Texas: Power of Attorney Requirements

The short answer

Texas sets out its execution rules in the Durable Power of Attorney Act,
Estates Code chapters 751 and 752. Under Tex. Est. Code § 751.0021, an
instrument is a durable power of attorney (POA) if it is a written record
designating an agent; it is signed by an adult principal, or by another adult
in the principal's conscious presence at the principal's direction; it
contains durability wording; and it is acknowledged before a notary public or
another officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds of conveyance and
administer oaths.

Notice what is missing: witnesses. Texas does not require any witnesses for a
financial POA — the notarized acknowledgment does that work. The durability
wording is not optional filler: without words saying the document is
unaffected by (or springs into effect on) your disability or incapacity, the
document is not a durable POA under the Act.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Financial POAs are governed by the Durable Power of Attorney Act, Title 2,
Subtitle P of the Texas Estates Code (chapters 751 and 752) — the name the
statute itself uses in the required form notice: "THE POWERS GRANTED BY THIS
DOCUMENT ARE BROAD AND SWEEPING. THEY ARE EXPLAINED IN THE DURABLE POWER OF
ATTORNEY ACT, SUBTITLE P, TITLE 2, ESTATES CODE" (§ 752.051). The Act was
comprehensively revised effective September 1, 2017, adding
acceptance-and-reliance rules drawn in part from the Uniform Power of
Attorney Act, and was most recently amended effective September 1, 2023.

Who must sign

The POA must be "signed by an adult principal or in the adult principal's
conscious presence by another adult directed by the principal to sign the
principal's name on the instrument" (§ 751.0021(a)(2)). "Conscious presence"
means the principal must be aware of the signing as it happens; Texas allows
this substitute signature for principals who are physically unable to sign.

Notarization

Required. The instrument must be "acknowledged by the principal or another
adult directed by the principal ... before an officer authorized under the
laws of this state or another state to: (A) take acknowledgments to deeds of
conveyance; and (B) administer oaths" (§ 751.0021(a)(4)) — in practice, a
notary public. Notarization also earns a legal presumption: if the officer's
acknowledgment certificate complies with the Civil Practice and Remedies Code
requirements, the principal's signature is "presumed to be genuine" and the
POA is presumed properly executed (§ 751.0022).

Witnesses

None required. Section 751.0021 lists the complete execution elements — a
signed written record, durability wording, and acknowledgment — and witnesses
are not among them. The statutory form likewise contains a signature line and
a notary block but no witness lines (§ 752.051).

Statutory form

Yes. Estates Code § 752.051 sets out a form "known as a 'statutory durable
power of attorney'": a fill-in-the-blanks document in which the principal
initials the categories of authority granted, may name co-agents and
successor agents, and chooses between immediate and springing effectiveness.
Using it is optional — any instrument satisfying § 751.0021 works — but the
form is what Texas banks and title companies see most often.

Durable by default?

No. To be durable — that is, to keep working after you lose capacity — the
instrument must contain the words "This power of attorney is not affected by
subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal," or "This power of
attorney becomes effective on the disability or incapacity of the principal,"
or similar words clearly indicating that the agent's authority survives the
principal's subsequent disability or incapacity (§ 751.0021(a)(3)). A
document without any such wording is outside the Act's definition of a
durable POA.

Springing POA allowed?

Yes. The second wording option in § 751.0021(a)(3) — "becomes effective on
the disability or incapacity of the principal" — creates a springing POA, and
the statutory form offers it as Alternative (B). Two defaults matter. If
neither alternative is crossed out on the statutory form, the form says "IT
WILL BE ASSUMED THAT YOU CHOSE ALTERNATIVE (A)" — effective immediately. And
unless the document defines disability or incapacity itself, an individual
"is considered disabled or incapacitated ... if a physician certifies in
writing at a date later than the date the durable power of attorney is
executed that, based on the physician's medical examination of the
individual, the individual is determined to be mentally incapable of managing
the individual's financial affairs" (§ 751.00201).

Real estate extras

Texas imposes a recording deadline. A durable POA used for "a real property
transaction requiring the execution and delivery of an instrument that is to
be recorded" — the statute's list runs from deeds of conveyance and deeds of
trust through mineral leases and home equity liens — "must be recorded in the
office of the county clerk of the county in which the property is located not
later than the 30th day after the date the instrument is filed for recording"
(§ 751.151). Separately, the statutory form's notice warns that if the agent
is to sign home equity loan documents, the POA "MUST BE SIGNED BY YOU AT THE
OFFICE OF THE LENDER, AN ATTORNEY AT LAW, OR A TITLE COMPANY" (§ 752.051).

Out-of-state POAs

Texas recognizes them. A durable POA executed in another jurisdiction is
valid in Texas if, when executed, its execution complied with the law of the
jurisdiction that determines the POA's meaning and effect, or with the
federal military POA statute (§ 751.0023(b)). Texas also treats copies like
originals: unless another statute or the document itself says otherwise, "a
photocopy or electronically transmitted copy of an original durable power of
attorney has the same effect as the original instrument" (§ 751.0023(c)).

