California: your 18-year-old’s paperwork

What this covers: how a California student signs the four Covered18 documents (health care directive, financial power of attorney, HIPAA release, FERPA consent) and what to do afterward. It does not say which choices are right for your family.

0. Before you start

• Age: A California minor is under 18; sign on or after the 18th birthday (Fam. Code §6500; Prob. Code §4671).
• Talk with the person you plan to name (and a backup) before anything is printed. They need to agree and know where the papers will be.
• Schools, hospitals and banks sometimes ask for their own forms. Ask the school's registrar and student health center what they accept.
• If any item below says UNVERIFIED, confirm it with the notary, the state source, or a lawyer before relying on it.

1. Health care directive

Advance Health Care Directive (California statutory form)
Statutory form text reproduced verbatim from the official source (see Sources). Optional statutory form, Cal. Prob. Code §4701. You may use a different form that meets §4673.

• Date the directive and sign it (Prob. Code §4673(a)).
• Either have the signature acknowledged by a notary, or sign in front of two qualified adult witnesses (§4673(a)(3), §4674).
• Witnesses cannot be the agent, the student's health care provider or that provider's employee, or an operator or employee of a community care or residential care facility. At least one witness must not be related to the student by blood, marriage or adoption and must not be entitled to any part of the estate (§4674).
• If the student is a patient in a skilled nursing facility, an ombudsman or patient advocate must also witness (§4675). Stop and ask a professional.
• An electronic directive is sufficient only if notarized (§4673(b)).

Watch for: - The form has Parts 1 to 6. Part 5 (witnesses or notary) must be completed at signing. Part 6 applies only to a patient in a skilled nursing facility. - California Attorney General's PDF of this form is dated September 2022 and may not match the current statute; use the statute text below.

2. Financial power of attorney

Financial power of attorney: fill-in guide (California)
No form text reproduced. California has an optional Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Prob. Code §4401). The form body text is NOT available on the official code page, so Covered18 does not reproduce it. A new form takes effect 2027-01-01 (AB 2199).

• The statutory-form POA must be signed before a notary, who completes a California acknowledgment (Prob. Code §4402(c); Civ. Code §1189).
• No witnesses are required by the statutory form.
• The agent should read the form's agent notice before acting.

3. HIPAA authorization and FERPA consent

• The HIPAA release and FERPA consent are separate papers built from the federal required elements (45 CFR 164.508; 34 CFR 99.30). The student signs and dates each. Neither gives anyone the power to make decisions; they only allow information to be shared.
• Notarization is not required by the federal rules. Some schools and providers want their own form; ask first.
• California add-ons (Civ. Code §56.11): 14-point type, authorization separate from other language, expiry of one year or less unless the signer picks a later date. The shared HIPAA form below uses a one-year default expiry and large type to stay compatible. Mental-health (Welf. & Inst. Code §5328) and HIV-result (Health & Safety Code §120980) rules may need extra consent; see the pack.
• California schools often have their own FERPA forms; ask the registrar.

4. Remote (online) options

Question	What we found
Remote online notarization by a California notary	Not available. Civ. Code §1181.1(b) bars it until the Secretary of State certifies a system or 2030-01-01. No certification found on 2026-10-01.
Remote witnessing of the directive	No authority found. Treat as not allowed. UNVERIFIED.
Out-of-state remote notary for a California document	UNVERIFIED. Civ. Code §8232.1 on out-of-state acts was noted in the pack but not confirmed for this use.

If the table says UNVERIFIED, plan on signing in person. See the notary options page for online notary services and their public prices.

5. If the student is signing from another state

• Another state's directive: recognized if it complied with that state's law (Prob. Code §4676).
• Another state's durable POA: recognized if executed in compliance with the law of the state of execution (Prob. Code §4053).

Banks and hospitals decide for themselves what they accept. Whether yours accepts an out-of-state document is UNVERIFIED.

6. Stop and ask a lawyer if

• The student is in a skilled nursing facility (extra witness rule).
• The student is under 18, or the signing date would be earlier than the 18th birthday.
• Anything in your situation does not match this guide (for example guardianship, a disability, or a business interest).

7. Checklist to bring to the notary

• ☐ Government photo ID that is current (the notary will check it against the name on the papers).
• ☐ The documents, printed, unsigned. Do not sign ahead of time.
• ☐ Every person who must be present: the student, any witnesses (see Section 1 and 2), and the notary.
• ☐ Names, addresses and phone numbers for the agent(s) and backups.
• ☐ A black-ink pen. Print the HIPAA release and FERPA consent on their own pages.
• ☐ Ask the notary what the fee is before the appointment. Notary fees are not included in Covered18's price.
• ☐ Do not bring the agent as a witness unless the state section above says it is allowed.

8. After signing

• Make copies. Give a copy to the agent, the backup agent, the student's doctor or campus health center, and the bank if the financial document is meant to be used there. Keep the original somewhere safe and tell people where.
• Keep a scan in a place the agent can reach.
• Review once a year and after any big change (new school, move, relationship change). The HIPAA release has its own expiry date; set a reminder.
• If the student wants to change or cancel a document, ask the notary or a lawyer how to do that in your state.

9. UNVERIFIED items

• Text of the current §4401 financial POA form (not online); new form eff. 2027-01-01 (AB 2199).
• Remote witnessing; acceptance of an out-of-state remote notarization.
• CA SUD and reproductive-health record rules; full exception lists in Welf. & Inst. Code §5328 and Civ. Code §56.10.
• Bank and hospital acceptance practice.