How to Fill Out and Sign the Ohio Statutory Power of Attorney

To fill out the Ohio statutory power of attorney, download the form printed in Ohio Revised Code Section 1337.60, write in your full legal name and address as the principal, add your agent’s full legal name and address along with at least one successor agent, initial the blanks next to each category of financial authority you want to grant, and then sign the form in front of a notary public.¹ Every power of attorney created under this statute is durable by default, meaning it stays in effect if you later become incapacitated, unless you write in language saying otherwise.

What to Gather Before You Open the Form

You need three sets of information in front of you: your own full legal name and address, the same for the person you want to act on your behalf (your agent), and the same for at least one successor agent who takes over if your first choice dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns. Naming a successor at the outset means you won’t have to draft a new document later if your primary agent can no longer serve.

You also need to decide which financial areas your agent will control. The statutory form lists 14 categories, and you grant authority by initialing next to each one you want to include. Reading through those categories before you sit down with the form saves time and prevents you from skipping one that matters. If your agent will handle real estate, pull together the property addresses and the counties they sit in, because Ohio requires a power of attorney used for a real property transaction to be recorded with the county recorder before the deed or mortgage it supports is recorded.²

Where to Get the Correct Form

The official text of the form appears in Ohio Revised Code Section 1337.60, and the Ohio Legislature’s website hosts an authenticated PDF you can download and print.¹ County law libraries and many legal-document sites also provide copies, including the Cleveland Law Library.³ Whichever source you use, confirm the language matches the statute. The form only needs to be “substantially” in the statutory format to be valid, but working from the official text avoids arguments with banks or title companies about whether your wording qualifies.

Entering the Principal, Agent, and Successor

Write your full legal name and address in the principal section at the top of the form, then fill in your agent’s full legal name and address in the next block. The form has a space for one or more successor agents below that. A successor’s authority activates automatically if the primary agent can no longer serve, so there is no gap in coverage and no need for a court to step in.

Initialing the Categories of Authority

The heart of the form is its list of subject-matter categories. You initial the blank next to each area you want your agent to handle. The full list is:¹

Real Property — buying, selling, leasing, or managing land and buildings
Tangible Personal Property — vehicles, furniture, equipment, and similar physical items
Stocks and Bonds — securities transactions and brokerage accounts
Commodities and Options — futures contracts and related investments
Banks and Other Financial Institutions — checking, savings, CDs, and safe-deposit boxes
Operation of Entity or Business — running a company or managing business interests
Insurance and Annuities — buying, canceling, or filing claims on policies
Estates, Trusts, and Other Beneficial Interests — acting in probate matters or trust administration
Claims and Litigation — filing or settling lawsuits and legal disputes
Personal and Family Maintenance — paying household expenses, medical bills, and daily living costs
Benefits from Governmental Programs or Civil or Military Service — applying for or managing public benefits
Retirement Plans — IRAs, 401(k)s, and pension accounts
Taxes — filing returns, paying taxes, and handling audits
Digital Assets — online accounts, cryptocurrency, and electronic records

To grant everything on the list at once, initial the “All Preceding Subjects” line instead of initialing each item individually. A separate line grants your agent access to the content of your electronic communications, such as email and text messages, and you must initial that line separately even if you chose “All Preceding Subjects.”

For any category you want to withhold, leave the space blank. Drawing a line through the blank is a good precaution against someone adding initials after the fact.

Decide on Durability or a Springing Trigger

Ohio treats every power of attorney created under this statute as durable unless you explicitly state otherwise.⁴ That means your agent’s authority survives your incapacity automatically. If you want the document to terminate the moment you become unable to make your own decisions, you have to add language saying so. Most people want the durability protection, so the default works in their favor.

You can also create a “springing” power of attorney that sits dormant until a specific event triggers it, such as your incapacity. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 1337.29, you may name one or more people in the document who are authorized to determine in writing that the triggering event has occurred. If the trigger is incapacity and you have not named anyone to make that call, the power of attorney kicks in once a physician or licensed psychologist puts a written determination on record that you are incapacitated.⁵ The trade-off is delay. Your agent cannot act until someone produces the written determination, and institutions sometimes push back on whether the condition has truly been met. An immediately effective durable power of attorney avoids that friction.

