Power of Attorney in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania statutory form

No statutory form; the statute prescribes the notice and agent acknowledgment — 20 Pa.C.S. §5601(c) (notice), §5601(d) (agent acknowledgment), §5602 (powers by reference).

The statutory form is the one banks and recorders in Pennsylvania see most often, and the one the statute requires third parties to accept when it is properly signed. A lawyer-drafted power of attorney is equally valid if it is executed the same way.

How to sign a power of attorney in Pennsylvania

A power of attorney must be dated, signed by the principal, acknowledged before a notary, and witnessed by two adults (20 Pa.C.S. §5601(b), effective January 1, 2015).

Two adult witnesses plus the notary.

Who may not witness

• The agent
• The notary
• Anyone who signs on the principal's behalf

The form must open with the statutory notice in capital letters and the agent must sign the statutory acknowledgment before acting.

Online notarization in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's RULONA gives a notarial act performed in another state the same effect as a Pennsylvania act (57 Pa.C.S. §311); Pennsylvania remote notarization has run since 2020.

Rush Notary’s notaries are commissioned online notaries public in Florida and notarize for Pennsylvania signers over live video under Florida’s remote online notarization law. The certificate they complete is a Florida certificate; Pennsylvania honors it under the recognition rule above. Your witnesses can join the same session from anywhere in the United States. Details for this state are on the Pennsylvania online notarization requirements page.

Using it for real estate

A power of attorney used for a deed must be acknowledged and recorded with the county recorder of deeds (20 Pa.C.S. §5601(b), 21 P.S. §351).

Title companies also ask the agent to sign an affidavit at closing that the principal is alive and the power has not been revoked, and lenders review the document before closing. See the real estate power of attorney page.

Medical power of attorney in Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania health care power of attorney (20 Pa.C.S. §5452) must be signed before two adult witnesses; no notary is required. The agent and the health-care provider may not witness.

What a health-care agent can decide, and how the document differs from a living will, is on the medical power of attorney page.

Revoking a Pennsylvania power of attorney

Revoke by a writing delivered to the agent; record it where the original was recorded. Third parties are protected until they receive notice (§5605).