Power of Attorney Requirements by State

Last updated October 13, 2026 · Written by the Power of Attorney Maker editorial team. State rules checked against official statute sources.

How must a power of attorney be signed? This table lists the notary and witness requirements for financial and medical powers of attorney, with the statute section and a link to the official source we checked. We only list rules we verified on an official state site. Free to cite with a link to this page.

Quick table

State	Financial POA	Law	Medical POA	Law	Checked
Texas	Notary	Tex. Estates Code §751.0021	Notary OR 2 witnesses	Tex. Health & Safety Code §166.154 and §166.003	October 13, 2026
Florida	Notary + 2 witnesses	Fla. Stat. §709.2105	2 witnesses	Fla. Stat. §765.202	October 13, 2026
Georgia	Notary + 1 witness	O.C.G.A. §10-6B-5	2 witnesses	O.C.G.A. §31-32-5	October 13, 2026
Michigan	Notary OR 2 witnesses	Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act, MCL 556.201 and following	2 witnesses	MCL 700.5506 and 700.5507	October 13, 2026
Illinois	Notary + 1 witness	755 ILCS 45/3-3	1 witness	755 ILCS 45/4-10	October 13, 2026
Maryland	Notary + 2 witnesses	Md. Code, Estates & Trusts §17-110	2 witnesses	Md. Code, Health-General §5-602	October 13, 2026
California	Notary OR 2 witnesses	Cal. Prob. Code §4121 and §4122	Notary OR 2 witnesses	Cal. Prob. Code §4673, §4674 and §4675	October 13, 2026
New York	Statutory short form: notary + 2 witnesses, agent signs	N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law §5-1501B and §5-1513	2 witnesses	N.Y. Public Health Law §2981	October 13, 2026

Details and sources

Texas

Financial: Sign it and acknowledge your signature before a notary public. No witnesses are required. (Tex. Estates Code §751.0021)
Medical Power of Attorney Designation of Health Care Agent: Sign in front of two competent adult witnesses (at least one must meet the stricter Texas witness rules), or sign and have your signature acknowledged before a notary. (Tex. Health & Safety Code §166.154 and §166.003)
A durable power of attorney must contain words showing it survives your incapacity, for example "This power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal" (§751.0021(a)(3)). Our document includes them.
If your agent will sign recorded real estate documents (a deed, mortgage, deed of trust, lien release), the power of attorney must be recorded with the county clerk where the property is, no later than 30 days after the instrument is filed (§751.151).

Sources: Texas Estates Code Chapter 751 (Texas Legislature); Statutory durable power of attorney form, Estates Code §752.051; Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 166 (Texas Legislature)

Florida

Financial: Sign in front of two subscribing witnesses AND acknowledge your signature before a notary public. (Fla. Stat. §709.2105)
Designation of Health Care Surrogate: Sign in front of two adult witnesses. No notary is required. (Fla. Stat. §765.202)
To be durable it must say, in substance: "This durable power of attorney is not terminated by subsequent incapacity of the principal except as provided in chapter 709, Florida Statutes" (§709.2104). Our document includes this sentence.
Florida does not allow "springing" powers of attorney signed after October 1, 2011: a power of attorney that only becomes effective at a future date or event is ineffective (§709.2108). Our Florida documents are effective immediately.

Sources: Fla. Stat. §709.2105 Execution of power of attorney; Fla. Stat. §709.2104 Durable power of attorney; Fla. Stat. §709.2108 When power of attorney is effective; Fla. Stat. §709.2202 Authority that requires separate signed enumeration; Fla. Stat. §765.202 Designation of a health care surrogate; Fla. Stat. §765.203 Suggested form (optional)

Georgia

Financial: Sign in front of one competent witness AND a notary public (or another officer listed in O.C.G.A. §44-2-15). The notary can't also be the witness. (O.C.G.A. §10-6B-5)
Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care: Two witnesses must sign. You must see both witnesses sign. No notary is needed. (O.C.G.A. §31-32-5)
Georgia's statutory financial power of attorney is durable unless you limit it in the document (Georgia DHS).
You may file the power of attorney with the superior court to give notice that it exists (Georgia DHS).

