How to Fill Out and Notarize Minnesota’s Temporary Guardianship Form (DOPA)

Minnesota’s temporary guardianship form, the Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA), lets you authorize another adult to care for your child for up to one year without going to court. You fill in your information, your child’s information, the caregiver’s information, and the powers you are granting; then you sign in front of a notary. The form takes effect the moment it is notarized. No judge, no hearing, no filing fee.¹

What a DOPA Does and How Long It Lasts

A DOPA, authorized by Minn. Stat. § 524.5-211, gives the person you name (the “attorney-in-fact”) the authority to make day-to-day decisions for your child: consenting to medical treatment, enrolling the child in school, and providing a home with care and supervision.¹ Parents commonly use it when travel, deployment, medical treatment, or incarceration will keep them away from the child for weeks or months.

The maximum term is one year from the date you sign. You can set a shorter end date if your situation calls for it. There is no renewal; if you still need the arrangement after the year, you execute a brand-new form.²

Two decisions can never be handed off, no matter how the form is worded: consent to your child’s marriage and consent to adoption. Those stay with you.¹

Where to Download a Blank Form

The Minnesota Judicial Branch does not publish an official DOPA. Its forms page covers guardianship and conservatorship but has no DOPA template.³ Three legal aid organizations host free blank versions that track the statute and are accepted by Minnesota schools and medical providers:

LawHelp Minnesota publishes both a blank form and a plain-language fact sheet.⁴
MyLegalAid hosts a downloadable blank form.⁵
Volunteer Lawyers Network offers a sample DOPA with instructional notes.²

Pick whichever is easiest for you to read. All three produce a legally equivalent document.

Information to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out

Pull these details together before you sit down with the form:

Your full legal name and your county and state of residence.
Each child’s full legal name and date of birth, written exactly as they appear on the birth certificate.⁵
The attorney-in-fact’s full legal name and county and state of residence.
A decision about which powers to grant: all of them (medical, educational, providing a home) or a limited set.⁴
A photo ID for the notarization appointment.

If more than one child is involved, you can list them all on a single DOPA. Some parents prefer a separate form for each child so that each school and doctor receives a copy naming only its patient or student.

Filling Out the Form Step by Step

The standard DOPA follows a numbered structure.

Section 1 – Identify yourself and your child. Enter your full legal name, your county and state, and your child’s full legal name and date of birth. Add additional children on the lines provided.⁵

Section 2 – Name the attorney-in-fact. Write the caregiver’s full legal name and county and state. This section cites Minn. Stat. § 524.5-211 as the legal basis for the delegation.⁵

Section 3 – Define the powers. The form lists the usual categories: getting medical treatment, enrolling the child in school, and providing a home with care and supervision. Accept all of them, or cross out and leave blank the ones you are withholding. If, for example, you want the caregiver to handle school matters but not non-emergency medical decisions, strike through that line.⁴

Duration. Check the box for the full one-year maximum, or write in a specific end date that falls within one year of signing.²

Signature line. Leave this blank until you are in front of the notary. Signing early defeats the whole purpose of notarization.

Getting It Notarized

A DOPA is not valid until you sign it in front of a notary public. The notary checks your photo ID, watches you sign, and then applies their own signature and seal in the notary block at the bottom of the form.⁶ Only one parent needs to sign, and the attorney-in-fact does not need to be present.⁷

Minnesota caps notary fees at $5 per acknowledgment.⁸ Banks, UPS stores, and many public libraries have notaries on staff, and some legal aid offices will notarize for free.

Giving Notice to the Other Parent

Once the DOPA is signed and notarized, you have 30 days to deliver or mail a copy to the child’s other parent. The statute makes this mandatory, with two exceptions:¹

The other parent has no parenting time, or only supervised parenting time, under a court order.
An order for protection under Minnesota Chapter 518B, or a comparable order from another state, is in effect against the other parent.

If neither exception applies and you skip the notice, the other parent has grounds to challenge the DOPA. Certified mail with return receipt gives you proof of delivery.

Giving Copies to Schools, Doctors, and Caregivers

A DOPA is not filed with any court. It is a private document that works as soon as it is notarized.⁶ Give the attorney-in-fact the original or a clean copy, and make additional copies for the child’s school, pediatrician, dentist, and any after-school program.

Have the attorney-in-fact drop off copies before the arrangement begins, not after a problem comes up. During the delegation period, that person has the same authority as a parent to excuse absences, consent to treatment, and enroll the child in school.⁴ Front offices will look for the end date and the list of powers, so make sure both are legible.

Ending the DOPA Early

Every DOPA expires on its own at the end date on the form; you do not have to do anything. If you want to end it sooner, revoke it in writing. Tell the attorney-in-fact, and also notify the school, doctors, and anyone else holding a copy so they stop recognizing that person’s authority.⁴ Certified mail gives you a dated record of delivery.

When a DOPA Won’t Work

A DOPA fits temporary, cooperative arrangements where you plan to resume caregiving. It is the wrong tool when:

You are unable to sign. The form requires your voluntary, notarized signature. A caregiver facing an incapacitated or missing parent has to petition for formal guardianship instead.
The arrangement will outlast one year. There is no extension in the statute. Longer-term situations call for court-appointed guardianship or a custody transfer through family court.¹
You need to delegate consent to marriage or adoption. The statute carves both out.
The caregiver needs to add the child to employer health insurance. Insurers almost always require a court guardianship order, and a DOPA is a private power of attorney, not a court order.

For parents facing serious illness or another life-threatening condition, Minnesota also allows designation of a standby or temporary custodian under Chapter 257B. That arrangement is a separate process and triggers automatically when the parent becomes incapacitated, which a DOPA does not.¹

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 524.5-211 – Delegation of Power by Parent or Guardian
2
Volunteer Lawyers Network. Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA)
3
Minnesota Judicial Branch. Forms and Instructions
4
LawHelp Minnesota. Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA)
5
MyLegalAid. Delegation of Parental Authority
6
LawHelp Minnesota. Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA)
7
Volunteer Lawyers Network. DOPA Information Sheet
8
Minnesota Secretary of State. Notary FAQ