Guides · State guides · Washington
Advance Directive in Washington State: Health Care Directive, Witnesses and Health Care Agents
Washington uses a health care directive for treatment wishes and a power of attorney for a health care agent. Each needs a notary or two qualified witnesses. Here is how they work, from the statutes.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- Washington's living will is called a health care directive; it must be signed before a notary or two qualified witnesses (RCW 70.122.030).
- The directive covers life-sustaining treatment if your parent has a terminal condition or a permanent unconscious condition.
- To name a health care decision-maker, Washington uses a power of attorney that expressly grants health care authority, under RCW 11.125.
- Your parent can revoke a directive at any time, "without regard to the declarer's mental state or competency" (RCW 70.122.040).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
In Washington State, an advance directive can be a health care directive (living will), which records treatment wishes, or a durable power of attorney for health care, which names a decision-maker; your parent can have both. The directive must be signed before a notary or two qualified witnesses (RCW 70.122.030). The Washington Attorney General's Office describes the two as "a Health Care Directive (sometimes called a Living Will) and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care."
What is a health care directive in Washington?
It's the written document, under Washington's Natural Death Act (RCW 70.122), in which your parent directs that life-sustaining treatment be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition. "Any adult person may execute a directive directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition."
The statute defines both conditions:
| Condition | What it means under RCW 70.122.020 |
|---|---|
| Terminal condition | An incurable and irreversible condition that, within reasonable medical judgment, will cause death within a reasonable period of time, where life-sustaining treatment serves only to prolong the process of dying |
| Permanent unconscious condition | An incurable and irreversible condition with no reasonable probability of recovery from an irreversible coma or a persistent vegetative state |
Life-sustaining treatment includes artificially provided nutrition and hydration, but not medication or procedures needed solely to relieve pain. Before treatment is withheld under a directive, a terminal condition must be diagnosed in writing by your parent's attending physician, and a permanent unconscious condition by two physicians who have examined your parent.
How is it different from a health care power of attorney?
A directive records instructions. A health care power of attorney names a person.
| Document | What it does | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive (living will) | States wishes about life-sustaining treatment in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition | RCW 70.122 |
| Durable power of attorney for health care | Names an agent to make health care decisions when your parent can't | RCW 11.125 |
The Natural Death Act itself draws the line: the legislature recognizes that a person's right to control their health care "may be exercised by an authorized representative who validly holds the person's durable power of attorney for health care" (RCW 70.122.010). The statutory directive form also asks anyone appointed "whether through a durable power of attorney or otherwise" to be guided by the directive. For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign a health care directive in Washington?
Your parent signs it and either:
- acknowledges it before a notary public or another official authorized to take acknowledgments; or
- signs it in the presence of two qualified witnesses.
A copy should go into your parent's medical records; the statute says the directive or a copy "shall be made part of the patient's medical records retained by the attending physician."
The statute includes a form your parent can use, but it's optional: the directive "may be in the following form" and may include other specific directions. One choice on the form is whether your parent does or doesn't want artificially provided nutrition and hydration if they're in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition. A 2025 law removed the pregnancy language from that model form (HB 1215, chapter 56, 2025 Laws), so an older printed copy may differ from the current statute.
Who can't be a witness in Washington?
Under RCW 70.122.030, a witness to a health care directive can't be:
- related to your parent by blood or marriage;
- entitled to any part of your parent's estate under a will or by law;
- your parent's attending physician, or an employee of the attending physician;
- an employee of a health facility where your parent is a patient;
- anyone with a claim against your parent's estate.
That rules out family as witnesses. A notary avoids the witness rules altogether.
How do you name a health care agent in Washington?
Through a power of attorney that expressly grants health care authority. Washington doesn't have a separate health care power of attorney statute; the agent is appointed under RCW 11.125, with the same signing rules as any power of attorney: a notary or two qualified witnesses who aren't relatives of your parent or the agent, or your parent's care providers.
An agent can make health care decisions only if the document expressly grants that power (RCW 11.125.240). Under RCW 11.125.400, your parent's physicians and their employees, and the owners, administrators and employees of a health care or long-term care facility where your parent lives or receives care, can't serve unless they're your parent's spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, adult child or sibling.
One more detail matters here: a Washington power of attorney ends when your parent becomes incapacitated unless it contains durability wording. Our Washington power of attorney guide explains the wording.
What is a POLST form?
