Health care directive in Louisiana: form, signing and who decides

The form, who can witness, who can be your agent and who decides if you have no directive in Louisiana.

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Mandate (power of attorney) expressly authorizing health care decisions; living will declaration

How to sign
Signed by you; the law sets no notary or witness rule
Who decides without a directive
Yes

The document and its form

Document
Mandate (power of attorney) expressly authorizing health care decisions; living will declaration
Living will

Declaration (living will) - Louisiana Natural Death Act

The living will is a separate document.

An adult can make a written declaration directing that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn if they have a terminal and irreversible condition. It must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, who must be competent adults not related to you by blood or marriage and not entitled to any part of your estate. After a terminal diagnosis you can also make an oral or nonverbal declaration before two witnesses. The statute contains an illustrative form, which may name another person to make the treatment decision.

Living will

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.1, 40:1151.2

Signing rules

How to sign

To give someone authority over your health care, your mandate must expressly say so. The Civil Code sets no particular form for the mandate itself. If you want the person to be able to make a declaration about life-sustaining procedures for you, the designation must be a written instrument signed by you in the presence of at least two witnesses.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); art. 2993; La. R.S. 40:1151.4(A)(2)(b)

Who signs

A mandate giving health care authority must say so expressly. No particular form is required by the Civil Code.

Notary
Not required
Who cannot witness

A written instrument in which you designate a person to make a life-sustaining-procedures declaration for you, if you become a qualified patient unable to communicate, must be signed in the presence of at least two witnesses. For the living will statute, a witness is a competent adult who is not related to you by blood or marriage and would not inherit any part of your estate.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); La. R.S. 40:1151.1(15), 40:1151.4(A)(2)(b)

Who can be your agent and what the agent can do

Decisions an agent cannot make

Health care decision authority must be given expressly. A mandatary acting under a mandate specifically authorizing health care decisions ranks third, after the patient and a court-appointed tutor or curator, among those who may consent to medical treatment.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997(6); La. R.S. 40:1159.4

Revoking and conflicting documents

Revoking your agent

You can terminate a mandate, including health care authority, at any time. The principal must notify third persons with whom the mandatary was authorized to deal.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3025, 3028

Revoking your instructions

You can revoke a living will declaration at any time, regardless of your mental state, by destroying it (or having it destroyed in your presence at your direction), by a signed and dated written revocation, or by an oral or nonverbal expression of intent to revoke. It takes effect when communicated to your attending physician. A registered declaration can also be revoked by filing a written notice of revocation with the Secretary of State.

Telling others

The attending physician must record the time and date notice of the revocation was received.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.3

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.3; La. Civ. Code arts. 3025, 3028

If you have no directive

Who decides without a directive

If you cannot consent for yourself, these people may consent to medical or surgical treatment, in this order of priority, if no one in a higher class is reasonably available, willing and competent. If a class has more than one person, a majority of those available decides. If no one is available, the attending physician may proceed after documenting the need and getting confirmation from another physician. A separate priority list applies to making a life-sustaining-procedures declaration for a qualified patient who never made one.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.4

  1. The judicially appointed tutor or curator, if any
  2. A mandatary under a valid mandate specifically authorizing health care decisions
  3. Spouse not judicially separated
  4. An adult child
  5. A parent
  6. A sibling
  7. Other ascendants or descendants
  8. An adult friend who has shown special care and concern, knows the patient's health care views, and signs the facility's acknowledgment form

Law: La. R.S. 40:1159.4

Other states, registry and medical orders

Signed in another state

A living will declaration properly executed in and under the laws of another state is valid in Louisiana.

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.9(D)

Registry

Living Will Declaration Registry (Louisiana Secretary of State)

Fee: $20 to register a declaration (you receive a wallet card and a 'Do Not Resuscitate' bracelet); $20 more for a certified copy; $5 to file a revocation

POLST (medical orders)

Louisiana Physician Order for Scope of Treatment (LaPOST)

Mental health directive

An adult who is not incapable can make an advance directive for behavioral health treatment, which can include instructions and name a representative. It is valid only if signed by you and two competent witnesses and accompanied by a written psychiatric examination by a physician or psychologist attesting to your ability to make reasoned decisions about behavioral health treatment. The treating physician or provider (or their relative), an owner or operator of the treatment facility where you are a patient (or their relative), and anyone related to you by blood, marriage or adoption cannot be witnesses. It lasts five years unless revoked.

Law: La. R.S. 28:221-28:224, 28:234

Law: La. R.S. 40:1151.2, 40:1151.3; La. R.S. 40:1155.1 and following

Free notice: revoke or change a health care directive

Names and addresses of people and facilities that should know. They go into your letter only.

Other formats

Sign the letter and keep a copy. This tool does not check whether your document is valid, and it is not legal advice.

Free help in Louisiana

Report abuse or exploitation

Louisiana Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs - Elderly Protective Services (age 60 and older) · 1-833-577-6532

Questions about powers of attorney in Louisiana

How do I sign a health care directive in Louisiana?

To give someone authority over your health care, your mandate must expressly say so. The Civil Code sets no particular form for the mandate itself. If you want the person to be able to make a declaration about life-sustaining procedures for you, the designation must be a written instrument signed by you in the presence of at least two witnesses.

Who decides my health care if I have no directive in Louisiana?

If you cannot consent for yourself, these people may consent to medical or surgical treatment, in this order of priority, if no one in a higher class is reasonably available, willing and competent. If a class has more than one person, a majority of those available decides.

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