Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Wisconsin

At a glance

Wisconsin keeps the two advance-planning documents separate and gives the health care agent its own chapter. The power of attorney for health care — the document that names someone to make your medical decisions — lives in Wis. Stat. ch. 155. The "living will" (in Wisconsin, a declaration to physicians about life-sustaining care) is a different document in ch. 154. This page is about the ch. 155 document: appointing a health care agent. If the two ever conflict, your health care POA controls over a ch. 154 declaration (§ 155.70(3)).

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

Chapter 155 supplies the rules and a statutory form at § 155.30. The form is not strictly mandatory, but § 155.30 directs the Department of Health Services to prepare and distribute the statutory instrument and specifies the notice and limitation language that instrument must contain, so most Wisconsin forms track it closely.

Who can sign

Under § 155.05(1), "[a]n individual who is of sound mind and has attained age 18 may voluntarily execute a power of attorney for health care." A person for whom a guardian of the person has been appointed is "presumed not to be of sound mind" for this purpose. The instrument must be "[d]ated and signed by the principal or by an individual who has attained age 18, at the express direction and in the presence of the principal" (§ 155.10(1)(b)) — so someone else may sign for you, but only at your direction and in your presence.

Witnesses or notary

Wisconsin uses two witnesses and does not use a notary for this document. Section 155.10(1)(c) requires the instrument to be "[s]igned in the presence of 2 witnesses who meet the requirements of sub. (2)." There is no notarization option or requirement. Wisconsin does allow the two witnesses to appear remotely, by supervised two-way, real-time audiovisual technology, if an attorney supervises and a detailed set of conditions is met (§ 155.10(3)).

Who can't witness or serve

Wisconsin's witness rule is strict — stricter than many states, because it bars all relatives. Under § 155.10(2), a witness must be 18 and may not be "[r]elated to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption, or the domestic partner"; may not have "a claim on any portion of the principal's estate"; may not be "[d]irectly financially responsible for the principal's health care"; and may not be a "health care provider who is serving the principal," or an employee (other than a chaplain or social worker) of that provider or of an inpatient facility where the principal is a patient. Both witnesses must clear all of these — you cannot use even one relative.

Separately, who may serve as agent is limited by § 155.05(3): your health care provider, their employee, an employee of a facility where you are a patient or reside, or a spouse of any of them cannot be your agent "unless" that person "is a relative of the individual."

When the agent can act

By default the power is springing. Under § 155.05(2), unless the document says otherwise, it "takes effect upon a finding of incapacity by 2 physicians ... or one physician and one licensed advanced practice clinician, who personally examine the principal and sign a statement" of incapacity. The two clinicians cannot be relatives or people with a claim on your estate. And "[t]he desires of a principal who does not have incapacity supersede the effect of his or her power of attorney for health care at all times" (§ 155.05(4)) — while you can still decide for yourself, you do.

Agent's powers and limits

Your agent gets broad authority over your health care, but Wisconsin writes several hard limits into the statutory form (§ 155.30). On mental health, "[m]y health care agent may not admit or commit me on an inpatient basis to an institution for mental diseases ... a state treatment facility or a treatment facility," and "may not consent to experimental mental health research or psychosurgery, electroconvulsive treatment or drastic mental health treatment." On feeding tubes, the agent may have one withheld or withdrawn only if you expressly checked "Yes"; if you leave it blank, "my health care agent may not have a feeding tube withdrawn from me," and oral nutrition and hydration can never be withheld unless medically contraindicated. Long-term nursing home or community-based residential facility admission likewise requires your express authorization. Beyond all this, nothing in ch. 155 permits "any affirmative or deliberate act to end life" other than allowing the natural process of dying (§ 155.70(7)).

How to revoke

Under § 155.40(1) you may revoke "at any time" by destroying the instrument (or directing someone to destroy it in your presence), a signed and dated written revocation, a verbal statement "in the presence of 2 witnesses," or executing a new health care POA. Wisconsin also revokes a spouse- or domestic-partner-agent automatically: under § 155.40(2), if that marriage "is annulled or divorce ... is obtained or the domestic partnership ... is terminated," the POA "is revoked and the power of attorney for health care instrument is invalid." Note the trigger is a completed divorce or annulment, not merely filing.

Out-of-state directives

A health care POA you signed in another state carries over, within limits. Section 155.70(10) makes a document appointing a health care agent, validly executed elsewhere, "valid and enforceable in this state to the extent that the document authorizes the health care agent to make decisions ... that a health care agent may make for a principal under this chapter." In other words, Wisconsin honors it, but your out-of-state agent cannot exercise powers that a Wisconsin agent could not.

What trips people up

• No notary — and you cannot fix a missing witness with one. Wisconsin validates this document with two qualifying witnesses only (§ 155.10(1)(c)). A notarized but unwitnessed form does not meet the requirement.
• You cannot use a relative as a witness. Unlike states that allow one related witness, Wisconsin disqualifies anyone related by blood, marriage, adoption, or domestic partnership from witnessing (§ 155.10(2)(a)). Line up two disinterested adults.
• Feeding-tube authority is off by default. If you want your agent to be able to stop tube feeding, you must check "Yes"; leaving it blank means your agent cannot (§ 155.30).
• Your agent can never commit you to a psychiatric facility. That limit is absolute in the statutory form, along with bars on ECT, psychosurgery, and experimental mental health treatment (§ 155.30).
• A finalized divorce cancels a spouse-agent. Filing is not enough in Wisconsin — but once the divorce or annulment is granted, the appointment is revoked and the instrument is invalid (§ 155.40(2)). Sign a new one if you still want that person.

Common questions

Does a Wisconsin health care power of attorney need to be notarized? No. It needs two qualifying witnesses; Wisconsin does not use a notary for this document (§ 155.10(1)(c)).

Can my adult child witness my health care POA? No. A child is related by blood and is disqualified as a witness (§ 155.10(2)(a)). Both witnesses must be unrelated to you.

Can my agent put me in a nursing home or a psychiatric hospital? Your agent can never commit you to an inpatient mental institution (§ 155.30). Long-term nursing-home placement is allowed only if you expressly authorized it; otherwise the agent is limited to short-term recuperative or respite stays.

Will the health care POA I signed in another state work in Wisconsin? Yes, if it was valid where you signed it — but only to the extent its powers are ones a Wisconsin agent could exercise (§ 155.70(10)).

Statutes and sources

• Wis. Stat. § 155.05 — who may execute (sound mind, age 18); default springing effect on a two-clinician finding of incapacity; who may not serve as agent. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/155.05 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Wis. Stat. § 155.10 — execution: dated, signed, and witnessed by two qualifying witnesses; witness disqualifications; remote audiovisual witnessing. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/155.10 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Wis. Stat. § 155.30 — statutory form, including the mental-health-treatment limits and the opt-in feeding-tube rule. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/155.30 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Wis. Stat. § 155.40 — revocation methods; automatic revocation on divorce, annulment, or termination of a domestic partnership with a spouse/partner agent. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/155.40 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Wis. Stat. § 155.70 — no act to end life beyond permitting natural dying; recognition of an out-of-state health care agent document. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/155.70 (accessed 2026-07-16)