Pennsylvania Power of Attorney Requirements (2026)

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: For a POA executed on or after January 1, 2015 (Act 95 of 2014), the principal’s signature (or mark, or another individual’s signature at the principal’s direction) must be BOTH acknowledged before a notary public AND witnessed by two individuals 18 or older — notarization and witnesses are cumulative requirements, not alternatives. 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601(b)(3), independently re-verified against current statutory text.. This state puts a form in its statute. A power of attorney here is durable by default — it survives incapacity unless it says otherwise.

What decides whether the document is valid

For a POA executed on or after January 1, 2015 (Act 95 of 2014), the principal’s signature (or mark, or another individual’s signature at the principal’s direction) must be BOTH acknowledged before a notary public AND witnessed by two individuals 18 or older — notarization and witnesses are cumulative requirements, not alternatives. 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601(b)(3), independently re-verified against current statutory text. Get this wrong and the document is not merely weak — it may be void, and you will find out at the moment somebody needs to use it.

Who may not witness: A witness may not be the individual who signed on the principal’s behalf, or the agent designated in the POA. The notary/acknowledging officer likewise may not be the agent designated in the POA. 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601(b)(3). This is the condition that most often fails in practice, because the people in the room are usually the people with an interest.

The statutory form

Pennsylvania sets out a form in its statute at 20 Pa.C.S. § 5601(c) (mandatory NOTICE text), § 5601(d) (mandatory agent ACKNOWLEDGMENT text), and § 5602(a) (statutory short-form power phrases), but does not publish a free ready-to-use copy. Using the statutory form generally means transcribing it from the statute.

Durability — the point most people get wrong

Here a power of attorney is durable by default: it keeps working after the principal loses capacity unless the document says it should not. That is the opposite of the historical rule and it is why old advice about needing magic words can mislead.

Why a springing power often fails when it is needed, and why durable is usually the better default.

If a bank refuses it

Pennsylvania addresses this by statute: Yes. 20 Pa.C.S. § 5608.1: a person must accept a POA, or request a certification/translation/affidavit/opinion of counsel, within 7 business days of presentation; if requested, must then accept within 5 business days. Wrongful refusal exposes the refuser to civil liability for the principal’s pecuniary harm and a court order mandating acceptance, subject to extensive exceptions, including where the POA lacks the required agent Acknowledgment under § 5601(d).

What the acceptance-and-refusal statutes require where they exist, the permitted grounds for refusal, and the attorney-fee remedy.

What the form does not solve

• Social Security will not accept it. No power of attorney works there — a representative-payee application is the only route.
• It has to be signed while capacity is intact. The day that closes, the alternative is a court.
• Name a successor agent. A document whose only named agent has died or declined does nothing — how to choose when there is no obvious person.

All 51 jurisdictions compared.

General information drawn from IRS, Medicare, HUD and state statute and regulation, not legal, tax or financial advice. Continuing-care law is state law and differs materially between states; every figure here is year-labelled and every source named. Powers of attorney, guardianship and trusts are governed by STATE law and differ materially between states. Execution requirements decide whether a document is VALID, so verify them against your own state’s current statute before signing anything. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.