Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Arkansas

At a glance

Arkansas puts its medical power of attorney in the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, Ark. Code §§ 20-6-101 to -118, a version of the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act that took effect October 1, 2013. Arkansas does not keep the agent appointment in its own separate statute the way some states do. Instead it uses one umbrella document, an advance directive, that can hold a living will (your treatment wishes), a durable power of attorney for health care (the part that names an agent to decide for you), or both in a single signed instrument (§ 20-6-102(1), (4)(A)). This page covers what it takes to execute the agent-appointment part.

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

The Act defines a "durable power of attorney for health care" as "a written advance directive that identifies an agent who is authorized to make healthcare decisions on behalf of the principal" (§ 20-6-102(4)(A)). Unlike states such as California or Nevada, the Arkansas Act does not print an optional fill-in-the-blank statutory form — any writing that meets the requirements below works, and a durable power of attorney for health care signed on or after October 1, 2013 is valid if it shows an intent to be made under the Act, or can still be honored as an advance directive if it otherwise complies (§ 20-6-117(b), (c)).

Who can sign

"An adult, married minor, or emancipated minor may execute a durable power of attorney for health care" (§ 20-6-103(b)(1)). That is a genuine Arkansas quirk: most states require the signer to be a legal adult, but Arkansas also lets a married minor or an emancipated minor sign one. The document "shall be in writing and signed by the principal" (§ 20-6-103(b)(2)) — the Act sets out no procedure for someone else to sign on your behalf at your direction, so plan to sign it yourself while you can. "Capacity" means your ability "to understand the significant benefits, risks, and alternatives to proposed health care and to make and communicate a healthcare decision" (§ 20-6-102(3)), and you are presumed to have it (§ 20-6-112).

Witnesses or notary

This is the core requirement, and Arkansas gives you a choice: an advance directive "shall be either notarized or witnessed by two (2) witnesses" (§ 20-6-103(c)(1)). You need one route or the other — a notarized signature does not also need witnesses, and two witnesses do not also need a notary. If you use witnesses, the document must include an attestation clause in which the witnesses state that they meet the qualifications below (§ 20-6-103(c)(3)).

Who can't witness or serve

Two witness rules apply. First, each witness must be "a competent adult who is not the agent." Second, "at least one (1) of the witnesses" must be someone who is not related to you "by blood, marriage, or adoption" and who "would not be entitled to any portion of the estate" of yours under a will or by law (§ 20-6-103(c)(2)). In plain terms: your agent can never be one of your witnesses, and at least one witness has to be a genuine outsider who won't inherit from you. The other witness can be a relative or an heir.

Notably, the Act places no restriction on who may serve as your agent. It does not bar your treating doctor, a provider's employee, or a care facility's staff from acting as agent the way many states do — the only person-based limit in the execution rules is the witness rule above. You are free to name anyone you trust, though naming your own physician is uncommon in practice.

When the agent can act

By default the power springs into effect: "[u]nless otherwise specified in an advance directive, the authority of an agent becomes effective only upon a determination that the principal lacks capacity and ceases to be effective upon a determination that the principal has recovered capacity" (§ 20-6-103(d)). A licensed physician makes that capacity call (§ 20-6-103(e)(1)) and must "[r]ecord promptly the determination in the principal's current clinical record" and tell you and your decision-makers (§ 20-6-108). If you would rather your agent be able to act right away, you can say so in the document — the default only controls when the directive is silent.

Powers and limits

Your agent's authority is broad. The agent may make "a healthcare decision that the principal could make if he or she had capacity" (§ 20-6-103(b)(1)), and a "healthcare decision" is defined to include "consent, refusal of consent, or withdrawal of consent to health care" (§ 20-6-102(9)) — which reaches decisions about life-sustaining treatment. The Act does not list categorical exclusions (such as bans on consenting to commitment, psychosurgery, or sterilization) that some states impose on every agent. Instead, the limit is a duty: the agent "shall make a healthcare decision in accordance with the principal's individual instructions and other wishes to the extent known," and otherwise "in accordance with the agent's determination of the principal's best interest," considering your known personal values (§ 20-6-103(f)). Those decisions are "effective without judicial approval" (§ 20-6-103(g)).

