Power of attorney in Arkansas: form, signing and powers

The form, the signing rules, durable or not, and what an agent can do in Arkansas, from Arkansas law.

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Uniform Power of Attorney Act

Official form: Arkansas Statutory Form Power of Attorney
How to sign: Signed by you; the law requires no notary or witnesses
Durable unless it says otherwise?: Yes: it continues if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise.
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes

Words used in Arkansas

In Arkansas you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an agent for medical decisions in a durable power of attorney for health care; treatment wishes can go in a living will. If you have no agent, a health care provider can identify a surrogate. If an adult cannot manage, a circuit court can appoint a guardian.

An agent (also called an attorney-in-fact) is the person you choose to act for you. You are the principal.

Money and property: Power of attorney; Arkansas statutory form power of attorney
The person you choose: Agent (attorney in fact)
Health care: Durable power of attorney for health care (an advance directive under the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act)
Treatment wishes: Living will / declaration under the Arkansas Rights of the Terminally Ill or Permanently Unconscious Act
Court-appointed decision-maker: Guardian of the person, guardian of the estate, or both; limited guardian; emergency and temporary guardian; 'ward' for the person under guardianship

Law and official form

Law: Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes (effective January 1, 2012)
Official form: Arkansas Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Ark. Code 28-68-301)Published by Arkansas General Assembly - form text as enacted in Act 804 of 2021 (Bureau of Legislative Research act PDF)
You do not have to use it.
You do not have to use this form. It includes a notary acknowledgment block. Under Ark. Code 28-68-120, the duty of businesses to accept a power of attorney applies to an acknowledged statutory form power of attorney (or a military power of attorney).

Law: Act 805 of 2011 (S.B. 887); Ark. Code 28-68-106; Ark. Code 28-68-301 (as amended by Act 804 of 2021)

Signing rules

How to sign

You must sign the power of attorney (or have someone sign for you in your presence at your direction). The Act does not require a notary or witnesses, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine. A power of attorney used to convey or affect real estate must be acknowledged and recorded with the deed.

Who signs

Signed by you, or by another person who signs your name in your conscious presence at your direction.

Notary

Not required

Witnesses

None required

Agent's acknowledgment

No separate acceptance form is required; an agent accepts by acting or by other conduct showing acceptance.

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-113

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-105, 18-12-501

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

A power of attorney created under the Act is durable unless it expressly says it ends when you become incapacitated.

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-104

Durable unless it says otherwise?

Yes: it continues if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise.

Starting later (springing)

It can start on a future date or event. If it starts on your incapacity and you named no one to decide, it starts when a physician or licensed psychologist determines in writing that you are incapacitated (or an attorney, judge or appropriate government official, if you are missing, detained or outside the U.S.).

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-109

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission: Create, amend, revoke or terminate an inter vivos trust
Make a gift
Create or change rights of survivorship
Create or change a beneficiary designation
Delegate authority granted under the power of attorney
Waive your right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, including a survivor benefit under a retirement plan
Exercise fiduciary powers that you have authority to delegate
Unless the document says otherwise, an agent who is not your ancestor, spouse or descendant may not use these powers to create an interest in your property for the agent or someone the agent must support

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-201 (Act 805 of 2011

Agent duties, pay and court review

Agent duties

Act in line with your reasonable expectations as far as the agent knows them, and otherwise in your best interest
Act in good faith
Act only within the authority the document gives
Act loyally for your benefit and avoid conflicts of interest
Act with care, competence and diligence
Keep a record of all receipts, payments and transactions
Cooperate with your health care decision-maker
Try to preserve your estate plan if the agent knows it and it is in your best interest

Agent pay

Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, the agent is entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses and to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances.

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-112

Asking a court to review an agent

You, your agent, a guardian or conservator, your health care decision-maker, your spouse, parent or descendant, a presumptive heir, a beneficiary, a government agency that protects your welfare, your caregiver or another interested person, or a person asked to accept the power of attorney may petition a court to construe it or review the agent's conduct.

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-116

Law: Ark. Code 28-68-114

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in Arkansas

Official forms in Arkansas

Forms published by the state or its courts. You open them on the official site.

Financial power of attorney

Arkansas Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Ark. Code 28-68-301) · Published by Arkansas General Assembly - form text as enacted in Act 804 of 2021 (Bureau of Legislative Research act PDF)

Health care directive

Appointment of Health Care Agent Form (adopted by the Arkansas State Board of Health) · Published by Arkansas Department of Health / State Board of Health · Version: Forms adopted by the Board of Health on October 24, 2013 under Act 1264 of 2013 (before the 2017 amendments in Act 974)

Living will

Declaration (living will) under the Arkansas Rights of the Terminally Ill or Permanently Unconscious Act

Good to know in Arkansas

Arkansas's duty for businesses to accept a power of attorney applies to an acknowledged statutory form power of attorney (or a military one), not to every power of attorney.
Law: Ark. Code 28-68-120
A recorded real-estate power of attorney is revoked only by an acknowledged written revocation filed for record in the county where it was meant to operate.
Law: Ark. Code 18-12-502, Act 356 of 2021
Arkansas lets your health care provider identify a surrogate when you have no agent or guardian, following a preference list that ends with any adult who has shown special care and concern.
Law: Ark. Code 20-6-105
Since 2025, guardianship requires clear and convincing evidence, and an ex parte emergency guardianship lasts no more than 14 days.
Law: Act 713 of 2025

Changes in 2024–2026

Act 713 of 2025: guardianship changes - definitions including emergency guardianship (up to 14 days), clear and convincing evidence standard for appointment, notice and due-process rights, and emergency/temporary guardianship procedures. Act 202 of 2025: a health care surrogate's authority to apply for public benefits and obtain financial records requires a written designation that is notarized or signed by two non-family witnesses. Act 49 of 2023 first gave surrogates that benefits authority.

Law: H.B. 1838, approved April 16, 2025; Ark. Code 28-65-101, 28-65-210, 28-65-213, 28-65-218 and others; S.B. 178; Ark. Code 20-6-106(d); S.B. 74; H.B. 1448; Act 326 of 2023 modernized probate procedure, including some guardianship sections

Free help in Arkansas

Report abuse or exploitation

Arkansas Department of Human Services - Adult Maltreatment Hotline (Adult Protective Services) · 1-800-482-8049

Questions about powers of attorney in Arkansas

What is a power of attorney called in Arkansas?

Power of attorney; Arkansas statutory form power of attorney. In Arkansas you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an agent for medical decisions in a durable power of attorney for health care; treatment wishes can go in a living will. If you have no agent, a health care provider can identify a surrogate. If an adult cannot manage, a circuit court can appoint a guardian.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in Arkansas?

Is there an official power of attorney form in Arkansas?

Arkansas Statutory Form Power of Attorney. You do not have to use it.