Signing and Notarizing

Ohio Revised Code Section 1337.25 requires you to sign the form yourself or, if you are physically unable, to direct another person to sign your name in your “conscious presence.”⁶ “Conscious presence” is broader than standing shoulder-to-shoulder; it generally means you are aware of and able to perceive the signing. Ohio does not require witnesses for a financial power of attorney.

Acknowledging your signature before a notary public creates a legal presumption that the signature is genuine.⁶ The statute does not technically say notarization is the only way to execute the form, but skip this step and most banks and title companies will refuse to honor the document. Treat notarization as mandatory.

An in-person Ohio notary can charge up to $5 per notarial act. If you use Ohio’s remote online notarization process, where you appear by live video with a notary commissioned under Ohio Revised Code Section 147.64, the fee cap rises to $30, plus a technology fee of up to $10 for the notarization platform.⁷ Online notarization is available for any notarial act in Ohio except depositions, and you can be located anywhere in the United States during the session.⁸ Mobile notaries who travel to your home or a care facility typically charge an additional travel fee negotiated before the appointment.

Recording If Real Estate Is Involved

If your agent will sign a deed, mortgage, or lease on your behalf, the power of attorney itself must be recorded with the county recorder in the county where the property sits before the real estate instrument is recorded.² Recording the power of attorney on the same day as the deed satisfies the timing requirement. If someone misses the deadline, the statute allows later recording with a supporting affidavit from a person with knowledge of the facts, but getting the order right from the start is simpler. Recording fees vary by county.

What the Form Does Not Cover

An Ohio statutory power of attorney does not reach every corner of your financial life. Two federal agencies run their own authorization systems that override any state document.

The Social Security Administration will not honor a state power of attorney for managing Social Security or SSI benefits. The SSA’s position is that holding power of attorney “does not give legal authority to negotiate and manage a beneficiary’s Social Security and/or SSI benefits,” and the Treasury Department does not recognize a power of attorney for negotiating federal payments. For your agent to manage those benefits, they must apply separately to become your representative payee through the SSA.⁹

The IRS has its own authorization process. To represent you before the IRS, which means calling on your behalf, responding to notices, or signing returns, your agent generally needs IRS Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative), and the representative must be someone eligible to practice before the IRS, such as an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent.¹⁰ Initialing the “Taxes” category on the Ohio form lets your agent prepare and file returns, but it does not automatically satisfy the IRS’s separate authorization requirements. If tax representation matters to you, have your agent complete Form 2848 in addition to the state form.

Revoking the Power of Attorney

You can revoke your power of attorney at any time, as long as you are mentally competent. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 1337.30, the document terminates when you revoke it, when the agent dies or resigns and no successor is named, when the stated purpose is accomplished, or when you die.¹¹

To revoke, put it in writing and have the revocation notarized. Deliver it to your agent; certified mail with return receipt requested creates a paper trail that proves receipt. Then notify every bank, brokerage, and institution where the agent has been using the document. Until a third party has actual knowledge that the power of attorney has been revoked, any action the agent takes in good faith under the old document still binds you.¹¹

If the original power of attorney was recorded with a county recorder for real estate purposes, the revocation must also be recorded in the same office. An unrecorded revocation has no effect against third parties who relied on the recorded power of attorney.¹² Filing a divorce, dissolution, or legal separation from your agent automatically terminates that agent’s authority unless the power of attorney says otherwise, though a successor agent named in the document can still act.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 1337.60 – Statutory Form Power of Attorney
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 1337.04 – Recording of Power of Attorney
3
Cleveland Law Library. Research FAQs: Ohio Power of Attorney Law
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1337 – Section 1337.24
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1337 – Section 1337.29
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 1337.25 – Execution of Power of Attorney
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 147.08 – Notary Public Fees
8
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 147.64 – Authority of Online Notary Public
9
Social Security Administration. Frequently Asked Questions for Representative Payees
10
Internal Revenue Service. Power of Attorney and Other Authorizations
11
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1337 – Section 1337.30
12
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1337 – Section 1337.05