Guides · State guides · Idaho
Advance Directive in Idaho: The Advance Care Planning Document, Living Will and Health Care Agent
Since July 2023, an Idaho advance directive needs your parent's name, contact details, signature and date; witnesses and a notary are optional. Here is how it works, and who decides without one.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- Idaho calls an advance directive an advance care planning document (ACPD); to be valid it must include your parent's name, date of birth, phone number and mailing address, their signature and the date (Idaho Code 39-4510).
- Witnesses and notarization are listed as optional; the state health department says the directive "does not need to be notarized or signed by a medical provider."
- The Department of Health and Welfare offers a free optional form and runs the state's health care directive registry, which is also optional.
- Without a document, Idaho law sets a priority list: a court-appointed guardian, then a named health care agent, then a spouse, an adult child, a parent and other relatives (Idaho Code 39-4504).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
An Idaho advance directive, called an advance care planning document, is valid when it includes your parent's name, date of birth, phone number, mailing address, signature and signing date; witnesses and a notary are optional. Idaho Code 39-4502 treats "advance care planning document," "advance directive," "directive," and "health care directive" as names for the same document. Since a 2023 rewrite of the Medical Consent and Natural Death Act took effect on July 1, 2023, the law no longer prints a fill-in form. Instead, Idaho Code 39-4510 lists what the document must contain, and says the state's optional form "is not mandatory."
What is an advance care planning document in Idaho?
It's the document your parent uses to name a health care agent, give instructions about end-of-life care, or both. Any competent person 18 or older can sign one. A health care agent is "a person named in an advance care planning document to make medical decisions for another person."
The definition is broad. It covers a document that substantially meets 39-4510, a POST form, or "another document that represents a competent person's authentic expression of such person's wishes concerning health care services." It's separate from a financial power of attorney, whose statutory form excludes health care; see our Idaho power of attorney guide.
How is it different from a living will?
In Idaho they can be one document. The Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) says, "The Idaho Advance Directive has two parts: the Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Living Will." Its form is titled "IDAHO DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTHCARE AND LIVING WILL."
| Part | What it does | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Durable power of attorney for health care | Names a health care agent, and alternates if your parent wants them | Idaho Code 39-4502, 39-4510(2)(b) |
| Living will | Records choices about life-sustaining treatment and end-of-life care | Idaho Code 39-4510(2) |
| POST | A medical order signed by your parent (or surrogate) and a clinician | Idaho Code 39-4512A |
For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign an Idaho advance directive?
Your parent signs and dates it, and under 39-4510(1) a valid document must include:
- your parent's name, date of birth, telephone number and mailing address;
- "The signature of the person for whom the ACPD is created or the authorized agent of such person"; and
- "The date on which the document was signed."
Everything else is optional, including naming an agent, resuscitation and pregnancy instructions, and "The names and contact information of witnesses to the execution of the ACPD" and "Notarization." Blank sections "shall be deemed intentional and shall not invalidate the document." DHW puts it plainly: "An Idaho Advance Directive must be signed by you and does not need to be notarized or signed by a medical provider."
Section 39-4510 doesn't list people who are barred from serving as agent. DHW's optional form does: it says your parent's treating health care provider, a non-relative employee of that provider, an operator of a community care facility, and a non-relative employee of such an operator may not be named as agent or alternate.
When does the agent start making decisions?
The agent acts when the conditions in your parent's document are met: under Idaho Code 39-4504, the agent ranks in the decision-making list "if the conditions in such advance care planning document for authorizing the agent to act have been satisfied." DHW's form makes the agent's authority effective only when your parent can't communicate or make their own health care decisions. The document itself "shall be effective from the date of execution until it is revoked or replaced" (Idaho Code 39-4512).
Whoever decides can't override your parent: a surrogate has no authority to consent or refuse contrary to your parent's document or wishes they expressed while able. A provider who won't follow your parent's wishes for ethical or professional reasons must make a good faith effort to help find one who will.
Where do you get an Idaho advance directive form?
