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Advance Directive in California: The Form, Witness Rules, and How to Make One Valid
California's advance health care directive names who decides for your parent and records what your parent wants, in one document, with a notary or two witnesses.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- A California advance health care directive is valid when it's dated, signed, and either notarized or signed by two qualified adult witnesses (Probate Code §4673).
- There's no required form: the Attorney General says so, and the optional statutory form says "You are free to use a different form."
- At least one witness must be neither related to your parent nor entitled to inherit, and a skilled nursing facility resident needs a patient advocate or ombudsman as a witness.
- The agent's authority starts only on a determination that your parent lacks capacity, and stops if your parent recovers it.
- Retirement Checklist puts the directive in order with everything else your family needs to settle.
An advance directive in California is valid when it contains the date it was signed, your parent signs it, and it is either acknowledged before a notary public or signed by at least two qualified adult witnesses. Those requirements are in Probate Code §4673. California doesn't require a particular form, so the signing and witness rules carry the weight.
What is an advance health care directive in California?
It's the document in which your parent gives instructions about their own health care, names someone to make health care decisions for them, or both. The state's optional form, in Probate Code §4701, explains it to the person signing: "You have the right to give instructions about your own physical and mental health care. You also have the right to name someone else to make those health care decisions for you. This form lets you do either or both of these things."
Part 1 of that form "is a power of attorney for health care," which names the agent. Other parts record treatment wishes, wishes about organ donation, and a choice of primary physician. So one California document covers both treatment instructions and the choice of an agent. For how those terms relate, see our guide to advance directives, living wills and medical power of attorney.
Does California require a specific form?
No. The California Attorney General says, "While state law requires certain provisions to appear in your health care directive, there is no required form to document your wishes." The statutory form in §4701 says the same: "If you use this form, you may complete or modify all or any part of it. You are free to use a different form."
The Secretary of State's registry page lists where to get a form: your health care provider, private legal counsel, the Attorney General's website, or Probate Code §4701. Whatever form your parent uses, it still has to meet the signing rules below.
What makes a California advance directive valid?
It must be dated, signed, and either notarized or signed by two qualified witnesses, with extra rules for electronic directives and for skilled nursing facility residents (§§4673, 4675).
| Requirement | What the Probate Code says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Contains the date it was signed | §4673(a)(1) |
| Signature | Signed by your parent, or in their name by another adult in their presence and at their direction | §4673(a)(2) |
| Notary or witnesses | Acknowledged before a notary public, or signed by at least two qualifying witnesses | §4673(a)(3) |
| Skilled nursing facility | A patient advocate or ombudsman must also witness | §4675 |
| Electronic directive | Notary acknowledgment required, plus digital signature rules | §4673(b) |
Your parent can choose the notary or the witnesses; the statute doesn't require both. The exceptions are an electronic directive, which needs a notary, and the skilled nursing facility rule.
Who can't be a witness in California?
Any adult can witness except the people listed below, and at least one of the two witnesses must be neither related to your parent nor entitled to inherit from them (§4674). Each witness signs a declaration under penalty of perjury that your parent "appears to be of sound mind and under no duress, fraud, or undue influence." None of these people can be a witness:
- your parent's health care provider, or an employee of that provider;
- the operator or an employee of a community care facility;
- the operator or an employee of a residential care facility for the elderly;
- the person named as agent.
The unrelated-witness rule matters for family signings. In the statute's words, at least one witness must be someone who is neither related to your parent "by blood, marriage, or adoption, nor entitled to any portion of the patient's estate upon the patient's death." A relative can be one witness; two relatives can't be the pair.
What if your parent lives in a skilled nursing facility?
Then a patient advocate or ombudsman must also sign as a witness. If your parent is a patient in a skilled nursing facility when the directive is signed, it "is not effective unless a patient advocate or ombudsman," as the Department of Aging may designate, "signs the advance directive as a witness, either as one of two witnesses or in addition to notarization" (§4675).
That applies even if a notary is used. Our guide to assisted living, memory care and nursing homes explains how those settings differ.
When does the agent start making decisions?
When a determination is made that your parent lacks capacity. "Unless otherwise provided in a power of attorney for health care, the authority of an agent becomes effective only on a determination that the principal lacks capacity, and ceases to be effective on a determination that the principal has recovered capacity" (§4682).
Two points follow. Your parent keeps making their own decisions while they can. And the directive can say otherwise, for example letting the agent act right away, if your parent chooses that.
