Arkansas: Power of Attorney Requirements

The short answer

Arkansas adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act as Act 805 of 2011,
codified at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-68-101 to 28-68-406 and effective January 1,
2012. Under § 28-68-105, a financial power of attorney (POA) "must be signed by
the principal or in the principal's conscious presence by another individual
directed by the principal to sign the principal's name." Notarizing that
signature is not required for basic validity, but it matters in two ways: an
acknowledged signature "is presumed to be genuine" (§ 28-68-105), and a POA
used to convey real estate must be acknowledged, proved, and certified before
it can be recorded with the deed (§ 18-12-501). An Arkansas POA is durable by
default — it survives your later incapacity — unless the document itself says
it terminates on incapacity (§ 28-68-104).

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial powers of attorney are governed by the Uniform Power of Attorney
Act, Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-68-101 to 28-68-406, enacted as Act 805 of 2011 and
effective January 1, 2012. Health-care powers of attorney fall under a
separate statute, the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, and are outside this
survey's scope.

Who must sign

The principal signs the POA. If the principal cannot sign, another adult may
sign the principal's name instead, but only "in the principal's conscious
presence" and at the principal's direction (§ 28-68-105). The statute does not
require the document to be dated.

Notarization

Not mandatory for basic validity. Signing alone makes the POA valid; if the
principal instead "acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other
individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments," that acknowledged
signature "is presumed to be genuine" (§ 28-68-105) — a rebuttable evidentiary
boost, not a validity requirement. Notarized acknowledgment does become
mandatory, however, whenever the POA will be used to convey real estate: see
Real estate extras below.

Witnesses

None required by statute. Section 28-68-105 — Arkansas's complete execution
section for a financial POA — says nothing about witnesses.

Statutory form

Yes, but optional. Arkansas publishes a fill-in-the-blank "Statutory Form Power
of Attorney" at § 28-68-301: "A document substantially in the following form
may be used to create a statutory form power of attorney that has the meaning
and effect prescribed by this chapter." You are not required to use it — any
document meeting § 28-68-105 works — but banks and title companies recognize
it on sight.

Durable by default?

Yes. Under § 28-68-104, an Arkansas POA "is durable unless it expressly
provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." You have
to opt out of durability, not into it.

Springing POA allowed?

Yes. A POA "is effective when executed unless the principal provides in the
power of attorney that it becomes effective at a future date or upon the
occurrence of a future event or contingency" (§ 28-68-109(a)) — typically the
principal's incapacity. The principal may name one or more people to determine
in writing that the triggering event happened (§ 28-68-109(b)). If no one is
named, or the named person is unwilling or unable to decide, a physician or
licensed psychologist (for an inability to receive and evaluate information),
or an attorney at law, judge, or appropriate government official (for a
principal who is missing, detained, or unable to return to the United States),
makes that determination instead (§ 28-68-109(c)).

Real estate extras

A POA "containing a power to convey real estate as agent or attorney for the
owner of the real estate or to execute as agent or attorney for another person
a deed or instrument in writing that conveys real estate, or whereby real
estate is affected in law or equity, shall be acknowledged or proved and
certified and recorded with a deed that the agent or attorney shall make as a
result of the power of attorney" (§ 18-12-501(a)). The acknowledgment must be
taken "before the same courts or officers that are authorized ... to take
probate of deeds conveying real estate" (§ 18-12-501(b)) — in practice, a
notary public. This recording rule sits outside Chapter 68, in Arkansas's
general conveyancing title.

Out-of-state POAs

Yes. A POA "executed other than in this state is valid in this state" if its
execution complied with the law of the jurisdiction that governs the POA's
meaning and effect, or with the federal military power-of-attorney statute,
10 U.S.C. § 1044b (§ 28-68-106(c)). Arkansas determines which jurisdiction's
law governs meaning and effect under a companion section, § 28-68-107, which
looks at what the POA itself specifies or, absent that, the state where it was
executed.

What trips people up

• No witnesses, but real estate still needs a notary. A POA signed without
  a notary is fully valid for everyday banking use, but it cannot be recorded
  for a real estate transaction until it is acknowledged (§ 18-12-501).
• Springing POAs need a determination mechanism. If you make your POA
  effective only upon incapacity and don't name someone to certify that in
  writing, a physician, psychologist, attorney, judge, or government official
  becomes the trigger instead (§ 28-68-109(c)) — which can add delay exactly
  when speed matters.
• Durability is the default — read the document carefully if you don't want
  it. Because § 28-68-104 makes durability automatic, a POA meant to end at
  incapacity must say so explicitly.
• A handful of powers need express, specific wording. Arkansas's general
  authority provisions do not, by themselves, let an agent make gifts, change
  survivorship rights or beneficiary designations, or create/amend/revoke a
  trust — those require the POA to grant that specific authority.

Common questions

Do I need to get my Arkansas power of attorney notarized? Not for basic
validity — a signature alone satisfies § 28-68-105. Get one notarized if real
estate might be involved: recording a POA that conveys property requires it to
be acknowledged (§ 18-12-501).

Does my Arkansas POA need witnesses? No. Arkansas's financial-POA statute
imposes no witness requirement.

Will an out-of-state power of attorney work in Arkansas? Yes, if it was
validly executed under the law that governs its meaning and effect (usually
the state named in the document, or the state of execution) — § 28-68-106(c).

Can I make my POA effective only if I become incapacitated? Yes, that's a
springing POA under § 28-68-109. Name someone in the document to certify the
incapacity in writing; otherwise a physician, licensed psychologist, attorney,
judge, or appropriate government official makes that call instead, depending
on the reason for incapacity.

Statutes and sources

All quotations are from official enrolled Arkansas legislation on the
Arkansas State Legislature's website, accessed 2026-07-04.

• Ark. Code § 28-68-104 — "A power of attorney created under this chapter
  is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the
  incapacity of the principal."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)
• Ark. Code § 28-68-105 — "A power of attorney must be signed by the
  principal or in the principal's conscious presence by another individual
  directed by the principal to sign the principal's name on the power of
  attorney. A signature on a power of attorney is presumed to be genuine if the
  principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other
  individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)
• Ark. Code § 28-68-106 — "A power of attorney executed other than in this
  state is valid in this state if, when the power of attorney was executed,
  the execution complied with: (1) the law of the jurisdiction that determines
  the meaning and effect of the power of attorney pursuant to § 28-68-107; or
  (2) the requirements for a military power of attorney pursuant to 10 U.S.C.
  § 1044b."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)
• Ark. Code § 28-68-109 — "A power of attorney is effective when executed
  unless the principal provides in the power of attorney that it becomes
  effective at a future date or upon the occurrence of a future event or
  contingency."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)
• Ark. Code § 28-68-204 — "Unless the power of attorney otherwise
  provides, language in a power of attorney granting general authority with
  respect to real property authorizes the agent to: (1) demand, buy, lease,
  receive, accept as a gift or as security for an extension of credit, or
  otherwise acquire or reject an interest in real property..."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)
• Ark. Code § 18-12-501 — "A power of attorney, containing a power to
  convey real estate as agent or attorney for the owner of the real estate ...
  shall be acknowledged or proved and certified and recorded with a deed that
  the agent or attorney shall make as a result of the power of attorney."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 356 of 2021, HB 1455)
• Ark. Code § 28-68-301 — "A document substantially in the following form
  may be used to create a statutory form power of attorney that has the
  meaning and effect prescribed by this chapter."
  arkleg.state.ar.us (Act 805 of 2011)