A POLST, or Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, is a "physician order form that describes the patient's care directions," according to the Washington State Department of Health. It summarizes wishes identified in a health care directive or durable power of attorney for health care, and it's "intended to go with the patient from one healthcare setting to another." Your parent's doctor can explain whether one fits their situation.
What happens if your parent has no advance directive?
If your parent can't decide and hasn't named an agent, RCW 7.70.065 sets who can give informed consent, in this order:
- a court-appointed guardian;
- an agent under a durable power of attorney that covers health care;
- your parent's spouse or registered domestic partner;
- adult children;
- parents;
- adult brothers and sisters;
- adult grandchildren who are familiar with your parent;
- adult nieces and nephews who are familiar with your parent;
- adult aunts and uncles who are familiar with your parent;
- a close friend who meets the statute's conditions and signs a declaration.
If two or more people in the same group are available, the decision must be unanimous; otherwise no one in that group can consent. That's worth knowing in a family where several adult children would share the decision.
How do you revoke a Washington advance directive?
Under RCW 70.122.040, your parent can revoke a health care directive "at any time" and "without regard to the declarer's mental state or competency," by:
- destroying it, or having someone else do so in their presence and at their direction;
- a signed, dated written revocation;
- saying they want to revoke it.
A written or spoken revocation takes effect only when it's communicated to the attending physician, by your parent or someone acting for them. If your parent becomes comatose or can't communicate with the attending physician, the statute says "the directive shall remain in effect" for the duration of that condition.
A health care power of attorney is revoked the way any Washington power of attorney is; see the Washington power of attorney guide.
What questions are worth asking before your parent signs?
These five cover the choices Washington's statutes leave to your parent:
- Does your parent want both documents: a directive for their wishes and a power of attorney for the decision-maker?
- Who would your parent trust to follow their wishes even when the family disagrees?
- Does the power of attorney expressly grant health care authority and contain durability wording?
- Notary or two witnesses: who is available and eligible?
- Has a copy gone to your parent's doctor for their medical records?
Frequently asked questions
Does a health care directive need to be notarized in Washington?
No, but it's one of two options. Under RCW 70.122.030, a Washington health care directive can be acknowledged before a notary or signed in front of two qualified witnesses who aren't related to your parent, aren't heirs, and aren't the attending physician or health facility staff. A notary avoids the witness rules.
Can a family member witness a health care directive in Washington?
No. RCW 70.122.030 bars witnesses related to your parent by blood or marriage, and anyone entitled to part of your parent's estate. The attending physician, the physician's employees and employees of a health facility where your parent is a patient can't witness either. A family member can still be named as the health care agent.
Where can I get a Washington health care directive form?
A model form is printed in the statute itself, RCW 70.122.030, and using it is optional; the directive may also include other specific directions. An attorney can prepare one for your parent's situation. Whatever form your parent uses, it needs a notary or two qualified witnesses to be valid.
Is a living will the same as a health care directive in Washington?
Yes. Washington's statute calls it a health care directive, and the Attorney General's Office notes it's "sometimes called a Living Will." It states wishes about life-sustaining treatment in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition. It doesn't name a decision-maker; that takes a durable power of attorney that expressly grants health care authority.
Is an advance directive from another state valid in Washington?
A directive signed in another state "is valid to the extent permitted by Washington state law and federal constitutional law," under RCW 70.122.030. A health care power of attorney from another state is valid if it met the governing state's law when signed. If your parent splits time between states, an attorney can confirm what covers both.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. Your parent can revoke a Washington health care directive at any time, regardless of mental state, by destroying it, writing a signed and dated revocation, or saying so. A written or spoken revocation takes effect once it's communicated to the attending physician, so telling the doctor directly matters.
Getting started
An advance directive only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it, with a notary or eligible witnesses. 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
- RCW 70.122, Natural Death Act: legislative findings (70.122.010), definitions (70.122.020), signing, witnesses and the model form (70.122.030), and revocation (70.122.040).
- RCW 11.125, Uniform Power of Attorney Act: health care powers in a power of attorney (11.125.240, 11.125.400).
- RCW 7.70.065, Informed consent for persons without capacity: who decides when there's no agent.
- Washington Legislature, HB 1215 (2025): removing pregnancy references from the model directive form.
- Washington State Department of Health, POLST: what the POLST form is.
- Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Living wills: the health care directive and the durable power of attorney for health care.
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