How to
How do I make a power of attorney in Texas that a bank will accept?
Short answer
A Texas durable power of attorney must be in writing, signed by you, contain words saying it continues, or starts, if you become incapacitated, and be acknowledged before a notary. No witnesses are needed. The statutory form in Estates Code § 752.051 covers money and property only; health care needs a separate medical power of attorney.
Checklist
Is your Texas power of attorney signed the way the law requires?
Tick each point your power of attorney meets.
Every point comes from this page and its official sources. Your ticks are not saved or sent anywhere. Not legal advice.
Key points
- Signing
- Signed by you, or by another adult in your conscious presence at your direction, with durability wording, and acknowledged before a notary. No witnesses.
- The form
- Initial each power (A) to (N), or line (O) for all. Gifts beyond the form's line, trusts, survivorship, beneficiary changes and delegation need an express grant.
- Banks
- A business must accept it, or ask for the agent's certification or a lawyer's opinion, within 10 business days, then accept within 7 business days of getting it, unless a legal ground to refuse applies.
- Real estate
- Used to sign a deed or mortgage that will be recorded? Record the power of attorney with the county clerk within 30 days after that document is filed.
Texas has a statutory form for a financial power of attorney, and a law that makes banks deal with it. The Durable Power of Attorney Act sets how a power of attorney is made, what an agent may do, the agent's duties, when it ends, and how quickly a bank or other business must accept it. The statutory form in Estates Code § 752.051 is optional: other forms work too, if they meet the Act. Est. Code §§ 751.001, 752.003
This page goes deeper on Texas only: the signing rules, the statutory form line by line with a form builder, the powers that need an express grant, the agent's duties and accounting, the business-day deadlines for banks with a calculator, recording for real estate, when it ends, and the separate medical power of attorney. For how other states handle powers of attorney, see the power of attorney guide.
Which Texas document do you need?
| You want someone to | Texas document | How it is signed |
|---|---|---|
| Handle money, property, bills, taxes and benefits | Durable power of attorney, often the statutory form, Est. Code § 752.051 | Signed and acknowledged before a notary |
| Make health care decisions if you can't | Medical power of attorney, Health and Safety Code § 166.164 | Before a notary, or two qualified adult witnesses |
| Know your wishes about life-sustaining treatment | Directive to physicians, § 166.032 | Two qualified witnesses, or a notary |
| Be your guardian if a court ever appoints one | Declaration of guardian, Est. Code § 1104.204 | Handwritten, or two witnesses aged 14 or older, or a notary in some cases |
| Transfer one car's title | TxDMV Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions, form VTR-271 | Original signature in black or blue ink; no alterations |
The Act doesn't cover a medical power of attorney, a power given to a creditor in a credit deal, a proxy to vote shares, or a form a government agency prescribes for a governmental purpose. Est. Code § 751.0015
How to make a Texas durable power of attorney
A document is a durable power of attorney in Texas if it: Est. Code § 751.0021(a)
- is a writing or other record naming an agent and giving the agent authority, whether or not it uses the words power of attorney; an electronic record counts;
- is signed by you as an adult, or in your conscious presence by another adult you direct to sign your name;
- contains durability wording, such as This power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal, or This power of attorney becomes effective on the disability or incapacity of the principal, or similar words; and
- is acknowledged before a notary or another officer who can take acknowledgments to deeds and administer oaths.
- No witnesses needed. The Act's list has no witness requirement; the statutory form has a notary block only.Est. Code § 751.0021
- Springing powers work. If it takes effect on your incapacity and doesn't define incapacity, you are incapacitated once a physician certifies in writing, after an examination, that you are mentally incapable of managing your financial affairs.Est. Code § 751.00201
- Copies count. A photocopy or electronically sent copy has the same effect as the original, unless the power of attorney or another statute says otherwise.Est. Code § 751.0023(c)
- Made in another state. It is valid in Texas if it followed the law where it was made, or the federal rules for a military power of attorney.Est. Code § 751.0023(b)
- No expiry date by default. The agent's authority doesn't lapse with time. A new power of attorney doesn't revoke an earlier one unless it says so.Est. Code §§ 751.132(b), 751.135
The Texas statutory durable power of attorney, line by line
The form in Estates Code § 752.051 is for property and financial matters. A form in substantially its wording, properly completed, with your signature acknowledged, is legally sufficient, and it stays valid if some powers are left uninitialed or you add limits. Est. Code §§ 752.001, 752.002, 752.004
- The notice. It warns that the powers are broad and sweeping, that the form doesn't authorize health care decisions, that you may revoke it, and that for your agent to sign home equity loan documents you must sign the power of attorney at the office of the lender, an attorney at law or a title company.
- The powers. Initial the line in front of each power you grant, (A) real property through (N) digital assets and electronic communications, or initial line (O) to grant all of them. A power you don't initial is withheld.