DHW publishes a free optional form, the Idaho Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Living Will, on its Advance Directives and Registry Services page. Your parent can also create one online through the registry, or print the form and mail it with a registration coversheet.
The Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry, which DHW says "was transferred from the Secretary of State to the Department of Health and Welfare," stores directives and POST forms. Under Idaho Code 39-4515, DHW may charge up to $10 to file and nothing to revoke. Registering is optional: "Failure to register the advance care planning document shall not affect the validity of the advance care planning document."
What happens if your parent has no advance directive?
A surrogate decides, in an order Idaho law sets. Under Idaho Code 39-4504, consent for someone who can't give it may be given or refused in this order:
- a court-appointed guardian;
- the health care agent named in an advance care planning document, if its conditions are met;
- a spouse;
- an adult child;
- a parent;
- a person named in a delegation of parental authority;
- any relative;
- any other competent individual who says they're responsible for your parent's health care.
In an emergency, the attending provider may act. Note that a court-appointed guardian ranks ahead of the named agent; for how a guardianship works, see conservatorship and guardianship.
How do you revoke an Idaho advance directive?
Under Idaho Code 39-4511A, your parent can revoke it "at any time" by destroying it, by "a written signed revocation," by "an oral expression by the maker thereof expressing his intent to revoke," or by any other action that clearly shows that intent. Your parent can also suspend it temporarily instead (39-4511B).
Your parent "is responsible for notifying his health care providers of the revocation," and a provider without actual knowledge may rely on the old document. If it's in the registry, DHW says you can "change or revoke your Advance Directive at any time through the secure system."
What about POST?
A POST, or Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment, "is an order regarding scope of treatment signed by a licensed independent practitioner and a person or the person's surrogate decision-maker" (Idaho Code 39-4512A). DHW says it "contains specific medical orders for individuals with a serious illness or approaching end of life and complements the Advance Directive." Providers must follow a valid POST form, and it travels with your parent across care settings.
Frequently asked questions
Does an advance directive need to be notarized in Idaho?
No. Since July 1, 2023, Idaho Code 39-4510 lists notarization and witnesses as optional contents. The document must include your parent's name, date of birth, phone number, mailing address, signature and the signing date. The state health department says it "does not need to be notarized or signed by a medical provider."
Who can be a health care agent in Idaho?
Section 39-4510 doesn't list anyone who is barred. The state health department's optional form says your parent's treating health care provider, a non-relative employee of that provider, an operator of a community care facility, and a non-relative employee of such an operator may not be named. Your parent can also name alternates.
Where can I get an Idaho advance directive form?
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare offers a free optional form, the Idaho Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Living Will, and an online version through its health care directive registry. The form isn't mandatory; any document with the required elements can work.
Who makes medical decisions in Idaho if there's no advance directive?
Idaho Code 39-4504 sets the order: a court-appointed guardian, then a named health care agent, then a spouse, an adult child, a parent, other relatives, and finally another competent person who takes responsibility. Whoever decides can't go against your parent's document or wishes they expressed while able.
Does my parent have to register their advance directive?
No. Registration with the Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry is optional, and Idaho Code 39-4514 says failing to register doesn't affect validity. Under Idaho Code 39-4515, the Department of Health and Welfare may charge up to $10 to file and nothing to revoke. Entry in the registry doesn't create a presumption that the document is valid.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. Your parent can revoke it at any time by destroying it, by a signed written revocation, by saying so, or by any other act that clearly shows the intent. Your parent is responsible for telling their health care providers, so sharing the new document with them keeps the record current.
Getting started
An advance directive only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it and the right people have copies; in Idaho, without one, a fixed list decides who speaks for your parent. 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
- Idaho Code Title 39, Chapter 45, Medical Consent and Natural Death Act: definitions (39-4502), the consent priority list (39-4504), required elements (39-4510), revocation and suspension (39-4511A, 39-4511B), effective date (39-4512), POST (39-4512A) and the registry (39-4514, 39-4515); published by the Idaho Legislature.
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Advance Directives and Registry Services: guidance and the free optional form.
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry: creating, storing and revoking a directive.
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