Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Vermont

At a glance

Vermont does not have a separate "health care power of attorney." It uses a single document called an advance directive, which both appoints your health care agent and records your treatment wishes. Vermont repealed its old durable power of attorney for health care in 2005 and folded everything into one chapter, 18 V.S.A. chapter 231. This page is about the part that names an agent to make medical decisions for you when you cannot.

Two things make Vermont's execution rules distinctive. There is no notary option — you must use two witnesses — and if you sign while you are being admitted to or living in a hospital, nursing home, or residential care facility, an authorized person has to explain the directive to you and sign that they did.

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

The governing law is the Advance Directives for Health Care chapter, 18 V.S.A. §§ 9701–9716. An "advance directive" is a single written record that "may include appointment of an agent," treatment instructions, and more (§ 9701(1)); the same definition notes it "includes documents designated under prior law as a durable power of attorney for health care." Vermont does not mandate a particular form — any writing that meets § 9703 works — though the state and the Vermont Ethics Network publish widely used fill-in forms.

Who can sign

"An adult with capacity may execute an advance directive at any time" (§ 9703(a)). It "shall be dated, executed by the principal or by another individual in the principal's presence at the principal's express direction if the principal is physically unable to do so" (§ 9703(b)(1)). Capacity in Vermont is a practical test: you have capacity to appoint an agent if you have "a basic understanding of what it means to have another individual make health care decisions" for you and can identify whom you want (§ 9701(4)). Unlike a few states, Vermont has no emancipated-minor route — the signer must be an adult.

Witnesses or notary

Vermont requires two witnesses and gives no notary alternative. The directive must be "signed by two or more witnesses at least 18 years of age, who shall sign and affirm that the principal appeared to understand" it (§ 9703(b)(1)). A notarized signature does not substitute for the two witnesses.

The witnesses do not always need to be in the same room. Under § 9703(b)(2), a remote witness who already knows the principal may witness through live interactive audio-video or by telephone, must make the same understanding-and-voluntariness attestation, and must be identified in the directive by name, contact information, and relationship to the principal.

There is also an extra safeguard for people in institutions. Under § 9703(d) and (e), an advance directive "shall not be effective if, at the time of execution, the principal is being admitted to or is a resident of a nursing home ... or a residential care facility" — or "a patient in a hospital" — "unless one of the following individuals explains the nature and effect of an advance directive to the principal and signs a statement affirming that the individual has provided the explanation." That explainer can be an ombudsman, a member of the clergy, a Vermont attorney, a probate court designee, a hospital-designated explainer, and certain others. The explanation can be given in person, by video, or by phone.

Who can't witness or serve

The witness bar is short but catches close family: neither "the agent appointed by the principal nor the principal's spouse, parent, adult sibling, adult child, or adult grandchild may witness the advance directive" (§ 9703(c)).

The bar on who may serve as agent is separate. Your "health care provider may not be the principal's agent," and — unless related to you by blood, marriage, civil union, or adoption — your agent "may not be an owner, operator, employee, agent, or contractor of a residential care facility, a health care facility, or a correctional facility in which the principal resides at the time of execution" (§ 9702(c)).

When the agent can act

By default the authority is springing, but you can change that. Under § 9706(a), the directive becomes effective when your clinician "determines ... that the principal lacks capacity," makes "specific findings regarding the cause, nature, and projected duration" of the incapacity, and makes reasonable efforts to notify you and your agent. You may instead specify a different triggering condition, or provide that the directive "become[s] effective upon execution" (§§ 9706(a)(2)–(3), 9702(a)(3)–(4)). A "clinician" here means a physician, osteopathic physician, APRN, or physician assistant (§ 9701(5)).