Sources: Georgia DHS Division of Aging Services: Alternatives to Guardianship and Advance Directives (rev. 10/2019)

Michigan

Financial: Sign in front of two witnesses OR acknowledge your signature before a notary. The Attorney General's form recommends notarizing even with witnesses, because banks accept it more readily. (Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act, MCL 556.201 and following)
Patient Advocate Designation (Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care): Sign in front of two adult witnesses. Your patient advocate must sign an acceptance before acting. (MCL 700.5506 and 700.5507)
Michigan updated its law under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in 2024. The Attorney General publishes free fillable forms that comply with it.
Michigan's law defines the agent's powers by subject in MCL 556.303 to 556.316.

Sources: Michigan Attorney General: Elder Abuse Task Force power of attorney forms; Michigan AG press release on the new Power of Attorney forms (Aug 6, 2025)

Illinois

Financial: Sign in front of at least one witness AND acknowledge your signature before a notary. The notary may not also sign as the witness. (755 ILCS 45/3-3)
Power of Attorney for Health Care: Sign in front of one adult witness. It does not need to be notarized. (755 ILCS 45/4-10)
Illinois has a Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property. You don't have to use it: a non-statutory property power is valid if you sign it, it names the agent and powers, at least one witness signs, and it shows you acknowledged your signature before a notary (755 ILCS 45/3-3(b)).

Sources: 755 ILCS 45/3-3, official copy from the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission; Illinois Department of Public Health: Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Health Care

Maryland

Financial: Sign it, acknowledge your signature before a notary, AND have two adult witnesses sign. The notary may be one of the two witnesses. (Md. Code, Estates & Trusts §17-110)
Advance Directive: Appointment of Health Care Agent: Two witnesses must sign. No notary is required. (Md. Code, Health-General §5-602)
Signing and witnessing may be in person, or by electronic presence where the statute allows it (§17-110).

Sources: Maryland Estates and Trusts §17-110 (Maryland General Assembly); Maryland Health-General §5-602 (Maryland General Assembly)

California

Financial: Date and sign it, then either acknowledge it before a notary OR have two adult witnesses sign. If it may affect real estate, use a notary so it can be recorded. (Cal. Prob. Code §4121 and §4122)
Power of Attorney for Health Care (Advance Health Care Directive): Date and sign it, then either acknowledge it before a notary OR have two qualified adult witnesses sign. (Cal. Prob. Code §4673, §4674 and §4675)
A printed durable power of attorney form used without a lawyer must include the two warning notices in Probate Code §4128 in at least 10-point bold type. Our California durable documents include both notices.
A durable power of attorney that may affect real property should be acknowledged before a notary so it can be recorded (§4128).

Sources: Cal. Probate Code §4121; Cal. Probate Code §4122; Cal. Probate Code §4128 (required notices); Cal. Probate Code §4673; Cal. Probate Code §4674; Cal. Probate Code §4675

New York

Financial: Use New York's statutory short form. You sign, date and initial it; your signature is notarized; two witnesses sign; your agent signs and is notarized too. It must be printed in at least 12-point type. (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law §5-1501B and §5-1513)
Health Care Proxy: Sign and date it in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign. No notary is required. (N.Y. Public Health Law §2981)
New York requires the "Caution to the Principal" and "Important Information for the Agent" wording from §5-1513. Because a home-made layout can fail these rules, we don't generate New York financial powers of attorney. Use the statutory short form in §5-1513.

Sources: N.Y. General Obligations Law §5-1501B (NY Senate); N.Y. General Obligations Law §5-1513 statutory short form (NY Senate); N.Y. Public Health Law §2981 (NY Senate)

Other states: check your state's current rules

We haven't verified these states against the official statute yet, so we don't summarize them: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. For these, our form includes both witness lines and a notary acknowledgment. Check your state legislature's website or ask a local attorney or legal aid office.

Method

Each rule was read on the state's official statute website (Texas Legislature, Florida Legislature, California Legislative Information, Maryland General Assembly, New York State Senate) or an official state agency copy of the statute or form (Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, Illinois Department of Public Health, Michigan Attorney General, Georgia Department of Human Services) on the date shown. We re-check twice a year. This is general information, not legal advice.

Make a power of attorney with these rules applied