Family · Power of attorney

Power of Attorney Requirements by State: Notary and Witnesses

What each state requires to sign a valid durable financial power of attorney: notarization, how many witnesses, the statutory form, and whether it stays in effect if you become incapacitated. Each cited to the statute.

10 of 50 states so far, starting with the largest. Every state recognizes a financial power of attorney, but the signing rules, from notarization to the number of witnesses, differ a lot.A power signed the wrong way can be refused by a bank when you need it most, so the execution details matter. Every page links to the statute.

Read this first: signing it right, and making it durable

A financial power of attorney lets someone you name, your agent, act for you on money and property. To be valid it has to be signed the way your state requires, and that is where states differ most: some need only a notary, others require a notary and two witnesses. Sign it the wrong way and a bank or title company can refuse it.

The second thing that matters is durability. A power of attorney is most useful if it keeps working after you lose the ability to manage your own affairs, but in many states it only stays effective if it says so in the right words. These pages cover the financial power of attorney, which is separate from a health-care proxy or living will. Every figure links to the statute, and pages still pending verification say so.

Every state in one table

The core signing rule, whether it is durable, and the statute in each row.

All states (10)

State	To sign a valid POA	Signing rule	Statute
California	Notary or two witnesses	Notary or 2 witnesses	Cal. Prob. Code §§ 4121
Florida	Notary and two witnesses	Notary + 2 witnesses	Fla. Stat. §§ 709.2105
Georgia	One witness and a notary	1 witness plus 1 notary, both	O.C.G.A. § 10‑6B‑5
Illinois	Notary and one witness	Notary + 1 witness	755 ILCS 45/3‑3
Michigan	Notary or two witnesses	Notary or 2 witnesses for durability	Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205
New York	Notary and two witnesses	Notary + 2 witnesses	N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5‑1501B
North Carolina	Notary, no witnesses	Notary required, no witnesses	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32C‑1‑105
Ohio	Signature only	No notary or witnesses required	Ohio Rev. Code § 1337.25
Pennsylvania	Notary and two witnesses	Notary + 2 witnesses	20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5601
Texas	Notary, no witnesses	Notarization required	Tex. Est. Code § 751.0021

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for how to sign a valid power of attorney and the special rules that apply. They are deliberately not advice for your case: the execution rules and the powers you can grant turn on the exact statute and your situation, so each page links to the statute and a way to find an estate-planning attorney. This is legal information, not legal advice.