How to Fill Out and Execute an Indiana Power of Attorney Form

To fill out an Indiana power of attorney form, you write in your full legal name and address as the principal, name the person you are appointing as your agent (with a backup if you want one), initial the categories of authority you want to grant under Indiana Code Title 30, Article 5, decide whether the document will be durable, and then sign it in front of a notary public or two adult witnesses. The rest is delivery: getting copies into the hands of the agent and any bank, brokerage, or county recorder that will need to rely on it.

Gather Your Information First

Before you write anything on the form, pull together the full legal name and current address for yourself and for the person you are appointing. If you want a successor agent in case your first choice cannot serve, gather that information too. Misspelled names and outdated addresses are a common reason banks and title companies push back on the document later, so check every entry against a government-issued ID.

Also think through what you actually want your agent to handle. Indiana Code Title 30, Article 5, Chapter 5 lists specific categories of authority, and you can pick and choose among them.¹ Knowing which accounts, properties, or transactions you want covered will speed up the rest of the process.

Choose Which Powers to Grant

Most Indiana POA forms list the statutory categories with a line or checkbox next to each. Initial or check only the ones you want the agent to have. The main categories:

Real property — buying, selling, mortgaging, or managing land and buildings (IC 30-5-5-2).
Tangible personal property — handling vehicles, furniture, equipment, and similar belongings (IC 30-5-5-3).
Stocks, bonds, and commodities — managing investment and brokerage accounts (IC 30-5-5-4).
Banking — deposit accounts, checks, CDs, and similar instruments (IC 30-5-5-5).
Insurance and retirement — policies, annuities, and employer benefit plans (IC 30-5-5-8 through 30-5-5-10).
Tax matters — preparing and filing state returns and communicating with the Indiana Department of Revenue.

You can grant every category for broad authority, but many estate planning attorneys suggest checking only what you actually need unless you truly want your agent to handle everything.¹

An Indiana POA does not reach federal tax matters. To let your agent deal with the IRS, complete IRS Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.²

A Financial POA No Longer Covers Health Care

This trips people up. Since January 1, 2023, a general power of attorney under Title 30, Article 5 cannot grant healthcare authority. Indiana Code 30-5-5-16(e) makes any healthcare powers written into a general POA executed after December 31, 2022, void, though the rest of the document’s financial powers remain valid.³ To appoint someone to make medical decisions for you, execute a separate advance directive under IC 16-36-7-28, signed by you (or at your direction) in front of a notary or two adult witnesses, at least one of whom is not your spouse or relative.⁴ Many Indiana attorneys recommend signing both documents at the same sitting.

Decide Whether the Power Is Durable, Limited, or Springing

One decision on the form matters more than most: durability. A durable power stays in effect if you later become incapacitated. A non-durable one ends the moment you can no longer make your own decisions, which is often the exact point you would want your agent to step in. To make the document durable, include language such as “This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal.”

A limited POA covers only a specific task or window. You might, for example, authorize someone to close on a particular property sale while you are out of the country, with the authority expiring on a set date.

A springing POA does not take effect until a triggering event, usually your incapacity. Under Indiana Code 30-5-4-2, if the document is springing and you have not named a specific person to determine incapacity, authority kicks in when a physician, licensed psychologist, or judge certifies in writing that you can no longer manage your own affairs.⁵ A springing arrangement gives peace of mind but can slow things down at banks that want to see the incapacity certification before they cooperate.

Sign the Document Correctly

Indiana Code 30-5-4-1 sets out what makes a POA valid. It must be in writing, name an attorney in fact, describe the powers granted, and be signed by the principal (or by someone else at the principal’s direction and in the principal’s presence). You have two execution options:

Notary acknowledgment. Sign in front of a notary public, who verifies your identity and applies an official seal.
Witness attestation. Sign in front of at least two adult witnesses, who then sign in each other’s presence and yours.

Either method satisfies the statute.⁶ In practice, get it notarized. Financial institutions, county recorders, and title companies are far more comfortable with a notarized document, and some have internal policies that reject witness-only versions even though the law permits them. If the POA is for real estate or banking, notarization is the safer path.

The notary will ask for a government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport, or state ID card) that has not been expired for more than three years.⁷ Indiana caps notary fees at $10 per signature for an acknowledgment.⁸

If you cannot physically sign, another person can sign your name at your direction and in your presence. When that is done in front of a notary, the notary notes that the signature was made at the principal’s direction.⁶

After You Sign: Recording and Delivery

Signing is not the last step. If your agent will handle any real estate transaction, the POA itself has to be recorded with the county recorder before the agent presents any real-estate document for recording. Indiana Code 30-5-3-3 flatly bars a county recorder from accepting a document executed by an agent whose POA is unrecorded.⁹ The statutory recording fee for a deed or other non-mortgage instrument is $25, though some counties add a supplemental affordable-housing surcharge.¹⁰

For everyday financial matters, give certified copies of the notarized POA to every institution where you want the agent to act: banks, credit unions, brokerage firms, insurance companies. Most run the document through an internal legal review before granting account access, which can take a few business days. Keep the original in a safe place, and bring it along the first time in case anyone wants to compare it against the copy.

One more limit worth flagging. The Social Security Administration does not accept a state power of attorney. If your agent needs to act on your behalf in SSA matters, complete SSA Form SSA-1696, Appointment of Representative.¹¹

If You Change Your Mind

You can revoke the POA at any time while you are mentally competent. Indiana Code 30-5-10-1 requires the revocation to be in writing, identify the power of attorney being revoked, and be signed by you.¹² Telling your agent verbally that the document is off is not enough.

The revocation only takes effect once the agent and any relevant third parties have actual knowledge of it. Deliver a copy of the written revocation to your agent, then notify every bank, brokerage, insurance company, and other institution that received the original. Keep proof, such as certified-mail receipts or email confirmations. If the original POA was recorded with a county recorder for real estate purposes, record the revocation in the same county (and in every county where you own property), referencing the book and page number or instrument number of the original.¹² Until those recordings are in place, a buyer or lender searching title records could still see the original POA and reasonably assume the agent has authority.

1
Justia. Indiana Code Title 30, Article 5, Chapter 5 – Powers
2
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 30-5-5-16 – Health Care Powers
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-36-7-28 – Advance Directive; Signature; Witnesses
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 30-5-4-2 – Time Power Becomes Effective; Incapacity of the Principal
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 30-5-4-1 – Validity of Power; Conditions
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-9-4 – Authentication of Individual’s Identity
8
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 33-42-14-1 – Notary Public Fees
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 30-5-3-3 – Recording Power of Attorney
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 36 Local Government 36-2-7-10
11
Social Security Administration. Appointment of Representative
12
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 30-5-10-1 – Revocation of Power; Record