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Iowa Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions

The agent makes health care decisions when the principal cannot make them, following expressed wishes or best interests.

Jurisdiction
Iowa
Purpose
Medical & health care
Source / form version
Undated form; linked by Iowa Legal Aid’s August 20, 2025 guide
Resource format
PDF
Signing
Sign before a notarial officer, or use two eligible adult witnesses in the required presence. At least one witness must be unrelated within the statutory degree.
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Sources checked: 2026-11-13. General information, not individual legal advice.

Name the decision maker and a backup

Iowa Legal Aid links a three-page health care appointment. It authorizes an agent to consent to, refuse or withdraw consent for care when you cannot decide. Discuss the role before naming someone. An alternate gives providers another named person to contact if the first choice cannot serve.

Sources: [2] [3]

Check witness qualifications in advance

For a witnessed signing, Iowa Code 144B.3 excludes your attending provider, that provider’s employees, the appointed agent and anyone under eighteen. At least one witness cannot be related within the third degree by blood, marriage or adoption. The law also allows a notarial acknowledgment instead of the two-witness method.

Sources: [2] [3]

Explain preferences and distribute copies

Use the form’s directions area for treatment preferences the agent should know. The living will has a different, more limited function and does not itself appoint a decision maker for other health care questions. Give signed copies to the agent and treating providers, and tell them when an appointment is changed or revoked. Keep a list of the providers who receive copies so later changes can reach the same people. Revisit the choice when the intended agent becomes unavailable.

Sources: [2] [3]

Common questions

Can my spouse be my agent?

A spouse may be selected, but marriage alone is not a substitute for naming the intended agent in the document.

Sources: [2] [3]

Does a living will replace this appointment?

No. A living will focuses on life-sustaining procedures. The health care power appoints a person for broader health care decisions.

Sources: [2] [3]

Related forms and guides

Sources and verification

  1. Iowa Legal Aid: source and instructions (opens in a new tab)
  2. Published form (opens in a new tab)
  3. Iowa Code §144B.3, execution and witnesses (opens in a new tab)

Printable 3-page PDF downloaded and inspected. It is an older undated document linked by the current Legal Aid guide; no claim of a 2025 or 2026 form revision.

The date above records a source check. It does not certify that a form is suitable for your circumstances or that an attorney has reviewed your document. Read the publisher’s current instructions before use.