- Compensation. If you choose neither sentence, each agent is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances, plus reasonable expenses.
- Co-agents. Unless you choose otherwise, each co-agent may act independently.
- Gifts. An optional line lets the agent make gifts, each one capped at the federal annual gift tax exclusion for that year.
- When it starts. It is effective immediately and continues until it ends, unless you cross out alternative (A) and keep (B), effective on your disability or incapacity. If you cross out neither, (A) applies.
- Successor agents. Named agents act alone and successively, in the order you list them, if an agent dies, becomes incapacitated, resigns, refuses or is removed, or your marriage to an agent ends.
- Signature and notary. You sign and date it before a notary, who completes the acknowledgment.
- Important information for agent. The agent's duties, the events that end the agent's authority, and a warning that misusing the power can bring liability and prosecution under Chapter 32 of the Penal Code.
The agent's notice at the end of the form lists five fiduciary duties, (1) to (5), three record and accounting duties, (1) to (3), and six events that end the agent's authority, (1) to (6), all under the Durable Power of Attorney Act, Subtitle P, Title 2, Estates Code. The form builder below fills in the names and keeps the statutory wording; you still initial the powers by hand and sign before a notary.
Form builder · 2 forms
Build the Texas statutory forms
The statutory wording of Estates Code §§ 752.051 and 751.203, with your names filled in · checked Nov 1, 2026
Each rule comes from the official source linked in the result. It runs on your device: nothing you type is stored or sent. General information, not legal advice.
What each power covers
| Line | Power | What it lets the agent do |
|---|---|---|
| (A) | Real property transactions | Buy, sell, lease, mortgage and manage real estate, sign mineral leases, designate your homestead, and sign documents for a lien on it under the Texas Constitution, art. XVI, § 50. § 752.102 |
| (B) | Tangible personal property | Buy, sell, store and manage belongings. § 752.103 |
| (C), (D) | Stocks, bonds, commodities and options | Buy, sell and hold investments. §§ 752.104, 752.105 |
| (E) | Banking | Open and use accounts, write checks, deal with your bank. § 752.106 |
| (F), (G) | Business, insurance and annuities | Run a business interest; deal with policies, with limits on naming the agent as beneficiary. §§ 752.107, 752.108 |
| (H), (I) | Estates, trusts, claims and lawsuits | Act on inheritances and trusts you benefit from; bring and settle claims. §§ 752.109, 752.110 |
| (J) | Personal and family maintenance | Keep your usual standard of living for you, your spouse and dependents, medical care, vehicles, mail, and the care of your pets. § 752.111 |
| (K), (L) | Government benefits and retirement plans | Claim Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and service benefits; manage retirement plans. §§ 752.112, 752.113 |
| (M), (N) | Taxes and digital assets | Act in all tax matters before the IRS and other taxing authorities; access digital assets. §§ 752.114, 752.1145 |
Every power also lets the agent sign deeds, checks, releases and other instruments, settle claims, hire professionals and keep records for that kind of transaction. Est. Code § 752.101
Powers that must be granted expressly
An agent may do five things only if the power of attorney expressly grants them: create, amend, revoke or terminate a living trust; make a gift; create or change rights of survivorship; create or change a beneficiary designation; or delegate the agent's authority. Est. Code § 751.031(b)
To grant them on the statutory form, add the optional Grant of Specific Authority, where you initial each one you want; its caution warns that these powers could significantly reduce your property or change how it is distributed at your death. Est. Code § 752.052
- Agents outside the family. Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, an agent who is not your ancestor, spouse or descendant can't use it to give themselves, or someone they must support, an interest in your property.Est. Code § 751.031(c)
- Gift limits. General gift authority covers gifts per person up to the federal annual gift tax exclusion, or twice that if your spouse agrees to split the gift, made in line with your known objectives or, if unknown, your best interest and your history of giving.Est. Code § 751.032
Agents, co-agents and successors
- You may name two or more co-agents; unless you say otherwise, each may act independently. Est. Code § 751.021
- Successor agents act if an agent resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, isn't qualified or declines; a successor can't act until every agent before them has stopped. Est. Code § 751.023
- A person accepts the appointment by acting as agent or otherwise showing acceptance. Est. Code § 751.022
- Unless the document says otherwise, an agent is entitled to reasonable expenses and reasonable compensation. Est. Code § 751.024
The agent's duties
An agent who accepts is a fiduciary when acting under the power of attorney. The statutory form tells the agent to act in good faith, stay within the authority granted, act loyally, avoid conflicts, and sign as (Principal's Name) by (Your Signature) as Agent. Est. Code § 751.101 · § 752.051
- Inform and keep records. Timely inform you of each action, keep records of every action and decision, and keep them until delivered to you, released by you or discharged by a court.Est. Code §§ 751.102, 751.103