Agent's powers and limits

Once effective, your agent "shall have the authority to make any health care decisions on the principal's behalf that the principal could make if the principal had capacity" (§ 9711(a)), including life-sustaining treatment and medically administered nutrition and hydration where the directive addresses them (§ 9702(a)(7)). Several limits apply. While you still have capacity you keep concurrent authority, and "the decision of the principal shall be controlling" if you disagree with your agent (§ 9711(b)). Your agent must act on your known wishes, then your best interests, and "shall not" decide "on the basis of the principal's economic status or preexisting, long-term mental or physical disability," nor "consider the agent's own interests" (§ 9711(d)). No agent may "consent to voluntary sterilization" (§ 9711(f)). And an agent can act over your objection only if your directive contains a special provision executed with extra formalities (§§ 9707(h), 9704(b)(3)).

How to revoke

You can revoke broadly, even after losing capacity. Section 9704(b)(1) lets "a principal with or without capacity ... suspend or revoke all or part of an advance directive, including the designation of an agent," by (A) a signed statement, (B) telling your clinician, who records it, or (C) "burning, tearing, or obliterating" the document. Instructions other than the agent designation can be revoked by any act showing intent (§ 9704(b)(2)). One automatic rule: filing for annulment, divorce, dissolution of a civil union, legal separation, or relief from abuse suspends a spouse-agent (or an opposing party) unless you specified otherwise; the agent is reinstated if the case is withdrawn and the suspension becomes permanent when the decree is final (§ 9704).

Out-of-state directives

Vermont honors directives from elsewhere. Section 9716 provides that "[n]othing in this chapter limits the enforceability of an advance directive or similar instrument executed in another state or jurisdiction in compliance with the law of that state or jurisdiction."

What trips people up

• A notary is not enough — you need two witnesses. Vermont has no notary option for an advance directive (§ 9703(b)(1)). Many people (and some out-of-state forms) assume notarization works; it does not substitute for the two witnesses here.
• Signing in a hospital or nursing home takes an extra step. If you execute the directive while being admitted to or living in a hospital, nursing home, or residential care facility, it is not effective unless an ombudsman, clergy member, attorney, or other authorized explainer explains it and signs off (§ 9703(d)–(e)).
• Close relatives can't be your witnesses. Your spouse, parents, adult siblings, adult children, and adult grandchildren are all disqualified as witnesses, and so is your agent (§ 9703(c)). Use unrelated adults.
• Divorce filings suspend a spouse-agent immediately. You don't have to wait for the divorce to be final — filing for divorce, separation, or an abuse-prevention order suspends your spouse's authority right away unless you said otherwise (§ 9704).

Common questions

Can I just get my Vermont advance directive notarized instead of witnessed? No. Vermont requires two qualified witnesses and provides no notary alternative (§ 9703(b)(1)).

I'm signing while I'm in the hospital. Is anything different? Yes. Your directive is not effective unless an authorized person explains it to you and signs a statement that they did (§ 9703(e)). Hospitals must designate people to do this.

Can my agent decide to stop life support? Your agent can make any decision you could make, including about life-sustaining treatment and tube feeding, to the extent your directive provides (§§ 9711(a), 9702(a)(7)). But while you still have capacity, your own decision controls (§ 9711(b)), and no agent may consent to voluntary sterilization (§ 9711(f)).

Will a directive I signed in another state work in Vermont? Yes, if it was valid where you executed it. Vermont does not limit the enforceability of an out-of-state directive that complied with that state's law (§ 9716).

Statutes and sources

• 18 V.S.A. § 9701 — definitions of "advance directive" (which includes a prior durable power of attorney for health care), "agent," "capacity," and "clinician." https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9702 — what an advance directive may do, and who may not serve as agent. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9703 — execution: dated, signed, two witnesses (no notary), remote witnessing, the witness bar, and the facility "explainer" requirement. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9704 — amendment, suspension, and revocation, including automatic suspension of a spouse-agent on a divorce or abuse-prevention filing. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9706 — when an advance directive becomes effective (clinician's capacity determination, a specified condition, or on execution). https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9707(h)(1)–(3) — special formalities for authority to act over an incapacitated principal's objection. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9711 — the agent's authority, the principal's concurrent authority, the decision standard, and the voluntary-sterilization limit. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 18 V.S.A. § 9716 — recognition of an advance directive executed in another state. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/231 (accessed 2026-08-08)