What trips people up

• Skipping the durability wording. The § 751.0021(a)(3) words are part of
  the definition. A POA that never mentions disability or incapacity is not a
  durable POA under the Act, and the authority it grants will not do the one
  job most people sign a POA for.
• The 30-day recording clock. When your agent signs a recordable real
  estate instrument for you, the POA itself must reach the county clerk
  within 30 days after that instrument is filed (§ 751.151). Title companies
  usually handle this, but the deadline belongs to you.
• Home equity loans have a signing-location rule. The statutory form's
  own notice requires the POA to be signed at the office of the lender, an
  attorney, or a title company if the agent will sign home equity documents
  (§ 752.051).
• Springing POAs default to a physician's certification. If you choose
  Alternative (B) and do not define incapacity in the document, your agent
  cannot act until a physician certifies in writing that you are mentally
  incapable of managing your financial affairs (§ 751.00201). Consider
  whether the people who will rely on the POA can wait for that.
• Forgetting the form defaults to effective-immediately. On the statutory
  form, failing to cross out an alternative means Alternative (A) applies and
  the POA is effective the day you sign it (§ 752.051).

Common questions

Do I need witnesses in Texas? No. A financial POA needs the principal's
(notarized) signature and durability wording, not witnesses (§ 751.0021).
Healthcare directives follow different rules and are outside this page.

Will my out-of-state power of attorney work in Texas? Yes, if its
execution was valid under the law of the jurisdiction whose law governs it
(§ 751.0023(b)). For real estate, the recording requirement of § 751.151
still applies.

Does the bank need the original document? Generally no. A photocopy or
electronically transmitted copy has the same effect as the original unless
another statute or the POA itself requires the original (§ 751.0023(c)).

Who decides that I am incapacitated under a springing POA? Unless your
document defines the trigger differently, a physician who has examined you
must certify in writing that you are mentally incapable of managing your
financial affairs (§ 751.00201).

Statutes and sources

The Texas Legislature publishes the Estates Code at
statutes.capitol.texas.gov. The quotations below are the current enacted text
of each section, taken from the official enrolled session laws that last
amended them: House Bill 1974 (85th Legislature, effective September 1, 2017)
and Senate Bill 1650 (88th Legislature, effective September 1, 2023). All
sources accessed 2026-07-04.

• Tex. Est. Code § 751.0021 (execution requirements) — "An instrument is
  a durable power of attorney for purposes of this subtitle if the instrument
  ... (2) is signed by an adult principal or in the adult principal's
  conscious presence by another adult directed by the principal to sign the
  principal's name on the instrument; (3) contains ... the words ... 'This
  power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of
  the principal' ... and (4) is acknowledged ... before an officer authorized
  under the laws of this state or another state to: (A) take acknowledgments
  to deeds of conveyance; and (B) administer oaths."
  H.B. 1974 (2017), enrolled
• Tex. Est. Code § 751.0022 (presumption of genuine signature) — "A
  signature on a durable power of attorney that purports to be the signature
  of the principal ... is presumed to be genuine ... if the officer taking
  the acknowledgment has complied with the requirements of Section
  121.004(b), Civil Practice and Remedies Code."
  H.B. 1974 (2017), enrolled
• Tex. Est. Code § 751.0023 (validity; out-of-state POAs; copies) — "A
  durable power of attorney executed in a jurisdiction other than this state
  is valid in this state if, when executed, the execution of the durable
  power of attorney complied with: (1) the law of the jurisdiction that
  determines the meaning and effect of the durable power of attorney ..."
  H.B. 1974 (2017), enrolled
• Tex. Est. Code § 751.00201 (meaning of disabled or incapacitated) —
  "Unless otherwise defined by a durable power of attorney, an individual is
  considered disabled or incapacitated ... if a physician certifies in
  writing at a date later than the date the durable power of attorney is
  executed that ... the individual is determined to be mentally incapable of
  managing the individual's financial affairs."
  S.B. 1650 (2023), enrolled
• Tex. Est. Code § 751.151 (recording for real property transactions) —
  "... must be recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in
  which the property is located not later than the 30th day after the date
  the instrument is filed for recording."
  H.B. 1974 (2017), enrolled
• Tex. Est. Code § 752.051 (statutory durable power of attorney form) —
  "The following form is known as a 'statutory durable power of attorney'
  ..." including the notice, effectiveness alternatives, and acknowledgment
  block quoted on this page.
  H.B. 1974 (2017), enrolled

Pending legislation: none found affecting these sections as of July 4, 2026.
The Texas Legislature's 2025 regular session enacted no changes to Estates
Code chapters 751 or 752, and the next regular session convenes in January
2027.