Montana: Power of Attorney Requirements

The short answer

Montana adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act effective October 1, 2011,
codified at Mont. Code Ann. title 72, chapter 31, part 3. Under § 72-31-305, a
financial 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." Notarizing that signature is not
required for basic validity, but an acknowledged signature "is presumed to be
genuine" (§ 72-31-305) — useful in practice, and effectively necessary if the
document will be recorded with a county clerk. No witnesses are required. A
Montana POA is durable by default unless the document says otherwise
(§ 72-31-304), and it may be written to spring into effect only at a future
date or upon the principal's incapacity (§ 72-31-309).

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial powers of attorney are governed by the Uniform Power of Attorney
Act, Mont. Code Ann. title 72, chapter 31, part 3, enacted in 2011 (Ch. 109,
L. 2011) and applicable to POAs executed on or after October 1, 2011
(§ 72-31-306(1)). A POA executed before that date remains valid if it
complied with the law in effect when it was signed (§ 72-31-306(2)). The part
excludes health care decisions, powers coupled with a creditor's interest, and
a few other narrow categories (§ 72-31-303).

Who must sign

The principal signs the POA. If the principal cannot sign, another individual
may sign the principal's name instead, but only "in the principal's conscious
presence" and at the principal's direction (§ 72-31-305).

Notarization

Not mandatory for basic validity. Signing alone satisfies § 72-31-305; if the
principal instead acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other
person authorized to take acknowledgments, that signature "is presumed to be
genuine" — a rebuttable evidentiary boost, not a validity requirement.

Witnesses

None required by statute. Section 72-31-305 — Montana's execution provision
for a financial POA — imposes no witness requirement.

Statutory form

Yes, but optional. Montana publishes a fill-in-the-blank "Montana Statutory
Form Power of Attorney" at § 72-31-353: "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 part." A companion optional
"Agent's Certification" form is set out at § 72-31-354. Any document that
satisfies § 72-31-305 is valid without using either form.

Durable by default?

Yes. Under § 72-31-304, a Montana POA "is durable unless it expressly provides
that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." You 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" (§ 72-31-309(1)) — typically the
principal's incapacity. The principal may name one or more people to
determine in writing that the event occurred (§ 72-31-309(2)). If no one is
named, or the named person is unwilling or unable to decide, a physician makes
the incapacity determination for the standard "impairment" definition of
incapacity, or an attorney at law, judge, or appropriate government official
makes it for the "missing or outside the United States" definition
(§ 72-31-309(3)).

Real estate extras

No mandatory recording requirement for validity as between principal and
agent. A power of attorney used to convey real estate is simply one of the
instruments a county clerk "shall ... record" upon payment of the fee, listed
alongside deeds, mortgages, and leases (§ 7-4-2613(1)(a)(i)) — recording
protects against later claims by third parties in the same way recording any
conveyance-related instrument does, but the statute does not condition the
POA's validity on it.

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 (§ 72-31-306(3)).

What trips people up

• Recording is available, not required. Because § 7-4-2613 simply lists a
  power of attorney to convey real estate among the instruments a county
  clerk accepts for recording, people sometimes assume Montana mandates
  recording before a real-estate POA can be used — it doesn't, though an
  unrecorded POA can leave a buyer or title company without notice of the
  agent's authority.
• Durability is the default — read the document carefully if you don't want
  it. Because § 72-31-304 makes durability automatic, a POA meant to end at
  incapacity must say so explicitly.
• 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, the statute sends the decision to a physician, or in narrower
  cases an attorney, judge, or government official — which can add delay
  exactly when speed matters (§ 72-31-309(3)).

Common questions

Do I need to get my Montana power of attorney notarized? Not for basic
validity — a signature alone satisfies § 72-31-305. Notarizing it anyway
creates a presumption the signature is genuine, which helps if a bank or
county clerk questions it.

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

Will an out-of-state power of attorney work in Montana? 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 — under
§ 72-31-306(3).

Can I make my POA effective only if I become incapacitated? Yes, that's a
springing POA under § 72-31-309. Name someone in the document to certify the
incapacity in writing; otherwise a physician (or, in narrower cases, an
attorney, judge, or government official) makes that call instead.

Statutes and sources

All quotations are from the Uniform Power of Attorney Act as codified in the
Montana Code Annotated, and from Title 7's county-recording provisions,
accessed 2026-07-04.

• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-303 — "This part applies to all powers of
  attorney except: (1) a power to the extent it is coupled with an interest
  in the subject of the power, including a power given to or for the benefit
  of a creditor in connection with a credit transaction; (2) a power to make
  health care decisions; (3) a proxy or other delegation to exercise voting
  rights or management rights with respect to an entity; and (4) a power
  created on a form prescribed by a government or governmental subdivision,
  agency, or instrumentality for a governmental purpose."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-304 — "A power of attorney created under this
  part is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the
  incapacity of the principal."
  View source text (law.justia.com)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-305 — "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."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-306 — "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: (a) the law of the jurisdiction that
  determines the meaning and effect of the power of attorney pursuant to
  72-31-307; or (b) the requirements for a military power of attorney
  pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 1044b."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-309 — "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."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-353 — "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 part."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2613 — "The county clerk shall, upon the payment
  of the appropriate fees, record ... deeds, grants, transfers ... contracts
  to sell or convey real estate and mortgages of real estate ... powers of
  attorney to convey real estate, leases that have been acknowledged or
  proved, and abstracts of the instruments that have been acknowledged or
  proved...."
  View official text (archive.legmt.gov)