Power of Attorney Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial powers of attorney are governed by Alaska's own power-of-attorney article, AS 13.26.600-.695, part of Title 13's chapter on protection of minors and incapacitated persons and their property. The article took effect January 1, 2017, replacing Alaska's older statutory-form-only power of attorney law. Alaska has not adopted the full national Uniform Power of Attorney Act text used by most other UPOAA states.

Who must sign

The principal signs the power of attorney. If the principal is physically unable to sign, another individual may sign the principal's name instead, but only while directed to do so "in the principal's conscious presence" (§ 13.26.600(a)(1)). A notary public may treat that in-person direction, made in the notary's own presence, as satisfying the signing requirement (§ 13.26.600(b)).

Notarization

Mandatory. Section 13.26.600(a)(2) makes acknowledgment before a notary public or another authorized acknowledgment officer part of the execution rule. Without that acknowledgment, the signing requirement itself is not satisfied.

Witnesses

None required by statute. Section 13.26.600 conditions validity only on the principal's signature and its notarial acknowledgment.

Statutory form

Yes, but optional. Alaska publishes a "General Power of Attorney" statutory form at § 13.26.645, with additional optional provisions at § 13.26.650 and interpretation rules for its listed powers at § 13.26.665. The form itself carries check-boxes letting the principal choose whether the power of attorney is durable and whether it springs into effect on incapacity. A document that satisfies § 13.26.600 is valid without using this form.

Durable by default?

No. Section 13.26.620(a)(2) ends a power of attorney on the principal's incapacity "if the power of attorney is not durable." Section 13.26.675(a) supplies the opt-in rule: the writing must contain the words "This power of attorney shall become effective upon the incapacity of the principal," or "This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incapacity of the principal," or substantially similar words showing that intent. Leave that language out, and the power of attorney ends the moment the principal becomes incapacitated.

Springing POA allowed?

Yes. The first quoted formula in § 13.26.675(a) — "shall become effective upon the incapacity of the principal" — is itself a springing clause. For the statutory form specifically, if the principal doesn't indicate an effective date, the document takes effect immediately on signing (§ 13.26.660(2)); if the principal also fails to address the effect of later incapacity, the document is revoked by incapacity rather than surviving it (§ 13.26.660(3)) — another reason the durability language can't be skipped.

Real estate extras

AS 13.26.600-.695 sets no recording requirement of its own. If an agent uses the power of attorney to convey Alaska real property, the resulting conveyance must first be acknowledged before an authorized officer, or proved as a conveyance, "as directed" by Alaska's general conveyancing chapter before it can be recorded (§ 34.15.150(a)), and the general public-records recording chapter's formal requisites apply (AS 40.17).

Out-of-state POAs

AS 13.26.600-.695 contains no provision addressing whether Alaska recognizes a power of attorney validly executed under another state's law.

What trips people up

• Durability isn't automatic here. A power of attorney copied from a default-durable state's template, or one that simply omits the survives-incapacity language, can silently stop working exactly when the principal becomes incapacitated.
• Notarization is a validity requirement, not an option. Alaska folds acknowledgment into the signing requirement itself (§ 13.26.600(a)(2)); an unnotarized signature does not satisfy the statute, unlike states where notarization is optional and only affects a presumption.
• The statutory form's default answer is "not durable." Under § 13.26.660(3), failing to check a box addressing incapacity on the statutory form results in revocation on incapacity, not survival — the opposite of what many people assume a "durable" power of attorney does by default.

Common questions

Do I need a notary for my Alaska power of attorney? Yes. Under § 13.26.600, the principal's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or another officer authorized to take acknowledgments — there's no unnotarized option.

Does Alaska require witnesses on a power of attorney? No. Neither § 13.26.600 nor the statutory form provisions require a witness.

Is my Alaska power of attorney durable automatically? No. It's durable only if it contains the specific words required by § 13.26.675(a) showing your intent that the agent's authority survive your later incapacity.

Does Alaska have an official power of attorney form? Yes, an optional "General Power of Attorney" statutory form at § 13.26.645. Any document that meets § 13.26.600's signing and notarization requirements is valid even without using it.

Statutes and sources

All quotations are from Alaska's power-of-attorney article and general conveyancing chapter as published by the Alaska Legislature, accessed 2026-08-13.

• AS 13.26.600 — "A power of attorney executed in this state is valid if the principal (1) signs the power of attorney or, if the principal is physically unable to sign the power of attorney, directs, in the principal's conscious presence, another individual to sign the principal's name on the power of attorney; and (2) acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments." Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.620 — "Except as provided in AS 13.26.625, a power of attorney terminates when ... there is an incapacity of the principal, if the power of attorney is not durable...." Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.675 — "The subsequent incapacity of a principal does not revoke or terminate the authority of an agent who acts under a power of attorney in a writing executed by a principal if the writing contains the words 'This power of attorney shall become effective upon the incapacity of the principal,' or contains the words 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incapacity of the principal,' or words substantially similar showing the intent of the principal...." Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.660 — "If the principal has failed to indicate when the instrument shall become effective, the instrument shall become effective upon the date of the principal's signature; ... if the principal ... has failed to indicate the effect of the principal's subsequent incapacity on the instrument, the instrument shall be revoked by the subsequent incapacity of the principal...." Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.645 — "A person who wishes to designate another as agent by a power of attorney may execute a statutory power of attorney set out in substantially the following form: GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY...." Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.650 — optional alternate-agent and guardian or conservator provisions for the statutory form. Alaska Legislature
• AS 13.26.665 — interpretation of the statutory form's listed powers, including real-estate authority. Alaska Legislature
• AS 34.15.150 — "A conveyance executed in the state of land or an interest in land in the state shall be acknowledged before a person authorized to take acknowledgments in AS 09.63.010 or proved in accordance with AS 34.15.210 or 34.15.220." Alaska Legislature