- Account on demand. You may demand an accounting: your property, each action, every receipt and payment, the assets controlled with their value, cash on hand, each debt and all documents. If the agent doesn't deliver within 60 days of the demand, you can sue to compel it or to end the power of attorney.Est. Code §§ 751.104, 751.105
- Report another agent's breach. An agent who knows another agent is breaching their duty must tell you, and act if you are incapacitated.Est. Code § 751.121
- Keep your estate plan. To the extent the agent knows it and it is in your best interest.Est. Code § 751.122
When a bank or other business must accept it
Unless a legal ground to refuse applies, a person asked to accept a durable power of attorney must accept it, or, before accepting, ask for an agent's certification or an opinion of counsel no later than 10 business days after it is presented, or an English translation within 5 business days. After receiving the certification or opinion, it must accept within 7 business days. The agent and the business can agree to longer. Est. Code § 751.201
- No other form, no recording. The business can't require its own or a different form for authority the document already grants, or require recording unless the law requires it.Est. Code § 751.202
- The agent's certification. Signed by the agent under penalty of perjury; for a springing power, the business can ask for a physician's statement that you are disabled or incapacitated. The certification is conclusive proof of the facts it states. The statute prints a form with 9 numbered statements: item 8 attaches a true copy of the power of attorney, and item 9 covers home equity loans.Est. Code § 751.203
- Grounds to refuse. Among the 11 grounds: the business wouldn't otherwise deal with you, the law or a compliance policy forbids it, it filed a suspicious activity report, it knows the power ended, the agent refused a certification, it believes in good faith the document is invalid, a court case about it is pending, or it reported suspected abuse or exploitation by the agent.Est. Code § 751.206
- In writing. A refusal must be in writing by the acceptance deadline.Est. Code § 751.207
- If it refuses anyway. You or the agent can sue after the deadline; if the refusal broke the rules, the court orders acceptance and may award attorney's fees.Est. Code § 751.212
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Texas power of attorney deadlines
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Recording it for real estate
A durable power of attorney used for a real property transaction that needs a recorded document, such as a deed, mortgage, deed of trust, release, lease memorandum, mineral lease or home equity lien, must be recorded with the county clerk where the property is, not later than the 30th day after that document is filed for recording. Est. Code § 751.151
- To be recorded, a document must be acknowledged or sworn before an officer, and since December 4, 2025, anyone presenting it in person must show the clerk a photo ID, such as a driver's license, state ID, passport or military ID. Property Code § 12.001 · Local Gov't Code § 191.010
- Paper documents need original signatures: Travis County won't record a copy. Property Code § 12.0011 · Travis County Clerk
- Fees: the statute sets $5 for the first page and $4 for each extra page, and counties add their own fees: Travis County charges $25 for the first page and Tarrant County $20, each plus $4 a page. Local Gov't Code § 118.011 · county clerks
When it ends, and how to revoke it
- The power of attorney ends when you die or revoke it, when it says it ends or its purpose is done, when the last agent can no longer act, or when a permanent guardian of your estate qualifies.Est. Code § 751.131
- An agent's authority ends when you revoke it, the agent dies, becomes incapacitated, resigns or is no longer qualified, or your marriage to the agent is ended by divorce or annulment, unless the document says otherwise.Est. Code § 751.132
- Guardianship. A permanent guardian of the estate automatically revokes the agent's powers unless the court orders them only suspended; a temporary guardian suspends them.Est. Code § 751.133
- Acting in good faith. Ending the power doesn't affect an agent or anyone else who, without actual knowledge of it, acts in good faith under the document.Est. Code § 751.134
Revoking it. Tell the agent and everyone who has a copy, in writing. The Act prescribes no revocation form; eFileTexas offers a guided interview, Take away Power of Attorney's rights, which the State Law Library says can revoke a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney or both. If it was recorded, consider recording the revocation in the same county too. Texas State Law Library · eFileTexas
Court. You, the agent, a guardian, a beneficiary at your death, a protective services agency or another person with a sufficient interest can ask a court to construe the document or review the agent's conduct; on your motion the court must dismiss unless it finds you lack capacity to revoke. A probate court can also remove an agent for a breach of duty, a material loss, incapacity or failure to account. Est. Code §§ 751.251, 753.001
The Texas medical power of attorney
A separate document, in substantially the statutory form, names an agent for health care decisions. It takes effect when your attending physician certifies in writing, in your medical record, that you are incompetent, and treatment can't be given or withheld over your objection. It lasts indefinitely unless you set an end date or revoke it, and the form can't be changed: to change it, sign a new one. Health & Safety Code §§ 166.152, 166.164
- Signing. Sign it before two witnesses who are competent adults, at least one of whom is not your agent, a relative by blood or marriage, an heir, your attending physician or their employee, a direct-care employee or officer of your health facility, or someone with a claim against your estate; or sign it before a notary instead.Health & Safety Code §§ 166.154, 166.003
