Arizona Health Care Power of Attorney Form: Requirements and Registry

Arizona splits medical decision-making authority into three separate documents — not one. Each has different execution requirements, covers a different scope of decisions, and must be prepared independently. A generic "medical power of attorney" downloaded from a national website usually covers only one of the three.

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): Authorizes an agent to make psychiatric treatment decisions, including consenting to inpatient admission to a behavioral health facility and authorizing psychotropic medication over your objection during a crisis.

A standard healthcare POA cannot authorize psychiatric admission or override your objection to psychotropic drugs. If you only have the general healthcare POA and you develop Alzheimer's, your agent cannot authorize inpatient memory care over your refusal.

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:

• Emergency responders, hospitals, and physicians can access your directives 24/7
• If you're found unconscious, the ER can pull your healthcare POA and contact your designated agent
• If you have a medical emergency while traveling within Arizona, any hospital can verify your wishes

How to register:

1. Complete your healthcare directives
2. Make photocopies (do not submit originals)
3. Mail copies plus a completed registration agreement to the Arizona Secretary of State's office
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 does not. A single-document form that tries to cover all three may not comply with any of the three statutes.

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.

Forgetting the mental healthcare POA. Most Arizona residents execute a general healthcare POA and a living will but skip the mental healthcare directive. 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 all three Arizona-specific medical directive forms with witnessing instructions, an agent briefing worksheet, and registry submission materials.

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