Power of attorney guide
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document in which you (the principal) authorize someone you trust (the agent, or attorney-in-fact) to act for you. The agent can be given authority over money, property, health care, a single transaction or your child's care; the document decides. What makes it valid is signing it the way your state requires — and in most states that means in front of a notary.
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized?
In most states, yes. Texas, New York, North Carolina, Hawaii, Iowa, Utah, New Mexico, West Virginia, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Alaska and Washington, D.C. require the principal's signature on a power of attorney to be acknowledged before a notary. Florida, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, South Carolina and New York require a notary and two witnesses; Georgia, Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland and Vermont require a notary and one witness.
California, Michigan and Washington let you choose between a notary and two witnesses. The remaining Uniform Power of Attorney Act states — Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and others — do not strictly require a notary but presume a notarized signature is genuine, and every bank, title company and county recorder treats that presumption as a requirement. Medical powers of attorney follow separate rules and are more often witnessed than notarized.
The practical answer is simpler than the legal one: notarize it. A notarized power of attorney is accepted everywhere; an un-notarized one is accepted almost nowhere, including in the states where the statute technically allows it.
Jump straight to Texas, California, Florida, New York or find your state in the table below.
Types of power of attorney
Durable power of attorney
Stays in force if you later lose capacity. The standard choice for long-term planning.
Medical power of attorney
Names someone to make health care decisions when you cannot. Witness rules vary by state.
Limited power of attorney
Authority for one task or one period — a closing, a permit, a vehicle sale, a trip abroad.
Financial power of attorney
Banking, bills, investments, taxes and property. Usually durable; usually on the state's statutory form.
Springing power of attorney
Takes effect only when a stated event happens — usually a doctor's finding of incapacity.
Vehicle power of attorney
Lets someone title, register or sell a car for you. Most DMVs publish their own notarized form.
Real estate power of attorney
To buy, sell, mortgage or manage property. Must be notarized and is recorded with the deed.
Power of attorney for a minor child
Lets a grandparent, relative or friend care for your child and deal with schools and doctors while you are away.
Power of attorney for vital records
Lets an agent request a birth, death or marriage certificate for you where the state allows it.
Power of attorney rules by state
How each state requires a financial power of attorney to be signed, whether it honors an online notarization, and whether it publishes a statutory form. Open a state for the form, the witness restrictions, the real-estate recording rule, the medical power of attorney rule and the local forms we index there.
| State | Notary | Witnesses | Online notarization | Statutory form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Required | None required | Accepted | Tex. Estates Code §752.051 |
| California | Required unless witnessed | 2 witnesses | Accepted, with caveats | Cal. Probate Code §4401 |
| Florida | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | F.S. §709.2105 (execution); §709.2202 (powers that must be separately initialed) |
| New York | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | GOL §5-1513 |
| Alabama | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Ala. Code §26-1A-301 |
| Alaska | Required | None required | Accepted | AS 13.26.645 |
| Arizona | Required | One witness | Accepted | A.R.S. §14-5501 (requirements); §14-5503 (durable) |
| Arkansas | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | A.C.A. §28-68-301 |
| Colorado | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | C.R.S. §15-14-741 |
| Connecticut | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | C.G.S. §1-352 (long form), §1-352a (short form) |
| Delaware | Required | One witness | Accepted | 12 Del. C. §49A-301 |
| Georgia | Required | One witness | Out-of-state notarization recognized | O.C.G.A. §10-6B-70 |
| Hawaii | Required | None required | Accepted | HRS §551E-51 |
| Idaho | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Idaho Code §15-12-301 |
| Illinois | Required | One witness | Accepted | 755 ILCS 45/3-3 |
| Indiana | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | IC 30-5-4-1 (execution); IC 30-5-5 (powers by reference) |
| Iowa | Required | None required | Accepted | Iowa Code §633B.301 |
| Kansas | Required | None required | Accepted | K.S.A. 58-652 (execution) |
| Kentucky | Required | None required | Accepted | KRS 457.050 (execution) |
| Louisiana | Recommended (required to record) | 2 witnesses | Accepted | La. Civ. Code art. 2993 (form), art. 2996–2997 (express authority) |
| Maine | Required | None required | Accepted | 18-C M.R.S. §5-930 |
| Maryland | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | Est. & Trusts §17-202 (personal financial), §17-203 (limited) |
| Massachusetts | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | G.L. c. 190B, §5-501 (durable power of attorney) |
| Michigan | Required unless witnessed | 2 witnesses | Accepted | MCL 556.301 |
| Minnesota | Required | None required | Accepted | Minn. Stat. §523.23 |
