Power of Attorney Requirements in Georgia
At a glance
| Governing law | Georgia Power of Attorney Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 10-6B-1 to 10-6B-81 (enacted 2017, renamed from 'Uniform Power of Attorney Act' in 2018; diverges from the model UPOAA on execution) |
|---|---|
| Who must sign | Principal, or another individual in the principal's presence at the principal's express direction (§ 10-6B-5(a)(1)) |
| Notarization | Required for validity, not merely a presumption booster: the power of attorney must be attested by an officer under § 44-2-15 — a notary public, a judge of a court of record, a magistrate, or a clerk/deputy clerk of certain courts — almost always a notary in practice (§ 10-6B-5(a)(3)) |
| Witnesses | One competent witness required in addition to the notarizing officer; the witness cannot also be named as an agent in the document (§ 10-6B-5(a)(2)) |
| Statutory form | Yes — an optional form is set out in full (§ 10-6B-70) |
| Durable by default? | Yes — durable unless the power of attorney expressly provides that it is terminated by the principal's incapacity (§ 10-6B-4) |
| Springing POA allowed? | Yes — effective when executed unless the principal states a future date or a future event/contingency; the principal may name who determines the trigger, with statutory fallbacks (a physician or licensed psychologist for incapacity; an attorney, judge, or government official if the principal is missing, detained, or abroad) (§ 10-6B-9) |
| Real estate extras | No extra signing step: a power of attorney used to record a real-property conveyance must be 'in a form that complies with' the general deed-recording law, which the standard witness-plus-officer execution already satisfies; photocopies and electronic copies otherwise have the same effect as the original (§ 10-6B-6(c)) |
| Out-of-state POAs | Yes — a power of attorney executed outside Georgia is valid if its execution complied with the law of the jurisdiction governing its meaning and effect, or with the federal military power of attorney statute (§ 10-6B-6(b)) |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Georgia's execution and default rules for financial powers of attorney live in the Georgia Power of Attorney Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 10-6B-1 through 10-6B-81. The chapter was enacted in 2017 as the "Uniform Power of Attorney Act" and renamed the "Georgia Power of Attorney Act" by a 2018 amendment (§ 10-6B-1). It started from the model Uniform Power of Attorney Act but Georgia's legislature added the two-witness-style attestation requirement described below, which the model act does not require.
Who must sign
The principal signs, or "another individual in such principal's presence at the principal's express direction" signs for them (§ 10-6B-5(a)(1)).
Notarization
Required for validity — this is not the lighter "notarization creates a presumption of genuineness" pattern some states use. The statute requires attestation "as set forth in Code Section 44-2-15," which lists who may serve as that attesting officer: "a judge of a court of record, including a judge of a municipal court, or ... a magistrate, a notary public, or a clerk or deputy clerk of a superior court or of a city court created by special Act of the General Assembly" (§ 44-2-15). Any of those officers works on paper, but a notary public is the practical default. This attestation is a validity requirement, not an optional extra (§ 10-6B-5(a)(3)).
Witnesses
One competent witness, separate from the attesting officer, who must attest "in the presence of the principal" and cannot also be named as an agent in the document (§ 10-6B-5(a)(2)). Combined with the officer-attestation requirement, that means a Georgia POA needs the principal plus two other people: a witness and a notary (or equivalent officer) — and neither of them can be the named agent.
Statutory form
Yes. Georgia sets out a full optional form: "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" (§ 10-6B-70). The form covers general and specific grants of authority, successor agents, and special instructions.
Durable by default?
Yes. "A power of attorney created under this chapter shall be durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal" (§ 10-6B-4). No special wording is needed to make it durable; you have to opt out, not in.
Springing POA allowed?
Yes. A POA "shall be 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" (§ 10-6B-9(a)). You may name someone to determine in writing that the trigger occurred (§ 10-6B-9(b)). If the trigger is your incapacity and you haven't named anyone able or willing to make that call, the statute supplies its own certifier: "A physician or licensed psychologist determining that the principal has an impairment in the ability to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions ... or ... An attorney at law, a judge, or an appropriate governmental official determining that the principal is missing, detained ... or is outside the United States and unable to return" (§ 10-6B-9(c)).
Real estate extras
No separate execution step on top of the standard signing formalities. Georgia does condition one thing on real property use: "when recording a power of attorney in connection with a conveyance involving real property, a power of attorney shall be in a form that complies with" the general deed-recording law in Title 44 (§ 10-6B-6(c)). Because a POA that already meets § 10-6B-5's signature-witness-officer formula satisfies that same recording law, there's normally nothing extra to do — just don't skip the witness or the officer attestation if the agent will be signing real estate documents. Photocopies and electronically transmitted copies otherwise carry the same effect as the original (§ 10-6B-6(c)).
Out-of-state POAs
Recognized. A power of attorney "executed other than in this state shall be valid in this state if, when the power of attorney was executed, the execution complied with" either the law of the jurisdiction that governs the power's meaning and effect, or the federal military power of attorney statute (§ 10-6B-6(b)).
Statutes and sources
All quotations are from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated as digitized
by the Internet Archive from an Open Records Act production, released
without restriction under the U.S. Supreme Court's order in Georgia v.
Public.Resource.Org — item gov.ga.ocga.2024, accessed 2026-10-06. Section 44-2-15 comes
from the Code Revision Commission/Public.Resource.Org Title 44 transform
(release 86, accessed 2026-10-06). The signed 2025 HB 327 amendment was also
checked against the current execution provisions.
- § 10-6B-1 — short title. Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
- § 10-6B-4 — durability by default. Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
- § 10-6B-5 — execution requirements (signature, witness, officer attestation). Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
- § 44-2-15 — who may serve as the attesting officer. Quoted above. Georgia code transform
- § 10-6B-6 — validity, out-of-state powers, copies, and the real-estate recording cross-reference. Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
- § 10-6B-9 — when a power of attorney becomes effective; springing mechanisms. Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
- § 10-6B-70 — the optional statutory form. Quoted above. View source text (archive.org)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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