard does not have Identify written in their spellbook and does not have it prepared as part of the Artificer class, they cannot cast Identify. A wizard needs to have the ritual spell either prepared or a copy in their spell book. In either case, the wizard can cast the spell as a ritual.

Cleric spells can be cast as a ritual if they have the ritual tag and are prepared. Druids and clerics must have the spell prepared in order to cast it. Wizards can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and is already in their spellbook. The spellcasting subsection of multiclassing in the spellbook allows a wizard character to cast ritual spells anytime, as long as the ritual spells are already in their spellbook.

Wizards are the only class in 5E who can do this, as every other class must Know or Prepare a spell to cast it. They do need to add the ritual spell to their prepared list, but casting it doesn’t use a spell slot. As you can change your prepared spells, you can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook.

One of the perks of being a wizard is not having to prepare ritual spells, but there are some exceptions. For example, if you are a prepared spellcaster like a cleric or a druid, you need to have the spell prepared for the day if you want to cast it as a ritual. Wizards only need to have the spell in their spellbook, while bards need to know the ritual.