Arizona Advance Directive: The Complete 2026 Guide to Protecting Your Medical Wishes

Arizona Does Not Have a Single Advance Directive Form

Most states let you combine your healthcare proxy and treatment wishes into one document. Arizona does not. The state requires separate legal instruments for each function:

• Health Care Power of Attorney (A.R.S. § 36-3221) — appoints your medical decision-maker
• Living Will (A.R.S. § 36-3261) — documents your end-of-life treatment preferences
• Mental Health Care Power of Attorney (A.R.S. § 36-3282) — grants authority over psychiatric care decisions

Each document has its own execution rules, witness requirements, and scope of authority. Together they form what most people mean when they say "advance directive" in Arizona.

The Arizona Attorney General Life Care Planning Packet

The Arizona Attorney General's Office distributes a free Life Care Planning Packet containing blank statutory forms for all three documents, plus a Prehospital DNR form. The packet is available as a downloadable PDF from the AG's website.

What the packet does not include: step-by-step instructions on how to execute the forms correctly, guidance on choosing and briefing your agent, or information about registering your completed documents with the state. The AG's office explicitly states that it does not accept or store advance directives — that function belongs to Contexture's Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry.

Execution Rules All Three Documents Share

Every advance directive document in Arizona must be:

1. In writing
2. Dated
3. Signed by the principal (you)
4. Witnessed by a notary public OR at least one qualifying adult witness

The witness exclusion rules are identical across all three forms. A qualifying witness cannot be your named agent, cannot be a healthcare provider directly involved in your care, and must be at least 18 years old. If you use a single witness instead of a notary, that witness also cannot be related to you or entitled to inherit from your estate.

The Prehospital DNR — Arizona's Unique Orange Paper Rule

If you want emergency responders to honor a Do Not Resuscitate order outside a hospital, Arizona requires a Prehospital Medical Care Directive printed on orange paper. Under A.R.S. § 36-3251, EMS personnel cannot follow a DNR that appears on standard white paper — they are legally required to perform CPR regardless of what the document says.

The Prehospital DNR also requires a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant co-signature to be valid. It is a medical order, not just a personal directive.

Registering with the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry

After execution, submit copies of your documents to the AzHDR operated by Contexture. Registration requires completing a Consumer Registration Agreement (the signature must be notarized if you submit by mail or fax). Once registered, your documents are accessible electronically to any participating hospital or emergency department in Arizona, 24 hours a day.

You will receive a wallet card with your registry login and access code. Carry this in your wallet alongside your health insurance card.

How Often to Update

Review your advance directives every two to three years, or immediately after any major life change: new diagnosis, divorce, relocation, or change in who you trust to make decisions. To update registered documents, execute new forms, complete a new registration agreement, and check the box indicating you are replacing or revoking an existing document. AzHDR's system automatically identifies the most recently dated version as active.

Getting Started

The free AG forms give you blank templates, but the execution details — witness eligibility, registry submission, coordinating all three documents — are where families make costly mistakes. The Arizona Advance Directive & Living Will Kit provides plain-English checklists, a witness audit tool, and AzHDR submission instructions to ensure every document in your planning portfolio is legally binding and instantly accessible.

See more Arizona guides →