Guides · State guides · Colorado
Medical Power of Attorney in Colorado: The MDPOA, Living Wills and Proxy Decisions
Colorado's medical durable power of attorney has no statutory form or witness rule; its living will needs two witnesses or a notary. Here is how both work, and what happens without either.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- A Colorado medical durable power of attorney (MDPOA) names a health care agent; the statutes we read set no witness, notary or form requirement for it.
- The living will, called a declaration as to medical treatment, must be signed before two witnesses or acknowledged before a notary, and certain people can't serve as either (C.R.S. 15-18-106).
- The state health department says everyone over 18 "should have at minimum a Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA)."
- Without one, Colorado has no fixed priority list: family and close friends try to agree on a proxy decision-maker, and if they can't, someone may seek guardianship (C.R.S. 15-18.5-103).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
A medical power of attorney in Colorado, formally a medical durable power of attorney, lets your parent name an agent to consent to or refuse medical treatment when they lack decisional capacity. Under C.R.S. 15-14-506, the agent "shall have the same power to make medical treatment decisions the principal would have if the principal did not lack such decisional capacity." Colorado's Judicial Branch notes that "there is no form provided by a Colorado Revised Statute," and the state health department says you "can complete the form at home (no attorney needed)."
What is a medical durable power of attorney in Colorado?
It's the health care document under the Colorado Patient Autonomy Act, C.R.S. 15-14-503 to 15-14-509. A "medical durable power of attorney" or "medical power of attorney" means "a power to make health-care decisions." It "may include any directive, condition, or limitation of an agent's authority," including about artificial nourishment and hydration.
The agent follows your parent's directions and known wishes, otherwise their best interests, and "shall have the same rights of access to the principal's medical records as the principal." No agent may decide "over the principal's objection." It's separate from a financial power of attorney, whose statutory form excludes health care; see our Colorado power of attorney guide.
How is it different from a living will?
A medical durable power of attorney names a person to decide; a living will, which Colorado calls a declaration, states your parent's own instructions about life-sustaining procedures.
| Document | What it does | Signing rule |
|---|---|---|
| Medical durable power of attorney | Names an agent for medical decisions when your parent lacks capacity | None set in C.R.S. 15-14-503 to 15-14-509 |
| Declaration as to medical treatment (living will) | Directs that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state | Two witnesses, or a notary (C.R.S. 15-18-106) |
The two can be combined in one document, and then the combined document must meet the living will's signing rule. Your parent can also state that the agent may override the living will. For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign a medical durable power of attorney?
Your parent signs it; the Colorado Patient Autonomy Act sections we read, C.R.S. 15-14-503 to 15-14-509, don't require witnesses, a notary or a particular form. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment links an MDPOA form and says, "Keep your advance directive document ready and available. Make sure your MDPOA, loved ones, and all your healthcare providers have a copy."
Those sections also don't list people who are barred from serving as agent. If your parent wants extra formality, signing before a notary or witnesses is allowed; Colorado's statute doesn't require it.
How do you sign a Colorado living will?
Under C.R.S. 15-18-106, a declaration must be "Signed by the declarant in the presence of two witnesses; or" "Signed by the declarant and acknowledged before a notary public." The notary option was added in 2021.
None of these people can be a witness or the notary:
- the attending physician or any other physician;
- an employee of the attending physician or of a health care facility where your parent is a patient;
- a person with a claim against your parent's estate;
- a person who believes they're entitled to part of your parent's estate, as a will beneficiary or an heir.
Anyone who expects to inherit is excluded, so each witness, or the notary, needs to be checked against this list before signing.
When does the living will apply?
It applies only if your parent has a terminal condition or is in a persistent vegetative state and lacks decisional capacity. The attending physician has a second physician examine your parent, and both certify the condition in writing. "If no action to challenge the validity of a declaration has been filed within forty-eight hours after the certification," the physician then follows the declaration.