How to revoke

While you have capacity you "may revoke all or part of an advance directive ... at any time and in any manner that communicates an intent to revoke" (§ 20-6-104(a)) — no particular form is required. A later directive that conflicts with an earlier one revokes the earlier one to the extent of the conflict (§ 20-6-104(c)). Anyone — a provider, agent, guardian, or surrogate — who learns of a revocation must pass word of it to your supervising provider and treating institution (§ 20-6-104(d)).

Out-of-state directives

A directive you signed in another state travels well. One "executed outside of this state shall be given effect in this state if, at the time of execution, the advance directive complies with either this subchapter or the laws of the state in which the advance directive was executed" (§ 20-6-103(h)) — so it is enough that it was valid where and when you made it.

What trips people up

• At least one witness must be a true outsider. Arkansas lets you use two witnesses instead of a notary, but you can't just grab two relatives. At least one witness must be unrelated to you by blood, marriage, or adoption and not in line to inherit from you (§ 20-6-103(c)(2)). The witnessed document also has to carry an attestation clause saying the witnesses qualify — a form that omits it is defective.
• By default it only kicks in if you lose capacity. Arkansas is a springing-by-default state: unless your document says otherwise, your agent cannot act until a licensed physician determines you lack capacity and records it in your chart (§§ 20-6-103(d), 20-6-108). If you want your agent to be able to act immediately, you must write that into the document.
• Divorce cancels a spouse-agent. A decree of annulment, divorce, dissolution of marriage, or even legal separation "revokes a previous designation of a spouse as agent" unless the decree or the directive says otherwise (§ 20-6-104(b)) — so an old directive naming an ex-spouse no longer empowers them once the decree is entered.

Common questions

Does an Arkansas health care power of attorney have to be notarized? No. You can either have it notarized or have two qualifying witnesses sign it (§ 20-6-103(c)(1)). Either one is enough on its own.

Can my spouse or child be a witness? One of them can — but not both. At least one of your two witnesses must be unrelated to you and not someone who would inherit from you (§ 20-6-103(c)(2)), and your named agent can never be a witness.

Can I name my doctor as my health care agent? Yes. Unlike many states, the Arkansas Act sets no bar on who may serve as agent (§ 20-6-103(b)(1)). It is still unusual to name a treating provider, but the statute does not forbid it.

When does my agent's authority begin? Only after a licensed physician determines you lack capacity, unless your document says it takes effect immediately (§ 20-6-103(d)).

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code § 20-6-101 — names the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-20-public-health-and-welfare/ar-code-sect-20-6-101/ (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ark. Code § 20-6-102 — definitions: advance directive, agent, capacity, durable power of attorney for health care, healthcare decision. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-20-public-health-and-welfare/ar-code-sect-20-6-102/ (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ark. Code § 20-6-103 — execution: who may sign, writing/signature, notary or two witnesses, disinterested-witness rule, attestation clause, springing effect, physician capacity determination, agent's decision standard, and out-of-state recognition. https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2017R%2FPublic%2F&file=974.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2017%2F2017R (accessed 2026-08-16)
• Ark. Code § 20-6-104 — revocation, and divorce/annulment/separation revoking a spouse-agent. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-20-public-health-and-welfare/ar-code-sect-20-6-104/ (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ark. Code § 20-6-108 — physician must record and communicate a capacity determination. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-20-public-health-and-welfare/ar-code-sect-20-6-108/ (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ark. Code § 20-6-117 — validity of a durable power of attorney for health care entered into on or after October 1, 2013. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-20-public-health-and-welfare/ar-code-sect-20-6-117/ (accessed 2026-07-16)