If you need to talk with your parent's doctors while your parent is still making their own decisions, see our guide to HIPAA authorization.
How do you revoke a California advance directive?
Your parent, while they have capacity, revokes the agent's appointment by a signed writing or by personally telling the supervising health care provider, and can revoke the rest in any way that communicates the intent (§4695):
- Revoking the agent: your parent, while they have capacity, "may revoke the designation of an agent only by a signed writing or by personally informing the supervising health care provider."
- Revoking anything else: your parent may revoke "all or part" of the directive "at any time and in any manner that communicates an intent to revoke."
So instructions can be withdrawn informally, but changing who the agent is takes a signed writing or telling the supervising provider in person.
What if your parent never signed one?
Your parent can still name a short-term surrogate inside a health care setting. Under §4711, your parent "may designate an adult as a surrogate to make health care decisions by personally informing the supervising health care provider or a designee of the health care facility." It's recorded in the health care record.
It doesn't last. Unless your parent sets a shorter period, that designation is effective only during the course of treatment or illness, or the stay in the institution, "or for 60 days, whichever period is shorter."
Where should a California advance directive be kept?
Somewhere the people who need it can find it. The Attorney General's office suggests keeping a personal copy "in a safe accessible place" and giving copies "to your doctor, lawyer and other trusted people."
California also runs an Advance Health Care Directive Registry through the Secretary of State, required by Probate Code §4800. Your parent registers by filing the registration form with a copy of the directive, or with a note of where the directive is kept. The information is available on request to your parent's health care provider, the public guardian, or their legal representative.
How much does a California advance directive cost?
The cost California law caps is the notary's fee: $15 for each signature taken for an acknowledgment (Government Code §8211), rising to $20 on January 1, 2027 under AB 1597, signed June 30, 2026. The statutory form is printed in Probate Code §4701, and if your parent uses two qualified witnesses instead, there is no notary step.
What questions are worth asking before your parent signs?
- Who should be the agent, and who is the alternate?
- Should the agent's authority start now or only on incapacity?
- Are there treatments your parent wants, or doesn't want, written down?
- Who are the witnesses, and does at least one meet the unrelated, non-heir rule?
- Who gets copies, and should it be registered?
Frequently asked questions
Does an advance directive need to be notarized in California?
Not necessarily. Probate Code §4673 accepts either acknowledgment before a notary public or the signatures of two qualified adult witnesses. A notary is required for an electronic directive. For a skilled nursing facility resident, a patient advocate or ombudsman must witness, even when the directive is notarized.
Can a family member witness an advance directive in California?
One can. At least one of the two witnesses must be neither related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption nor entitled to inherit from them. The named agent, your parent's health care provider and its employees, and certain care facility operators and employees can't witness at all.
Is a California advance directive the same as a living will?
It covers the same ground and more. California's statutory form lets your parent give treatment instructions, which is what a living will does, and name an agent through a power of attorney for health care, in one document. Your parent can complete either part or both.
Does California have an advance directive registry?
Yes. The Secretary of State keeps the Advance Health Care Directive Registry under Probate Code §4800. Your parent files a registration form with a copy of the directive, or notes where it's kept, and the information is released on request to their health care provider, the public guardian, or their legal representative.
Does a California advance directive let the agent manage money?
No. An advance health care directive covers health care decisions. Authority over finances and property comes from a separate durable power of attorney under Probate Code Division 4.5, which has its own signing rules, including a notary requirement for the statutory form.
Can my parent change their agent later?
Yes, while they have capacity. California requires a signed writing, or telling the supervising health care provider in person, to revoke an agent's appointment. Other parts of the directive can be revoked in any way that communicates the intent, under Probate Code §4695.
Getting started
A directive is time-sensitive, because it needs your parent's signature while they can still give it. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the steps that matter most for your family in order, including a California power of attorney for the financial side. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- California Probate Code §4673, Requirements for a written advance directive: date, signature, notary or two witnesses.
- California Probate Code §4674, Witness requirements: who can't witness, and the unrelated non-heir rule.
- California Probate Code §4675, Skilled nursing facility patients: the patient advocate or ombudsman witness.
- California Probate Code §4701, Statutory advance health care directive form: the optional form.
- California Attorney General, Advance Care Planning: no required form; who should get copies.
- California Secretary of State, Advance Health Care Directive Registry: how registration works.
- California Government Code §8211, Notary fees: the maximum fee for an acknowledgment.
- California Legislature, AB 1597 (2026): the higher notary fee cap from January 1, 2027.
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