- Who can't be your agent. Your health care or residential care provider, or their employee unless a relative, while serving in that role.Health & Safety Code § 166.153
- What the agent can't consent to. Voluntary inpatient mental health services, convulsive treatment, psychosurgery, abortion, or neglecting comfort care.Health & Safety Code § 166.152(f)
- Revoking it. At any time, by telling your agent or your provider orally or in writing, by any act showing you mean to revoke it, whatever your mental state, or by signing a new one. A divorce revokes a spouse's appointment unless the document says otherwise.Health & Safety Code § 166.155
Other Texas forms: vehicles, a guardian, end-of-life wishes
- Vehicles. TxDMV form VTR-271, the Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions, lets someone buy, transfer and assign the title to one described vehicle. It can't be used in a dealer sale that needs a federal odometer disclosure, which uses form VTR-271-A. Original signatures in black or blue ink, no alterations, and photocopies of both people's photo IDs when it is used to apply for a title. TxDMV
- Declaration of guardian. Names who should be your guardian if a court ever needs to appoint one, and who should never be. It must be signed and wholly handwritten, or witnessed by two credible people aged 14 or older who aren't named in it; one that disqualifies no one may be notarized instead. Est. Code §§ 1104.202-1104.205
- Directive to physicians. Your wishes about life-sustaining treatment, signed before two qualified witnesses or a notary; a provider can't require it to be notarized or on its own form. Health & Safety Code §§ 166.032, 166.036
Free help in Texas
Common questions about powers of attorney in Texas
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Texas?
A durable power of attorney does: it must be acknowledged before a notary or another officer. No witnesses are needed. A medical power of attorney can be notarized or signed before two qualified witnesses.
Where do I get a Texas power of attorney form?
The statutory durable power of attorney is printed in Estates Code § 752.051, and the medical power of attorney in Health and Safety Code § 166.164. The State Law Library points to official versions, and eFileTexas has free guided interviews. Use the form builder on this page.
Does a Texas power of attorney have to be recorded?
Only if it is used for a real estate transaction with a document that will be recorded, such as a deed or mortgage: then it must be recorded with the county clerk within 30 days after that document is filed. Otherwise, a business can't require recording.
Can a bank refuse a Texas power of attorney?
Only on a ground the statute lists, and in writing. Otherwise it must accept, or ask for the agent's certification or an opinion of counsel within 10 business days, then accept within 7 business days of receiving it. It can't demand its own form.
What powers does a Texas power of attorney give?
Those you initial on the form, (A) to (N), or all of them with line (O): real estate, belongings, investments, banking, business, insurance, estates and trusts, claims, family maintenance, government benefits, retirement plans, taxes and digital assets. Trusts, gifts, survivorship, beneficiary changes and delegation need an express grant.
Does a power of attorney end at death in Texas?
Yes. It also ends on revocation, when a permanent guardian of the estate qualifies, and, for a spouse as agent, on divorce or annulment unless it says otherwise. The estate is then handled through the will or probate.
Can my agent make medical decisions with a Texas durable power of attorney?
No. The statutory form says it doesn't authorize health care decisions. For that you need a medical power of attorney under Health and Safety Code § 166.164.
Official sources
- Texas Estates Code chapter 751: Durable Power of Attorney Act, general provisions, duties, termination, recording, acceptance tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Estates Code chapter 752: the statutory durable power of attorney form and the powers tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Estates Code chapter 753: removal of an agent tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Estates Code chapter 1104: declaration of guardian (§§ 1104.202-1104.205) tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 166: advance directives and the medical power of attorney tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Constitution article XVI: home equity loans (§ 50(a)(6)(N)) tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Property Code chapter 12: recording (§§ 12.001, 12.0011) tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Local Government Code chapter 118: county clerk fees (§ 118.011) tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas Local Government Code chapter 191: photo identification for real property filings (§ 191.010) tcss.legis.texas.gov
- Texas State Law Library: Powers of attorney guides.sll.texas.gov
- Texas State Law Library: Durable powers of attorney guides.sll.texas.gov
- Texas State Law Library: Powers of attorney, legal forms guides.sll.texas.gov
- eFileTexas self-help: guided interviews (powers of attorney, revocation) selfhelp.efiletexas.gov
- TxDMV form VTR-271: Limited Power of Attorney for Eligible Motor Vehicle Transactions (PDF) txdmv.gov
- Travis County Clerk: recording fees traviscountytx.gov
- Travis County Clerk: real property recording traviscountytx.gov
- Tarrant County Clerk: real estate records tarrantcountytx.gov
Related
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.