Connecticut: Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements

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: the appointment must
be "signed and dated by such person in the presence of two adult witnesses who
shall also sign the document" (§ 19a-576(a)). 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: it "becomes operative when (1) the document is
furnished to the attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse, and
(2) the declarant is determined by the attending physician or [APRN] to be
incapacitated" (§ 19a-579). 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)
• 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 2026-07-16)