Arizona Health Care Power of Attorney Form: Requirements and Registry

Arizona uses distinct healthcare instruments for general medical decisions, end-of-life instructions, and mental-health-specific authority. Each covers a different scope of decisions, and a generic "medical power of attorney" downloaded from a national website may cover only one of them.

The Three Arizona Medical Directives

1. Healthcare Power of Attorney (A.R.S. § 36-3221): Appoints an agent to make general medical decisions — choosing doctors, consenting to surgery, approving treatment plans, accessing medical records.

2. Living Will (A.R.S. § 36-3261): Directs the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (ventilators, feeding tubes, cardiac resuscitation) when you're terminally ill or permanently unconscious. This is not a power of attorney — it's your direct instruction to medical providers.

3. Mental Healthcare Power of Attorney (A.R.S. § 36-3281): Addresses mental-health-specific authority, including inpatient admission and psychotropic medication over your objection during a crisis when the appropriate document expressly grants that authority.

A standard Healthcare POA does not by itself include the express authority needed for inpatient psychiatric admission or psychotropic medication over your objection. Without an appropriate document expressly granting that authority, your family may need to petition for a mental health guardianship.

Signing Requirements for Each Form

All three documents require:

• Your signature (the principal)
• Date
• Either notarization OR one competent adult witness

The witness or notary cannot be:

• Your designated healthcare agent
• Related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption
• Your healthcare provider or an employee of your healthcare provider

Unlike a financial power of attorney (which requires both a notary and a witness), healthcare directives need only one or the other. Most people notarize anyway — it prevents disputes about witness competency.

Choosing Your Healthcare Agent

Your healthcare agent should be:

• Someone who will follow your wishes even under family pressure
• Geographically available (or able to respond quickly by phone — Arizona hospitals accept telephonic authorization)
• Emotionally capable of making difficult end-of-life decisions
• Not your doctor or a member of your treatment team

Name a backup (successor agent) in case your primary agent is unavailable, unwilling, or has predeceased you.

The Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR)

Arizona operates a free electronic registry where you can file copies of your healthcare directives. Once registered:

• Medical providers, hospitals, and first responders can access your directives during an emergency
• If you're found unconscious, providers can retrieve the registered directives and contact your designated agent
• If you have a medical emergency while traveling within Arizona, participating providers can check the registry

How to register:

1. Complete your healthcare directives
2. Make photocopies (do not submit originals)
3. Submit copies plus a completed registration agreement to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR) using its current instructions
4. Registration is free

The registry doesn't replace keeping original documents accessible — give copies to your agent, your primary care physician, and any hospital where you regularly receive care.

Common Form Mistakes

Using a combined form from another state. Many states allow one document to cover general medical, mental health, and end-of-life decisions. Arizona uses distinct instruments for these scopes. A single-document form that tries to cover all three may not comply with the applicable Arizona requirements.

Having your spouse witness when they're also your agent. If you name your spouse as your healthcare agent, they cannot also be the witness. Use a neighbor or friend.

Not specifying the scope of authority. A vague healthcare POA ("my agent can make all medical decisions") works but is weaker than one that specifically addresses: access to medical records, authority to move you between facilities, authority to consent to experimental treatment, and authority to authorize DNR orders.

Failing to address mental-health-specific authority. Many people execute a general healthcare POA and a living will but do not expressly grant the needed mental-health authority. This leaves a gap that only becomes apparent during a dementia or psychiatric crisis — exactly when it's too late to fix.

The Arizona Basic Estate Planning Kit includes the Arizona-specific medical directive forms with witnessing instructions, an agent briefing worksheet, and registry submission materials.

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