Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Connecticut

At a glance

Connecticut does not use the phrase "health care power of attorney." Instead you sign an appointment of health care representative — the same thing under a different name: a document naming someone to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to. You can sign it on its own or as part of a combined advance directive that also contains a living will (your treatment wishes) and, if you want, an anatomical-gift statement and nomination of a conservator. The rules are in Chapter 368w of the General Statutes, §§ 19a-570 to 19a-580g. Connecticut publishes optional forms at § 19a-575a (the combined directive) and § 19a-577 (the standalone appointment), but neither form is mandatory.

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

Under § 19a-570, an "appointment of health care representative" is "a document executed in accordance with section 19a-575a or 19a-577 that appoints a health care representative to make health care decisions for the declarant in the event the declarant becomes incapacitated." A "living will" is the separate written statement of your treatment wishes. You can do one, the other, or both in a single signing.

Who can sign

The signer must be a person "eighteen years of age or older" (§ 19a-576(a)). Connecticut sets no special capacity test beyond adulthood; the document simply has to be "signed and dated" by you.

Witnesses or notary

This is the core formality, and Connecticut keeps it simple: under § 19a-576(a), the person must sign and date the appointment in the presence of two adult witnesses, and both witnesses must also sign. There is no notary option — notarization is not required and does not substitute for the two witnesses. (The optional statutory form includes a place for a witness affidavit, but that is a convenience, not a separate requirement.)

One special case: if you live in a facility operated or licensed by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the Department of Developmental Services, the witness rules tighten — at least one witness must be unaffiliated with the facility, and at least one must be a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed clinical psychologist with specialized training (§ 19a-576(b)–(c)).

Who can't witness or serve

The one witness disqualification for the general public is narrow: the person you appoint as representative "shall not act as witness to the execution of such document or sign such document" (§ 19a-576(a)). Connecticut does not bar your relatives, heirs, or your doctor from witnessing.

Who may serve as representative is more restricted. Under § 19a-576(d), if you are a patient, resident, or applicant of a hospital or care facility, you cannot name that facility's operator, administrator, or employee as your representative, and you cannot name an employee of a government agency financially responsible for your care — unless that person is related to you "by blood, marriage or adoption." And under § 19a-576(e), a physician or APRN "shall not act as both health care representative for a principal and attending physician" for the same person.

When the representative can act

The appointment is springing. Under § 19a-579, it becomes operative only when the document is furnished to the attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse and that physician or APRN determines the declarant is incapacitated. A single treating clinician makes that call. You can ask that the determination of your incapacity be disclosed to your representative in writing (§ 19a-579).

Powers and limits

Once the appointment is operative, your representative "is authorized to make any and all health care decisions" for you — including accepting or refusing "any treatment, service or procedure," carrying out the wishes in your living will, and, where those wishes are unclear, deciding in your best interests (§§ 19a-575a, 19a-577). Connecticut does not carve out a categorical list of decisions no representative may make. The one universal floor is that "comfort care and pain alleviation shall be provided in all cases," no matter what the document says (§ 19a-573(a)).

How to revoke

Connecticut treats the two documents differently, and this trips people up. The appointment of a representative is formal to undo: it "may only be revoked by the declarant, in writing," and that writing "shall be signed by the declarant and two witnesses" (§ 19a-575a(b)). Separately, § 19a-579b automatically revokes a spouse-representative on "divorce or legal separation ... or ... annulment or dissolution" of the marriage, unless you say otherwise. A living will, by contrast, "may be revoked at any time and in any manner" (§ 19a-579a(a)).

Out-of-state directives

If you signed an appointment or health care instructions in another state, § 19a-580g honors it: a health care proxy or instructions "executed under the laws of another state in compliance with the laws of that state or the state of Connecticut, and which are not contrary to the public policy of this state, are deemed validly executed" here.

What trips people up

• You cannot revoke the appointment by just tearing it up. Unlike the living will (revocable any way you like), canceling your health care representative takes a signed writing witnessed by two people (§ 19a-575a(b)). Revoking the living will does not, by itself, revoke the appointment, and vice versa.
• No notary needed — two witnesses do it. People often assume a medical POA must be notarized. In Connecticut it must be witnessed by two adults; a notary adds nothing to validity (§ 19a-576(a)).
• The person you name can't be one of your witnesses. Your chosen representative must sit out the witnessing (§ 19a-576(a)). Pick two other adults.
• Divorce erases a spouse-representative. If you named your spouse and later divorce or legally separate, that appointment ends automatically unless your document says to keep it (§ 19a-579b).

Common questions

Does a Connecticut health care appointment need to be notarized? No. It needs to be signed and dated in front of two adult witnesses who also sign (§ 19a-576(a)). A notary is neither required nor a substitute.

Can my health care representative refuse life support for me? Yes, once the appointment is operative. The representative can make "any and all health care decisions," which includes refusing life-sustaining treatment, guided by your living will and wishes (§§ 19a-575a, 19a-577). Comfort care and pain relief must always continue (§ 19a-573(a)).

When does my representative's authority start? Only after the document is given to your attending physician (or APRN) and that provider determines you are incapacitated (§ 19a-579). Until then, you make your own decisions.

Will an appointment I signed in another state be honored in Connecticut? Yes, if it was validly executed under that state's law (or Connecticut's) and is not contrary to Connecticut public policy (§ 19a-580g).

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-570 — definitions of advance directive, appointment of health care representative, and living will. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-576 — execution before two adult witnesses; the representative cannot witness; special facility witnesses; who may not serve as representative. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-575a — combined advance-directive form; representative's authority to make "any and all health care decisions"; revocation of the appointment by signed writing plus two witnesses. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-577 — optional standalone appointment form and the representative's authority to accept or refuse treatment. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-579 — the appointment becomes operative on the attending physician's or APRN's determination of incapacity. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-579a — a living will is revocable at any time and in any manner. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-579b — automatic revocation of a spouse-representative on divorce, legal separation, annulment, or dissolution. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-573 — comfort care and pain alleviation provided in all cases. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-580g — recognition of an out-of-state directive or health care proxy. https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368w.htm (accessed 2026-08-20)