North Dakota: Power of Attorney Requirements

The short answer

North Dakota never adopted the modern (2006) Uniform Power of Attorney Act
that most states now use. Its power of attorney statute is still the older
1979 Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, codified at North Dakota Century
Code chapter 30.1-30, and it is short — only six sections, focused almost
entirely on durability. The chapter sets no notary requirement, no witness
requirement, and no statutory form. What it does require is specific: to be
durable, the writing must contain words showing the principal intends the
agent's authority to continue despite later disability or incapacity
(§ 30.1-30-01). Skip that language, and the power of attorney ends the moment
the principal becomes incapacitated, just like an ordinary one.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial powers of attorney are governed by the Uniform Durable Power of
Attorney Act, N.D.C.C. chapter 30.1-30 (§§ 30.1-30-01 to -06), part of Title
30.1, the Uniform Probate Code. North Dakota has not adopted the newer
Uniform Power of Attorney Act that governs most other states' financial POAs
today.

Who must sign

Chapter 30.1-30 does not itself spell out a signature ceremony. It requires
only that a durable power of attorney be "in writing" and contain the
statutory durability words (§ 30.1-30-01). General North Dakota agency law
requires written authorization only when the act being authorized itself must
be in writing (§ 3-02-06); it does not add any signature formality specific to
powers of attorney.

Notarization

Not required for basic validity. Nothing in chapter 30.1-30 conditions a
power of attorney's validity on notarization. Notarization becomes relevant
only if you want to record the document: before an instrument can be
recorded, its execution "must be established" by acknowledgment before a
notary or other authorized officer (§ 47-19-03). In practice, this means
notarization matters for real estate use, not for the power of attorney's
basic validity.

Witnesses

None required by statute. Recording an unacknowledged instrument can be
proved instead by a subscribing witness under §§ 47-19-21 and 47-19-22, but
that is an alternative path to satisfying the recording statute, not a
witness requirement placed on the power of attorney itself.

Statutory form

No. Chapter 30.1-30 publishes no fill-in-the-blank statutory form. The North
Dakota Court System's self-help center offers its own "General Durable Power
of Attorney" form as a convenience, but it is a court resource, not a
statutory safe harbor.

Durable by default?

No — this is the chapter's central rule. Under § 30.1-30-01, a power of
attorney is durable only if the writing contains the words "This power of
attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the
principal or by lapse of time," or "This power of attorney becomes effective
upon the disability or incapacity of the principal," or similar words showing
that intent. Without that language, the power of attorney ends when the
principal becomes incapacitated, exactly like a non-durable one.

Springing POA allowed?

Yes. The second statutory formula in § 30.1-30-01 — "becomes effective upon
the disability or incapacity of the principal" — is itself a springing
clause. The chapter does not name any mechanism (such as a physician's
certification) for determining when that incapacity has occurred, so the
document should specify how incapacity will be established.

Real estate extras

Recording a power of attorney with the county recorder is optional, not
required, for any instrument affecting real property (§ 47-19-01). If you do
record it, the power of attorney's execution must first be established —
ordinarily by acknowledgment before a notary or other authorized officer, or
alternatively by a subscribing witness or handwriting proof (§ 47-19-03). A
later revocation of a power of attorney that was recorded must itself be
acknowledged, certified, and recorded in the same office (§ 47-19-44).

Out-of-state POAs

Chapter 30.1-30 contains no provision addressing whether North Dakota
recognizes a power of attorney validly executed under another state's law.

What trips people up

• Durability isn't automatic here. A document copied from another
  state's template that assumes default durability can silently stop working
  the moment the principal becomes incapacitated, because North Dakota
  requires its own specific durability language.
• No formal execution rule doesn't mean no precautions are wise. Because
  chapter 30.1-30 sets no notary or witness requirement, banks and other
  institutions sometimes ask for notarization anyway as their own internal
  policy, even though the statute doesn't require it.
• Recording triggers a different rule than everyday use. The
  acknowledgment requirement in § 47-19-03 applies only if you choose to
  record the power of attorney — typically for real estate — not to its use
  for banking or other everyday financial matters.

Common questions

Do I need a notary for a North Dakota power of attorney? Not for basic
validity. Chapter 30.1-30 sets no notarization requirement. You need
acknowledgment only if you plan to record the document with a county
recorder, usually for a real estate transaction (§ 47-19-03).

Does North Dakota require witnesses on a power of attorney? No. Neither
chapter 30.1-30 nor the recording statutes require a power of attorney to be
witnessed for validity.

Is my North Dakota power of attorney durable automatically? No. It is
durable only if it contains the specific words required by § 30.1-30-01
showing your intent that the agent's authority survive your later disability
or incapacity.

Does North Dakota have an official power of attorney form? No statutory
form exists. The North Dakota Court System offers a non-statutory self-help
form as a convenience, but any writing that meets § 30.1-30-01 is valid.

Statutes and sources

All quotations are from the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act as codified
in the North Dakota Century Code, and from the general real property recording
statutes, accessed 2026-07-04.

• N.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01 — "A durable power of attorney is a power of
  attorney by which a principal designates another as the principal's
  attorney in fact in writing and the writing contains the words 'This power
  of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the
  principal or by lapse of time,' or 'This power of attorney becomes
  effective upon the disability or incapacity of the principal,' or similar
  words showing the intent of the principal that the authority conferred is
  exercisable notwithstanding the principal's subsequent disability or
  incapacity...."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)
• N.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-02 — "All acts done by an attorney in fact pursuant
  to a durable power of attorney during any period of disability or
  incapacity of the principal have the same effect and inure to the benefit
  of and bind the principal and the principal's successors in interest as if
  the principal were competent and not disabled."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)
• N.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-04 — "The death of a principal who has executed a
  written power of attorney, durable or otherwise, does not revoke or
  terminate the agency as to the attorney in fact or other person, who,
  without actual knowledge of the death of the principal, acts in good faith
  under the power."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)
• N.D.C.C. § 3-02-06 — "An oral authorization is sufficient for any
  purpose, except that an authority to enter into a contract required by law
  to be in writing, other than an instrument covered by chapter 41-03 can be
  given only by an instrument in writing."
  View source text (law.justia.com)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-01 — "Any instrument affecting the title to or
  possession of real property may be recorded as provided in this chapter."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03 — "Before an instrument can be recorded, unless it
  belongs to a class provided for in section 47-19-02 or 47-19-40, its
  execution must be established: 1. If executed by an individual, by
  acknowledgment by the person executing the same...."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-44 — "No instrument containing a power to convey or
  execute instruments affecting real property, which has been recorded, is
  revoked by any act of the party by whom it was executed, unless the
  instrument containing such revocation also is acknowledged or proved,
  certified, and recorded in the same office in which the instrument
  containing the power was recorded."
  View official text (ndlegis.gov)