Power of Attorney Requirements in Tennessee

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act occupies Title 34, Chapter 6, Part 1 (§ 34-6-101). Part 2 separately regulates health care powers, including its own execution rule (§§ 34-6-201, 34-6-203).

Who must sign

Section 34-6-102 describes a written designation of the attorney in fact. For county recording, § 66-22-101(a) adds the maker's original signature and authentication.

Notarization

For recording, § 66-22-101(a) permits either acknowledgment according to law or proof by at least two subscribing witnesses. Its recording condition does not add a notary ceremony to Part 1's definition of a durable power.

Witnesses

Two subscribing witnesses can prove the signature when the writing is offered to the county register (§ 66-22-101(a)). This is a recording route; Part 1's written-designation rule is in § 34-6-102.

Durable by default?

The writing must use the survival language in § 34-6-102, or similar words showing the same intent. An ordinary power is not made durable by default. Under § 34-6-105, a good-faith action taken without actual knowledge of the principal's disability or incapacity under a non-durable written power binds the principal and successors.

Springing POA allowed?

Section 34-6-102 offers words making authority effective upon disability or incapacity. For a deferred power, § 34-6-111 gives the named attorney in fact limited access to medical information from signing to determine whether that trigger has occurred.

Real estate extras

Section 66-24-101(a)(2) permits registration of powers authorizing conveyances of real or personal estate and powers for other purposes. If offered for recording, the instrument must meet § 66-22-101(a)'s signature-authentication rule.

Out-of-state POAs

Part 1 does not state a separate execution-law test for a power signed in another state (§§ 34-6-101 to -112). Its durability definition and the registration requirements above remain the identified Tennessee statutory rules.

What trips people up

The health care power's notary-or-two-witness rule in § 34-6-203 concerns Part 2. It should not be applied to a financial power governed by Part 1. § 34-6-108 also lets a principal incorporate statutory powers by reference; it supplies a powers list, not a fill-in execution form.

Common questions

Can the agent use a springing power to obtain records needed to establish incapacity? Section 34-6-111 grants limited access to the principal's medical information from signing for that purpose.

Must I register every financial power of attorney? Section 66-24-101(a)(2) says the listed powers “may be registered.” If a document is presented for recording, the authentication rule in § 66-22-101(a) applies.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 34-6-101, -102, -105, -108, -201 — 2025 Title 34, Chapter 6 section pages, accessed October 6, 2026; historical words checked against the official post-1997 acts.
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 34-6-111 and -203 — 2007 Public Chapter 8, accessed October 6, 2026.
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-22-101 — 2018 Public Chapter 931, accessed October 6, 2026.
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-24-101(a)(2) — 2025 section text, accessed October 6, 2026; 2026 Public Chapter 865 and 2026 Public Chapter 892 amend other subdivisions.