Power of attorney in North Dakota: form, signing and powers

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

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act

Official form
General Durable Power of Attorney
How to sign
Signed by you; the law requires no notary or witnesses
Durable unless it says otherwise?
No: it continues after incapacity only if it says so.
Uniform Power of Attorney Act
No

Words used in North Dakota

In North Dakota you name an attorney in fact for money and property in a durable power of attorney, and a health care agent and your treatment instructions in a health care directive. If you have no directive, the law lists who may consent to health care for you. If an adult is incapacitated and no alternative resource plan will work, a district court can appoint a guardian; a conservator manages 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
Durable power of attorney
The person you choose
Attorney in fact
Health care
Health care directive (can include a power of attorney for health care naming a health care agent)
Treatment wishes
Health care instructions (part of the health care directive)
Court-appointed decision-maker
Guardian of an incapacitated person (full or limited authority); emergency guardian; conservator for property

Law and official form

Law
Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act
Uniform Power of Attorney Act
No
Official form
General Durable Power of Attorney (ND Legal Self Help Center form, with instructions)Published by North Dakota Court System, Legal Self Help Center

You do not have to use it.

This is a court self-help form, not a form set by statute. Its instructions say the principal must sign and date it in the presence of a notary public or clerk of court. The form revision is 'Rev Nov 2025'.

Law: N.D.C.C. ch. 30.1-30

Signing rules

How to sign

North Dakota law requires a durable power of attorney to be in writing and to contain words showing it continues if you become disabled or incapacitated. The Century Code does not require a notary or witnesses for it to be valid. To record a power of attorney with the county recorder (for example, for real estate), your signature must be acknowledged before a notary. The court system's self-help power of attorney form is signed in front of a notary public or clerk of court.

Who signs

A written power of attorney signed by you (the principal).

Notary
Not required
Witnesses
None required

Law: N.D.C.C. §§ 30.1-30-01, 3-02-06, 47-19-03

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

A power of attorney is durable only if it contains words such as 'This power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal or by lapse of time' or 'This power of attorney becomes effective upon the disability or incapacity of the principal', or similar words showing that intent.

Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-01

Durable unless it says otherwise?
No: it continues after incapacity only if it says so.
Starting later (springing)

A durable power of attorney can say it 'becomes effective upon the disability or incapacity of the principal'. The attorney in fact's affidavit that the power has not ended is conclusive proof for people who rely on it in good faith.

Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-01; N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-05

Agent duties, pay and court review

Asking a court to review an agent

If a conservator or guardian of your estate is appointed, the attorney in fact must account to them as well as to you.

Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-03

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in North Dakota

Official forms in North Dakota

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

Financial power of attorney

Health care directive

Guardianship / conservatorship

Good to know in North Dakota

  • North Dakota still uses the older Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act: a power of attorney is durable only if it says so.

    Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-01

  • If a power of attorney gives the attorney in fact full power over your affairs, the attorney in fact may make gifts in any amount unless the document limits that.

    Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-30-06

  • Witnesses and the notary for a health care directive cannot be your relatives, heirs, creditors or attending physician.

    Law: N.D.C.C. 23-06.5-05

  • Adult guardianship orders last up to five years and must be reviewed before renewal.

    Law: N.D.C.C. 30.1-28-04(5)

Changes in 2024–2026

Session Laws 2025, chapter 318 repealed N.D.C.C. 30.1-26-01 (guardianship definitions) and amended chapter 30.1-28; the definition of 'incapacitated person' is in N.D.C.C. 30.1-01-06(25).

Free help in North Dakota

Report abuse or exploitation

North Dakota Health and Human Services - Vulnerable Adult Protective Services · 1-855-462-5465

Questions about powers of attorney in North Dakota

What is a power of attorney called in North Dakota?

Durable power of attorney. In North Dakota you name an attorney in fact for money and property in a durable power of attorney, and a health care agent and your treatment instructions in a health care directive. If you have no directive, the law lists who may consent to health care for you. If an adult is incapacitated and no alternative resource plan will work, a district court can appoint a guardian; a conservator manages property.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in North Dakota?

North Dakota law requires a durable power of attorney to be in writing and to contain words showing it continues if you become disabled or incapacitated. The Century Code does not require a notary or witnesses for it to be valid.

Is there an official power of attorney form in North Dakota?

General Durable Power of Attorney. You do not have to use it.

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