Power of attorney in the District of Columbia: form, signing and powers

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

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Uniform Power of Attorney Act

Official form: District of Columbia Statutory Power of Attorney Form
How to sign: Notarized
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 the District of Columbia

In the District you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an attorney in fact for medical decisions in a separate durable power of attorney for health care. A Natural Death Act declaration is a separate document about life-sustaining procedures in a terminal condition. If an adult is incapacitated and has no documents, the Probate Division of D.C. Superior Court can appoint a guardian or conservator in an intervention proceeding.

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; statutory power of attorney form
The person you choose: Agent (the act also covers an 'attorney-in-fact')
Health care: Durable power of attorney for health care (the person you name is your 'attorney in fact')
Treatment wishes: Declaration under the Natural Death Act (directing that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition)
Court-appointed decision-maker: Guardian (general, limited, temporary, emergency or health-care guardian) and conservator, appointed in an 'intervention proceeding'

Law and official form

Law: Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes (effective February 23, 2023)
Official form: District of Columbia Statutory Power of Attorney Form (with Agent's Certification form in § 21-2603.02)Published by Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Law Library
You do not have to use it.
Optional: a document 'substantially in the following form' may be used. The form ends with a notary acknowledgment block. If the agent may sell or encumber real property, the extra notice in § 21-2603.03 must appear at the top of the first page.

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.01; D.C. Law 24-236, § 2(d), 69 DCR 14660; D.C. Code §§ 21-2603.01 to 21-2603.03

Signing rules

How to sign: A power of attorney made under the District's act is not valid unless you acknowledge it before a notary public (or another official authorized to take acknowledgments). No witnesses are required by the act. If the power of attorney lets your agent sell or convey real property, it must be signed like a deed, carry the statutory real estate notice on the top of the first page, and be recorded with or before the deed.
Who signs: Signed by you, or by another person you direct to sign your name in your conscious presence.
Notary: Required
Witnesses: None required

Law: D.C. Code §§ 21-2601.05, 21-2603.03

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

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

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.04

Durable unless it says otherwise?

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

Starting later (springing)

A power of attorney is effective when signed unless it says it starts on a future date or event. You can name a person to decide in writing that the event has happened. If it starts on incapacity and you named no one, a physician can determine in writing that you are incapacitated.

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.09

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission

Create, amend, revoke or end a living (inter vivos) trust
Make a gift
Create or change rights of survivorship
Create or change a beneficiary designation
Delegate the agent's authority
Waive your right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, including a retirement plan survivor benefit
Exercise fiduciary powers you are allowed to delegate
Disclaim property, including a power of appointment

No power of attorney can

The statutory form states that it does not let the agent make health care decisions for you.

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2603.01

Agent duties, pay and court review

Agent duties

Act according to your reasonable expectations they actually know, and otherwise in your best interest
Act in good faith
Act only within the authority you gave
Unless the document says otherwise: act loyally for your benefit, avoid conflicts of interest, use ordinary care, competence and diligence, keep a record of all receipts, payments and transactions, cooperate with your health care decision-maker, and try to preserve your estate plan
Show records within 30 days when asked by you, your guardian or conservator, a government agency protecting you, or after your death your personal representative

Agent pay

Unless the document says otherwise, an individual agent gets repayment of reasonable expenses but no compensation; a bank, trust company or similar institutional fiduciary gets expenses and reasonable compensation.

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.12

Asking a court to review an agent

You, the agent, your guardian or conservator, your health care decision-maker, your spouse, parent or descendant, a presumptive heir, a beneficiary, a government agency protecting you, a caregiver or other interested person, and a person asked to accept the power of attorney can ask the court to interpret it or review the agent's conduct. If you ask, the court must dismiss the petition unless it finds you lack capacity to revoke the agent's authority.

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.16

Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.14

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in the District of Columbia

Official forms in the District of Columbia

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

Financial power of attorney

District of Columbia Statutory Power of Attorney Form (with Agent's Certification form in § 21-2603.02) · Published by Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Law Library

Health care directive

Durable power of attorney for health care (sample form in D.C. Code § 21-2207) · Published by Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Law Library · Version: Statutory sample form; any written form meeting § 21-2205 may be used

Living will

Declaration (Natural Death Act)

Guardianship / conservatorship

Good to know in the District of Columbia

A District power of attorney is not valid unless it is notarized (acknowledged).
Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.05(b)
Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, an individual agent in the District is not paid, only reimbursed for expenses.
Law: D.C. Code § 21-2601.12
The default decision-maker list includes a religious superior and a close friend, and a witness must be present when a family member or friend gives or refuses consent.
Law: D.C. Code § 21-2210
Incapacity for health care decisions must be certified by two professionals, one a physician and one a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Law: D.C. Code § 21-2204

Free help in the District of Columbia

Report abuse or exploitation

Adult Protective Services, D.C. Department of Aging and Community Living (24-hour hotline) · 202-541-3950

Questions about powers of attorney in the District of Columbia

What is a power of attorney called in the District of Columbia?

Power of attorney; statutory power of attorney form. In the District you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and an attorney in fact for medical decisions in a separate durable power of attorney for health care. A Natural Death Act declaration is a separate document about life-sustaining procedures in a terminal condition. If an adult is incapacitated and has no documents, the Probate Division of D.C. Superior Court can appoint a guardian or conservator in an intervention proceeding.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in the District of Columbia?

A power of attorney made under the District's act is not valid unless you acknowledge it before a notary public (or another official authorized to take acknowledgments). No witnesses are required by the act. If the power of attorney lets your agent sell or convey real property, it must be signed like a deed, carry the statutory real estate notice on the top of the first page, and be recorded with or before the deed.

Is there an official power of attorney form in the District of Columbia?

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