Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Louisiana calls this instrument Not a UHCDA state: two separate instruments: (1) a ‘Declaration’ (living will) under the Life-Sustaining Procedures Act, La. R.S. 40:1151 et seq.; (2) a health care power of attorney, which in Louisiana is a Civil Code ‘mandate’ with express health-care authority under art. 2997.. Witnesses needed to execute it: TWO DIFFERENT REGIMES: the Declaration requires 2 witnesses (R.S. 40:1151.2); the Civil Code health-care mandate/POA requires NONE: ‘the contract of mandate is not required to be in any particular form’ (art. 2993).. What the state requires: Declaration: 2 witnesses, no notary-in-lieu option. Health-care mandate/POA: neither witnesses nor notary statutorily required (though notarization is common practice for an authentic, self-proving act).. Getting the execution formalities wrong is the most common way a directive fails when it is needed.
The execution box
| What the state calls it | Not a UHCDA state: two separate instruments: (1) a ‘Declaration’ (living will) under the Life-Sustaining Procedures Act, La. R.S. 40:1151 et seq.; (2) a health care power of attorney, which in Louisiana is a Civil Code ‘mandate’ with express health-care authority under art. 2997. |
|---|---|
| Witnesses required | TWO DIFFERENT REGIMES: the Declaration requires 2 witnesses (R.S. 40:1151.2); the Civil Code health-care mandate/POA requires NONE: ‘the contract of mandate is not required to be in any particular form’ (art. 2993). |
| Witnesses or notary? | Declaration: 2 witnesses, no notary-in-lieu option. Health-care mandate/POA: neither witnesses nor notary statutorily required (though notarization is common practice for an authentic, self-proving act). |
| Who may NOT witness | For the declaration (R.S. 40:1151.1): a witness must be a competent adult not related to the declarant by blood or marriage and not entitled to any portion of the declarant’s estate. No facility-employee or provider carve-out was found. For the Civil Code mandate, no witness requirement exists at all, so no disqualification rule applies. |
| If you are in a care facility | No special execution rule for patients in a hospital/facility at signing was found in R.S. 40:1151.1/.2/.4/.6. R.S. 40:1151.6 imposes a post-execution transfer duty if a provider’s policy precludes honoring the declaration, but that is a treatment rule, not a signing rule. |
| Authority | La. R.S. 40:1151 et seq. (declaration); La. Civ. Code arts. 2989-2997 (mandate), specifically art. 2993 and art. 2997 |
What the statute says
“A written declaration shall be signed by the declarant in the presence of two witnesses.” (R.S. 40:1151.2). By contrast (Civ. Code art. 2993): “The contract of mandate is not required to be in any particular form.”
(La. R.S. 40:1151 et seq. (declaration); La. Civ. Code arts. 2989-2997 (mandate), specifically art. 2993 and art. 2997)
The form
Yes for the declaration: the Louisiana Secretary of State’s End of Life Registry Programs page offers a free downloadable Living Will Declaration Form. No official state-issued form exists for the separate Civil Code health-care mandate/POA (typically privately drafted).
Why the witness rules matter more than the wording
People spend their effort on what the directive says and almost none on how it is signed. A directive that expresses your wishes perfectly but was witnessed by someone the statute disqualifies may not be honoured. The disqualification lists exist because the people most likely to be in the room, family, the treating doctor, facility staff, are the people with an interest in the outcome.
Two practical consequences. Ask who is signing before the appointment, not during it. And if you are already in a hospital or care facility, check the facility rule row above: several states add a requirement that applies only to patients and residents, and it is the one nobody mentions.
This is the medical instrument, not the financial one
A financial power of attorney is a different document with different execution rules. Having one does not give anyone authority over your medical care, and having this one gives nobody authority over your money. Most people need both, and they are executed separately.
What could not be verified
Primary source verified directly: R.S. 40:1151/.1/.2/.4/.6 and Civ. Code arts. 2993/2997 all fetched and read on the official legis.la.gov site, plus the official LA Secretary of State registry page. IMPORTANT: several secondary sources claim a Louisiana ‘Healthcare POA requires two witnesses’: this could NOT be verified in the actual Civil Code mandate articles, which impose no statutory witness/form requirement. That secondary claim is likely conflating the declaration’s rule with the separate mandate instrument.
Related: all states compared · living will versus healthcare proxy · what it costs.
Also for Louisiana: Louisiana Power of Attorney Requirements.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state materials, not legal or medical advice. Advance-directive law is STATE law and the execution requirements differ in ways that decide whether a document works: some states require witnesses AND a notary, some accept either, and the list of people who may not witness varies. A directive executed the wrong way may not be honoured when it matters. Many states publish a free official form – you should not have to buy one.