Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Washington

At a glance

Washington does not have a separate "medical power of attorney" statute. Instead, you appoint a health care agent through a durable power of attorney created under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, RCW chapter 11.125, by granting the agent authority over health care. That is a different document from Washington's living will — the "health care directive" or "directive to physicians" under the Natural Death Act (RCW chapter 70.122), which records your own treatment wishes but does not name a decision-maker. This page covers the agent appointment.

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

The appointment lives in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. RCW 11.125.020(7) defines a power of attorney as a writing that uses the term power of attorney and grants authority to an agent to act in the principal's place. When it "grants general authority with respect to health care matters," RCW 11.125.400 supplies the agent's health-care powers. Washington does not mandate a particular form for the health-care appointment; the health-care language is what matters.

Who can sign

The signer is the "principal" — "an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of attorney" (RCW 11.125.020(9)) — and must be a competent adult, because an incapacitated person cannot create a power of attorney. Under RCW 11.125.050(1) the document "must be signed and dated by the principal." If you are physically unable to sign, you may sign by mark or through the procedure in RCW 64.08.100 (RCW 11.125.050(2)).

Witnesses or notary

Washington gives you a choice. Under RCW 11.125.050(1), the principal's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or attested by two or more competent witnesses. You do not need both. A notarized signature also carries a bonus: it "is presumed to be genuine" (RCW 11.125.050(3)).

Who can't witness or serve

If you use witnesses, RCW 11.125.050(1) requires each witness to satisfy two conditions: the witness must not be the principal's home care provider or a care provider at the adult family home or long-term care facility where the principal resides, and the witness must be unrelated to both the principal and agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership.

The limits on who may be your agent are more pointed. Under RCW 11.125.400(3), unless the person is your "spouse, state registered domestic partner, father or mother, or adult child or brother or sister," none of your physicians, their employees, or the owners, administrators, or employees of the health care or long-term care facility where you live or get care may serve as your agent.

When the agent can act

This turns on the durability language. RCW 11.125.040 says a power of attorney "terminates upon the incapacity of the principal" unless the writing says it is "not ... affected by disability of the principal" (durable, effective as soon as signed) or "effective upon the disability of the principal" (springing — the agent waits until you become incapacitated). A health care appointment must therefore include durable language; if it does not spring on incapacity, the agent's authority exists as soon as the document is signed (as a practical matter, providers turn to the agent when you cannot give your own informed consent).

Agent's powers and limits

Two things must line up. First, the authority to make health care decisions must be expressly granted: RCW 11.125.240(1)(l) lets an agent "[m]ake health care decisions for the principal, or give informed consent to health care decisions," only "if the power of attorney expressly grants the agent the authority." A general financial power of attorney that is silent on health care does not appoint a health care agent. Second, once granted, RCW 11.125.400 makes the agent your HIPAA personal representative and lets the agent give informed consent to your care.

Washington then borrows guardianship law for the outer limits. Except where you have consented in a mental health advance directive (chapter 71.32 RCW) to inpatient admission or electroconvulsive therapy, your agent's authority "is subject to the same limitations as those that apply to a guardian under chapter 11.130 RCW" (RCW 11.125.400(3)) — so decisions a guardian cannot make without court approval, such as involuntary commitment to a mental-health facility, are off the table for the agent too.

How to revoke

You can revoke at any time: RCW 11.125.100 provides that a power of attorney terminates when "[t]he principal revokes" it, and an agent's authority terminates when "[t]he principal revokes the authority." Washington adds an automatic trigger: filing an action for dissolution, annulment, or legal separation of your marriage or domestic partnership with the agent terminates the agent's authority, unless the document says otherwise (RCW 11.125.100(2)(c)). If that action is later dismissed by consent or withdrawn, the agent's authority is reinstated (RCW 11.125.100(3)).

Out-of-state directives

RCW 11.125.060(3) honors a power of attorney executed elsewhere: it "is valid in this state if, when the power of attorney was executed, the execution complied with ... [t]he law of the jurisdiction that determines the meaning and effect of the power of attorney." Under RCW 11.125.070, that is the jurisdiction named in the document, or, if none is named, the one where it was signed.

What trips people up

• A financial power of attorney does not cover health care. Washington requires the health-care authority to be expressly granted (RCW 11.125.240(1)(l)). A general or "durable" power of attorney that never mentions health care will not let your agent make medical decisions.
• You need a notary or two witnesses — not both. RCW 11.125.050(1) makes them alternatives. Many people over-comply, which is harmless, but neither alone is a defect.
• Your care providers can't witness or serve. A home-care worker or a staffer at the facility where you live is barred as a witness (RCW 11.125.050(1)), and, unless closely related to you, your doctors and facility staff cannot be your agent (RCW 11.125.400(3)).
• It must say it survives incapacity. Because a power of attorney otherwise ends exactly when you lose capacity (RCW 11.125.040), a health-care appointment that omits durable language is useless for its main purpose. Confirm the document contains the durability words.
• Filing for divorce cancels a spouse-agent. The agent's authority ends when a dissolution, annulment, or legal-separation action is filed — not when it is final (RCW 11.125.100(2)(c)). Name a successor agent.

Common questions

Can I just use my financial power of attorney for medical decisions? Only if it expressly grants health-care authority. RCW 11.125.240(1)(l) requires an express grant, so a POA that is silent on health care does not appoint a health care agent.

Does a Washington health care power of attorney have to be notarized? No. You may either have it notarized or have two qualified witnesses attest your signature (RCW 11.125.050(1)). Notarizing adds a presumption that the signature is genuine, but it is not required.

When can my agent start making decisions? It depends on how the document is written. If it is durable but not springing, the authority exists once you sign; if it is drafted to be "effective upon the disability of the principal," the agent waits until you are incapacitated (RCW 11.125.040). In practice, providers rely on the agent when you cannot give your own informed consent.

Will the directive I signed in another state work in Washington? Yes, if it was validly executed under the law of the state that governs it — the one named in the document or where you signed it (RCW 11.125.060(3), 11.125.070).

Statutes and sources

• RCW 11.125.020 — definitions of "durable" and "principal." https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.020 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.040 — a power of attorney ends on incapacity unless it contains durable (or springing) language. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.040 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.050 — execution: signed and dated, and either notarized or attested by two qualified witnesses. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.050 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.060 — validity of a power of attorney executed in another jurisdiction. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.060 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.070 — the law that determines a power of attorney's meaning and effect. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.070 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.100 — termination and revocation, including divorce-filing termination of a spouse-agent. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.100 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.240 — an agent may make health care decisions only if expressly granted the authority. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.240 (accessed 2026-08-20)
• RCW 11.125.400 — health-care authority, agent disqualifications, and the guardian-law limits on the agent's power. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=11.125.400 (accessed 2026-08-20)