Power of attorney in Colorado: form, signing and powers

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

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Uniform Power of Attorney Act

Official form: State of Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney, with optional Agent's Certification
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 Colorado

In Colorado you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an agent for health care in a medical durable power of attorney. A separate declaration (living will) covers life-sustaining treatment if you are terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state. If an adult cannot manage and less restrictive means will not work, a court can appoint a guardian for personal decisions and a conservator for property.

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; Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney
The person you choose: Agent (the law also accepts 'attorney-in-fact')
Health care: Medical durable power of attorney
Treatment wishes: Declaration as to medical treatment (living will) under the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act
Court-appointed decision-maker: Guardian (personal and health decisions) and conservator (money and property), each limited or unlimited; emergency guardian

Law and official form

Law: Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes (effective January 1, 2010 (HB 09-1198))
Official form: State of Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney (C.R.S. 15-14-741), with optional Agent's Certification (C.R.S. 15-14-742)Published by Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services
You do not have to use it.
You do not have to use this form. The statutory form says it does not give the agent authority to make health care decisions.

Law: C.R.S. § 15-14-701 et seq; C.R.S. §§ 15-14-741, 15-14-742

Signing rules

How to sign

Sign the power of attorney. Colorado law does not require witnesses or a notary for it to be valid. If you acknowledge your signature before a notary, the signature is presumed genuine, and the rules that require banks and others to accept a power of attorney apply only to an acknowledged (notarized) one.

Who signs

Signed by you, or in your conscious presence by another person you direct to sign your name.

Notary

Not required

Witnesses

None required

Agent's acknowledgment

No signed acceptance is required. An agent accepts by acting as agent or by other conduct showing acceptance.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-713

Electronic signing

A power of attorney can be a 'record' and can be 'signed' electronically under the Act's definitions; a photocopy or electronically sent copy has the same effect as the original, though a third party may ask for the original.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-702(7), (11), (12), 15-14-706(4), 15-14-744

Law: C.R.S. §§ 15-14-705, 15-14-706, 15-14-719, 15-14-720

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

A power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2010, is durable unless it expressly says it ends if you become incapacitated.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-704

Durable unless it says otherwise?

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

Starting later (springing)

A power of attorney takes effect when signed unless it says it starts at a future date or event. You can name one or more people to decide in writing that the event has happened. If it starts on your incapacity and no one you named can decide, a physician or licensed psychologist can determine incapacity in writing (or an attorney, judge or government official if you are missing, detained or unable to return to the U.S.).

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-709

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission

Create, amend, revoke or end a living trust
Make a gift
Create or change rights of survivorship
Create or change a beneficiary designation
Delegate authority under the power of attorney
Waive your right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, including a retirement survivor benefit
Exercise fiduciary powers you can delegate, or name, remove or direct a fiduciary
Disclaim or release property or a power of appointment
Exercise a power of appointment (with limited exceptions)
Act for a partnership, LLC or other entity you do not solely own

No power of attorney can

Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, an agent who is not your ancestor, spouse or descendant cannot use it to give themselves (or someone they must support) an interest in your property. A power of attorney under this Act does not cover health care decisions.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-724(2); C.R.S. 15-14-703(1)(b)

Law: C.R.S. § 15-14-724(1)

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 and only within the authority you gave
Act loyally for your benefit and avoid conflicts of interest
Act with the care, competence and diligence agents ordinarily use
Keep a record of all receipts, payments and transactions
Cooperate with your health care decision-maker
Try to preserve your estate plan, if known and in your best interest

Agent pay

Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, the agent is entitled to repayment of reasonable expenses and to reasonable compensation.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-712

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 protective agency, your caregiver or another interested person, and a person asked to accept the power can ask a court to interpret it or review the agent's conduct. The court must dismiss the petition at your request unless it finds you lack capacity to revoke. An agent must disclose transactions within 30 days (plus 30 more if explained) when asked by you, a guardian, conservator, protective agency or, after death, your personal representative.

Law: C.R.S. 15-14-716; C.R.S. 15-14-714(8)

Law: C.R.S. § 15-14-714

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in Colorado

Official forms in Colorado

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

Financial power of attorney

State of Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney (C.R.S. 15-14-741), with optional Agent's Certification (C.R.S. 15-14-742) · Published by Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services

Good to know in Colorado

A Colorado financial power of attorney does not need a notary or witnesses to be valid, but banks' duty to accept it applies only to a notarized (acknowledged) one.
Law: C.R.S. 15-14-705, 15-14-719, 15-14-720
Filing for divorce or legal separation ends a spouse-agent's financial authority; for a medical agent, the divorce or separation itself revokes the appointment.
Law: C.R.S. 15-14-710(2)(c); C.R.S. 15-14-506(5)(c)
Colorado has no ranked family list for medical decisions: family and close friends must agree on one proxy decision-maker.
Law: C.R.S. 15-18.5-103
HB 26-1100 (2026) adds a Guardianship Bill of Rights for wards and a 30-day notice before a permanent move to a nursing home or restrictive facility.
Law: C.R.S. 15-14-103, 15-14-314(2)(h)

Changes in 2024–2026

HB 26-1100 (signed by the Governor May 29, 2026; Session Laws 2026, chapter 227; effective August 12, 2026): adds C.R.S. 15-14-103 Guardianship Bill of Rights (rights kept by the ward; decisions a court may give the guardian; the ward keeps the rights to vote, reproductive health and marital status unless the order restricts them) and 15-14-314(2)(h). HB 26-1040 (became law, 2026) changed sterilization rules for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act was introduced in 2024 and 2025 and was lost both times. No 2024-2026 bills found amending the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, the Patient Autonomy Act or the Medical Treatment Decision Act.

Law: SB 24-136; SB 25-134

Source: 30 days' notice to the ward before a permanent move to a restrictive facility

Free help in Colorado

Report abuse or exploitation

County department of human services Adult Protective Services (Colorado Department of Human Services)

Questions about powers of attorney in Colorado

What is a power of attorney called in Colorado?

Power of attorney; Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney. In Colorado you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an agent for health care in a medical durable power of attorney. A separate declaration (living will) covers life-sustaining treatment if you are terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state. If an adult cannot manage and less restrictive means will not work, a court can appoint a guardian for personal decisions and a conservator for property.

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

Is there an official power of attorney form in Colorado?

State of Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney, with optional Agent's Certification. You do not have to use it.