| Mississippi | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Miss. Code §87-3-105 (durable power of attorney) |
| Missouri | Required | None required | Accepted | RSMo §404.705 (execution) |
| Montana | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | MCA §72-31-353 |
| Nebraska | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Neb. Rev. Stat. §30-4041 |
| Nevada | Required | None required | Accepted | NRS 162A.620 |
| New Hampshire | Required | None required | Accepted | RSA 564-E:301 |
| New Jersey | Required | None required | Accepted | N.J.S.A. 46:2B-8.9 (execution) |
| New Mexico | Required | None required | Accepted | NMSA §45-5B-301 |
| North Carolina | Required | None required | Accepted | N.C.G.S. §32C-3-301 |
| North Dakota | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | N.D.C.C. §30.1-30-41 |
| Ohio | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | R.C. §1337.60 |
| Oklahoma | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | 58 O.S. §3041 |
| Oregon | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | ORS 127.005 (durable power of attorney) |
| Pennsylvania | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | 20 Pa.C.S. §5601(c) (notice), §5601(d) (agent acknowledgment), §5602 (powers by reference) |
| Rhode Island | Required | None required | Accepted | R.I. Gen. Laws §18-16-2 |
| South Carolina | Required | 2 witnesses | Accepted | S.C. Code §62-8-301 |
| South Dakota | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | SDCL §59-12-41 |
| Tennessee | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Tenn. Code §34-6-102 (durable power of attorney) |
| Utah | Required | None required | Accepted | Utah Code §75-9-301 |
| Vermont | Required | One witness | Accepted | 14 V.S.A. §3503 (execution) |
| Virginia | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Va. Code §64.2-1603 (execution) |
| Washington | Required unless witnessed | 2 witnesses | Accepted | RCW 11.125.050 (execution) |
| Washington, D.C. | Required | None required | Accepted | D.C. Code §21-2101(a) |
| West Virginia | Required | None required | Accepted | W. Va. Code §39B-3-101 |
| Wisconsin | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | Wis. Stat. §244.61 |
| Wyoming | Recommended (required to record) | None required | Accepted | W.S. §3-9-301 |
How to notarize a power of attorney online
Step 1
Pick the right document
Use your state's statutory form where one exists, or the form the receiving agency supplies. The state pages below link to each one.
Step 2
Upload it and verify your ID
Upload the unsigned PDF, scan your government ID and answer a few identity questions. Witnesses, if your state needs them, get their own link.
Step 3
Sign on video with the notary
A commissioned online notary confirms your identity, watches you sign, completes the acknowledgment certificate and applies the seal.
Step 4
Download and deliver
The notarized PDF is emailed to you in minutes. Give the agent a copy, and record it with the county if it will be used for real estate.
The power of attorney notarization page covers pricing and what to have ready. Terms used here are defined in the glossary: attorney-in-fact, acknowledgment and notarial certificate.
Common questions
- Does a power of attorney need to be notarized?
- In most states, yes — the principal's signature must be acknowledged before a notary, and several states add one or two witnesses. In the states that only presume a notarized signature is genuine, notarization is still required in practice because banks and county recorders will not accept the document without it.
- Can a power of attorney be notarized online?
- Yes. Every state recognizes a notarization performed under another state's law, and Florida's remote online notarization law lets a Florida-commissioned online notary notarize for a signer anywhere. Witnesses, where your state requires them, can join the same video session. California recorders and a few agencies apply extra rules; the state pages here say where.
- What is the difference between a durable and a general power of attorney?
- A durable power of attorney stays in effect if you become incapacitated; a general power of attorney without a durability clause ends at that point. Most modern statutory forms are durable unless they say otherwise.
- Do I need a lawyer to make a power of attorney?
- No. Most states publish a statutory form that is valid when signed with the required notary and witnesses. A lawyer is worth it when the estate is large, the family situation is complicated, or the agent will be given gifting or trust powers.
- How do I revoke a power of attorney?
- Sign a written revocation, notarize it, deliver it to the agent and to every bank or institution that has the old document, and record it in the county where the original was recorded if it was used for real estate. A later power of attorney revokes an earlier one only if it says so.
- Does a power of attorney expire?
- Not by itself. It ends when it says it ends, when you revoke it, when you die, or — if it is not durable — when you become incapacitated. Institutions may ask for a fresh agent certification if the document is more than a few years old.
General information about how powers of attorney are signed, not legal advice. Execution rules are set by each state’s statute and change; the sources on each state page link to the current text. Whether a particular bank, recorder, agency or title company accepts a document is its own decision — confirm with the receiving party before signing. Rush Notary’s notaries are commissioned online notaries public in Florida who notarize for signers in every state under Florida’s remote online notarization law; see the online notarization requirements for your state.