A Florida medical power of attorney is a document in which you, the principal, name a health care surrogate to make medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself. The FormsPal template calls this person your agent and adds an advance directive that states your wishes about end-of-life care. You can build the form online or download the PDF. The sections below explain the signing and witness rules in plain words.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current Florida law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
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Need a different document? Browse all our Florida power of attorney forms, or read about the medical power of attorney form in general.
A medical power of attorney, also called a healthcare power of attorney, lets you name someone to make health care decisions if you are unable to make them yourself. In Florida, this person is your health care surrogate. The surrogate speaks for you, the principal, when you cannot speak for yourself.
Florida sets its own rules for how the paper is signed and who may witness it. The next section puts those rules in plain words. Read them before you decide whom to ask, because a mistake at the signing table is hard to fix later.
The FormsPal template adds an advance directive, which is a statement of your wishes about end-of-life care. It helps your surrogate make choices that match what you want.
Florida's rules for this document cover how it is signed, who may witness it, and how long it stays in effect. They come from section 765.202 of the Florida Statutes, which the sections below quote and explain. Other questions, such as who may serve as your surrogate, are not covered here, so ask a lawyer if you have one.[1.2]
You may also designate an alternate surrogate in the same document, as long as the designation is explicit.[1.3]
Under section 765.205, your surrogate must consult promptly with appropriate health care providers to provide informed consent. The surrogate may make only the health care decisions the surrogate believes you would have made under the circumstances if you were able to make them. If there is no indication of what you would have chosen, the surrogate may consider your best interest in deciding that proposed treatments are to be withheld or that current treatments are to be withdrawn.[3.1]
Under section 765.113, your surrogate may not consent to withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging procedures from you while you are pregnant and before viability, unless you have expressly delegated that authority to your surrogate in writing or the surrogate has sought and received court approval.[4.1]
The document must be signed by the principal in the presence of two subscribing adult witnesses.[1.2] In plain words, you sign while two adults watch you do it, and both of them sign as witnesses. The statute puts it this way.
A written document designating a surrogate to make health care decisions for a principal or receive health information on behalf of a principal, or both, shall be signed by the principal in the presence of two subscribing adult witnesses.
Florida limits who may serve as a witness. Two rules apply to the people you ask:
So at least one witness has to be someone who is not your spouse and not related to you by blood.
Unless the document states a time of termination, the designation remains in effect until you revoke it.[1.1] A competent principal may amend or revoke an advance directive at any time.[2.1] The FormsPal template states no end date. Its general provisions say it lasts for an indefinite period unless revoked or terminated, and that you may revoke it at any time.
This page does not cover the steps for revoking. Ask a lawyer how to revoke the document properly, and tell your surrogate and your doctor if you do.
| Document Name | Florida Medical Power of Attorney Form |
| FormsPal Template Title | Florida Medical Power of Attorney with Advance Directive |
| Relevant Law | Florida Statutes, section 765.202[1.1][1.2] |
| Signing Requirements | Signed by the principal in the presence of two subscribing adult witnesses[1.2] |
| Who Can’t Be the Witness? | The person designated as surrogate. At least one witness must be neither the principal's spouse nor a blood relative[1.2] |
| How Long It Lasts | Until revoked by the principal, unless the document states a time of termination[1.1] |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 8 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 29 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
Popular Local Medical POA Forms
Health care POA templates are used in each and every state. Find out more about some other sample Medical POA forms regularly downloaded by people.
The FormsPal template is titled Florida Medical Power of Attorney with Advance Directive. It has nine pages in three numbered parts, a notary acknowledgment page and a page for the witnesses. What each part says comes from the printed text of the template, not from Florida law. Review all of it before you sign.
If your agent is unable to act, the template says one document must be attached to it. Examples are a signed resignation, a physician's statement, a court order or a death certificate. Part III also says that signing revokes your earlier powers of attorney for health care, living wills and directives to physicians.
If you want to keep one of those documents, ask a lawyer before you sign.
A medical power of attorney works best when the people involved know what you want. These questions are common practice, not legal requirements. Decide your answers first, then talk them over with your surrogate and your doctor.
This page covers health care decisions only. For money and property decisions, see our Florida durable power of attorney page or our Florida general power of attorney page.
The template has 29 fillable fields, and the six steps below follow it from page 1 to page 9. To start right away, press the Create My Document button above and answer a few questions. You can also print the PDF and write your answers by hand. Each step names the part of the template it covers.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Florida medical power of attorney template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
Filling in the blanks is only part of the job. The steps below cover what happens around the template, from reading it to handing out copies. Follow the signing and witness rules from the requirements section above, and ask a lawyer if you are unsure about your own situation.
The FormsPal template has no block for extra instructions. Your wishes about end-of-life care are printed in Part II. If you want something different there, ask a lawyer for advice before you sign.
Most problems with a medical power of attorney come from skipped steps, not from the blanks on the template. These are the mistakes to watch for, based on the rules earlier on this page.
You can download the Florida medical power of attorney as a PDF with 29 fillable fields, or build it online and print it. Either way, sign it in front of two adult witnesses, as the requirements section explains.[1.2]
You can also download the Designation of Health Care Surrogate PDF for Florida, which is a separate form from the FormsPal template on this page. To fill in any PDF on your computer, try our PDF editor.
These are the questions people ask most about signing and witnessing a Florida medical power of attorney. Each answer cites section 765.202 of the Florida Statutes. For anything else, ask a lawyer.
Two. The principal signs the document in the presence of two subscribing adult witnesses.[1.2] In practice, that means:
At least one person who acts as a witness must be neither your spouse nor a blood relative.[1.2] So you need at least one witness who is not your spouse and not related to you by blood.
No. The person designated as surrogate may not act as a witness to the signing of the document that names them.[1.2] Ask two other adults to witness.
Unless the document states a time of termination, the designation remains in effect until the principal revokes it.[1.1] The FormsPal template states no end date, so it stays in effect until you revoke it.
Other Medical POA Forms by State
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Each bracketed number in the text above points to a Florida source listed here. Open the link to read the provision in full, and check the current text and forms before you rely on them.
