Power of attorney in Louisiana: form, signing and powers

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

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Representation and Mandate

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: No

Words used in Louisiana

Louisiana uses civil-law terms. A power of attorney is a mandate or procuration, and the person you choose is your mandatary. Health care authority must be given expressly in the mandate, and end-of-life wishes go in a living will declaration. If an adult cannot care for themselves or their property and less restrictive means will not work, a court can order interdiction and appoint a curator.

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

Money and property: Mandate (a contract); procuration (a one-sided act giving authority); commonly called a power of attorney
The person you choose: Mandatary (in a procuration, the 'representative'); the person giving authority is the 'principal'
Health care: Mandate expressly authorizing health care decisions (often called a health care power of attorney)
Treatment wishes: Declaration concerning life-sustaining procedures (living will) under the Louisiana Natural Death Act
Court-appointed decision-maker: Interdiction (full, limited, temporary or preliminary); the court-appointed decision-maker is a curator, overseen by an undercurator; the person is an interdict

Law and official form

Law: Representation and Mandate
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: No

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2985-3032

Signing rules

How to sign: Louisiana law does not require a mandate to be in any particular form. But when the act the mandatary will perform must be in a certain form (for example, a sale or mortgage of immovable property, which must be in writing), the mandate authorizing it must be in that same form. Some powers must be given expressly.
Who signs: No particular form is required for a mandate itself. If the law requires a certain form for the act your mandatary will do, the mandate must be in that same form.
Notary: Not required
Witnesses: None required

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2993

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

Unless the parties agreed otherwise, a mandate and the mandatary's authority are not ended by the principal's incapacity, disability or other condition that makes an express revocation impossible or impractical.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 3026

Durable unless it says otherwise?

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

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission

Alienate (sell or give away), acquire, encumber (mortgage) or lease a thing
Make an inter vivos donation (gift), outright or to a trust or other custodial arrangement
Accept or renounce a succession (inheritance)
Contract a loan, acknowledge or forgive a debt, or become a surety
Draw or endorse promissory notes and negotiable instruments
Enter into a compromise or refer a matter to arbitration
Make health care decisions, such as surgery, medical expenses, nursing home residency and medication
Prevent or limit reasonable communication, visitation or interaction between the principal and close relatives or others with strong affection

No power of attorney can

A mandatary may not prevent or limit reasonable communication, visitation or interaction between a principal over 18 and another person without prior court approval for good cause, unless the mandate expressly allows it. A mandatary may not contract with himself or herself on the principal's behalf unless authorized or merely fulfilling a duty to the principal.

Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2995; art. 2998

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2996, 2997

Agent duties, pay and court review

Agent duties

Fulfill the mandate with prudence and diligence
Provide information and render an account when asked or when circumstances require, and notify the principal when the mandate is fulfilled
Deliver to the principal everything received under the mandate
Pay interest on the principal's money used for the mandatary's own purposes
Perform the mandate personally unless a substitute is allowed
Account for performance when the mandate ends, unless expressly excused

Agent pay

A mandate is gratuitous (unpaid) unless the parties agree otherwise. The principal must reimburse the mandatary's expenses and pay any remuneration the mandatary is entitled to.

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2992, 3012

Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3001, 3003-3006, 3032

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in Louisiana

Official forms in Louisiana

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

Living will

Declaration (living will) - Louisiana Natural Death Act

Guardianship / conservatorship

What is Interdiction? (Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs, PDF)

Good to know in Louisiana

Louisiana does not use the Uniform Power of Attorney Act; powers of attorney are governed by the Civil Code articles on mandate, and the agent is called a mandatary.
Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 2985-3032
A mandate continues if you become incapacitated unless it says otherwise, but it ends when a curator qualifies after you are interdicted.
Law: La. Civ. Code arts. 3024, 3026
Health care decisions and limiting a person's visits or contact with close relatives are among the powers that must be given expressly.
Law: La. Civ. Code art. 2997
Supported decisionmaking agreements must be made by authentic act - before a notary and two witnesses.
Law: La. R.S. 13:4261.205

Changes in 2024–2026

Acts 2025, No. 488 amended Civil Code art. 3025 with a wording change ('third party' to 'third person'). Acts 2025, No. 342 amended La. R.S. 40:1151.1 (living will definitions). No other 2024-2026 changes were found in the mandate, interdiction or supported decisionmaking provisions read.

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

What is a power of attorney called in Louisiana?

Mandate (a contract); procuration (a one-sided act giving authority); commonly called a power of attorney. Louisiana uses civil-law terms. A power of attorney is a mandate or procuration, and the person you choose is your mandatary. Health care authority must be given expressly in the mandate, and end-of-life wishes go in a living will declaration. If an adult cannot care for themselves or their property and less restrictive means will not work, a court can order interdiction and appoint a curator.

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

Louisiana law does not require a mandate to be in any particular form. But when the act the mandatary will perform must be in a certain form (for example, a sale or mortgage of immovable property, which must be in writing), the mandate authorizing it must be in that same form.