Your parent chooses in the declaration whether artificial nutrition and hydration should stop, continue for a specified period, or continue. A 2021 law repealed the provision that suspended a declaration during pregnancy.
What happens if your parent has no medical power of attorney?
Colorado uses a proxy decision-maker. Under C.R.S. 15-18.5-103, once the attending physician determines your parent lacks decisional capacity, the physician tries to locate "interested persons": a spouse, either parent, any adult child, sibling or grandchild, or a close friend. They "shall make reasonable efforts to reach a consensus as to who among them shall make medical treatment decisions."
There's no fixed priority order. The person chosen should be the one "who has a close relationship with the patient and who is most likely to be currently informed of the patient's wishes." If anyone disagrees, or no consensus is reached, any interested person may start guardianship proceedings. The state health department puts the lesson plainly: "In Colorado, no one can automatically make medical decisions for you." See conservatorship and guardianship.
How do you revoke a Colorado advance directive?
Your parent can revoke either document; the living will statute names the methods, and the MDPOA statute doesn't.
- Medical durable power of attorney. Your parent keeps "the right to revoke an agent's authority"; the statute doesn't prescribe a method. Divorce, dissolution, annulment or legal separation automatically revokes the appointment of a spouse as agent, unless the document says otherwise. A guardian can't revoke an MDPOA without court authorization.
- Living will. "A declaration may be revoked by the declarant orally, in writing, or by burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying said declaration."
What about CPR directives and MOST?
A CPR directive is an advance directive about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, countersigned by the attending physician; emergency personnel must comply with one that's "apparent and immediately available." A MOST form, Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment, records instructions about CPR and other interventions and is signed by your parent's physician, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. A health care facility can't require a MOST form as a condition of admission or treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Does a medical power of attorney need to be notarized in Colorado?
The Colorado Patient Autonomy Act sections we read don't require a notary or witnesses for a medical durable power of attorney, and there's no statutory form. A living will is different: it needs two witnesses or a notary, and certain people can't serve as either.
Who can witness a living will in Colorado?
Any adult who isn't the attending physician or another physician, an employee of the physician or of a facility where your parent is a patient, a creditor of your parent's estate, or someone who expects to inherit as a will beneficiary or heir. Those same people can't serve as the notary either, under C.R.S. 15-18-106.
Where can I get a Colorado medical power of attorney form?
Colorado's statutes don't provide one. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment links an MDPOA form in English and Spanish, and the Judicial Branch's Legal Help Center links examples. An attorney can also prepare one. Make sure your parent's doctor and agent get copies.
Who makes medical decisions in Colorado if there's no MDPOA?
A proxy decision-maker chosen by consensus. After the attending physician finds your parent lacks capacity, interested persons, including a spouse, parents, adult children, siblings, grandchildren and close friends, try to agree on one person. If they can't agree, someone may seek guardianship. There's no automatic priority for a spouse.
Is a medical power of attorney from another state valid in Colorado?
Yes. Under C.R.S. 15-14-509, a medical durable power of attorney or similar instrument executed in another state "shall be presumed to comply" with Colorado law and may be relied on in good faith by Colorado providers. Out-of-state living wills are effective to the extent they don't violate Colorado law.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. Your parent can revoke an agent's authority, and no agent can decide over your parent's objection. A living will can be revoked orally, in writing, or by destroying it. Telling the doctor and giving them any new document keeps the medical record current.
Getting started
A medical power of attorney only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it and the right people have copies; in Colorado it's also the way to avoid relying on a family consensus. 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. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 15 (2026): the Colorado Patient Autonomy Act (15-14-503 to 15-14-509), the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act (15-18-101 to 15-18-113), proxy decision-makers (15-18.5-103), CPR directives (15-18.6) and MOST (15-18.7); published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services.
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Advance care planning: guidance and links to an MDPOA form.
- Colorado Judicial Branch, Creating a power of attorney: medical power of attorney examples.
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