The Texas voluntary caregiver form, officially the Authorization Agreement for Nonparent Adult Caregiver (DFPS Form 2638), lets a parent give another adult authority to handle a child’s medical care, school enrollment, and daily decisions without going to court. To use it, download the form, fill in the required information, choose which powers to grant, and sign it with the caregiver before a notary public. It costs nothing beyond the notary fee, takes effect the moment it is signed, and runs for six months with automatic renewal unless someone ends it.
Where to Get the Form
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services publishes Form 2638 as a free PDF on its forms page.1Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. DFPS Forms The same document is also available through TexasLawHelp.org. Despite the DFPS branding, the form is not tied to any DFPS case and is meant for any Texas family arranging temporary care.
You are not required to use this specific form. Any written agreement that meets every requirement in Chapter 34 of the Texas Family Code is legally valid. The DFPS version simply walks you through each statutory element, which is the easiest way to avoid a fatal omission.
Who Can Sign
Chapter 34 limits the parties to a parent on one side and an adult caregiver on the other. The caregiver is any adult the parent authorizes to provide temporary care.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.0015 – Definitions A relative is not required; a family friend or neighbor qualifies as long as they are at least 18.
“Parent” has a narrower statutory meaning. It covers the child’s mother, any man who is the presumed, legal, adjudicated, or acknowledged father, and adoptive parents. It does not include a person whose parental rights have been terminated.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 101.024 – Parent A court-appointed legal guardian who is not the child’s parent cannot use this form to delegate authority.
One parent can sign alone, but if there is another parent with legal rights, that parent has to be notified afterward. See the notification section below.
When You Cannot Use This Form Without Court Approval
The agreement is void from the start if any of the following exist without prior written court approval:
- A court order or pending suit already affects the parent-child relationship.
- Pending litigation in any court concerns custody, possession, placement, or visitation.
- A court has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the child.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 34.004 – Execution of Authorization Agreement
If one of those applies and you still need this arrangement, the court with jurisdiction must issue written approval first, and the agreement must list the court’s county, court number, and cause number. If you are unsure whether a prior case affects your child, check with the district clerk in the county where any earlier family-law matter was filed before you sign anything.
What Powers You Can Grant
The parent decides which powers to hand over. Nothing forces you to grant them all, and it is common to authorize only medical consent and school enrollment while holding back the rest. The statutory list of powers you can delegate includes:
- Consenting to medical, dental, psychological, and surgical treatment and immunizations, and signing release-of-information forms.
- Obtaining and maintaining health insurance and, if appropriate, auto insurance for the child.
- Enrolling the child in daycare, preschool, or a public or private elementary or secondary school.
- Authorizing participation in athletics, civic groups, social events, and other age-appropriate activities.
- Authorizing the child to obtain a learner’s permit, driver’s license, or state ID card.
- Authorizing the child to work.
- Applying for and receiving government benefits on the child’s behalf.
- Obtaining copies or originals of the child’s birth certificate, Social Security card, and other identification documents.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 34.002 – Authorization Agreement
Mark each power clearly on the form. Ambiguous authority invites pushback from schools and doctors who need to know exactly what the caregiver can do.
Only one authorization agreement can be in effect for a child at any time. Signing a new agreement while an earlier one is still active makes the new one void. If you need to change caregivers, terminate the existing agreement first.
Required Information and Statements
Section 34.003 sets out the information the agreement must contain. Missing any of it can make the document unenforceable.
Identifying Information
The caregiver gives their full name, their relationship to the child, and a current physical address and phone number. The signing parent gives name, current address, and phone number. If the other parent’s contact information is known, it also has to appear on the form.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.003 – Contents of Authorization Agreement Include the child’s full name and date of birth so there is no confusion about who the agreement covers.
Sworn Statements
The form carries a series of statements that both parties sign under oath:
- The parent is voluntarily granting authority, and the caregiver is voluntarily accepting it.
- Neither party knows of any other parent, guardian, custodian, or agency asserting a conflicting claim to the child’s care or custody.
- To the best of both parties’ knowledge, there is no existing court order, pending custody suit, or continuing court jurisdiction over the child, or if there is, the court has given written approval and the county, court number, and cause number are listed.
- No other valid authorization agreement currently exists for the child.
- Both parties will immediately notify each other of any change in address or contact information.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.003 – Contents of Authorization Agreement
Term and Expiration
The form has to state how long the agreement lasts. The default is six months from signing, renewing automatically for successive six-month periods. If you want a shorter arrangement, for a deployment or a treatment program for example, you can enter a specific end date instead. The form also has to identify the circumstances under which the agreement can be terminated early or extended by a court.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.003 – Contents of Authorization Agreement Most families keep the six-month default with auto-renewal.
Signing Before a Notary
Both the parent and the adult caregiver must sign and swear to the agreement in front of a notary public.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 34.004 – Execution of Authorization Agreement This is more than an acknowledgment. Both signers take an oath that the statements in the document are true. Do not sign the form before you get to the notary; the notary needs to witness both signatures.
Texas caps notary fees. The first signature is up to $10, each additional signature up to $1, and administering the oath is a separate $10 maximum.7Texas Secretary of State. Notary Public Educational Information Expect around $20 to $25 total. Many banks, shipping stores, and some county clerk offices offer notary services.
Keep the original with the caregiver, since they will be the one showing it to schools and providers. Make several copies before handing anything out.
Notifying the Other Parent
If both parents did not sign, the parties have to mail a copy to the non-signing parent within ten days. Two mailings go to that parent’s last known address: one by certified mail with return receipt requested, and a second by regular first-class mail.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.005 – Duties of Parties to Authorization Agreement The dual mailing exists so the other parent still gets actual notice even if they refuse the certified copy. Skipping this step voids the entire agreement.
There is one exception. Notification is not required if the non-signing parent both lacks court-ordered possession of or access to the child and has a documented history of family violence or assault against the signing parent, the child, or another child of the signing parent. The documentation has to be either a protective order against the non-signing parent or a criminal conviction for a violent or sexual offense.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 34.005 – Duties of Parties to Authorization Agreement Both conditions must be met.
After the initial notification, the parent and the caregiver have an ongoing duty to tell each other of any change in address or contact information. If either fails to do so, the other can void the agreement.
Delivering Copies to Schools and Providers
Once the agreement is signed and any required notification is done, give copies to every institution where the caregiver will need to act. Schools use it to update enrollment records, add the caregiver to the pickup list, and let the caregiver sign permission forms and attend conferences. Healthcare providers need it on file before they can accept the caregiver’s consent for treatment or release records.
A caregiver with a Chapter 34 agreement generally qualifies as a “parent” under FERPA for educational records access when the parent is absent, and as a “personal representative” under HIPAA for the medical decisions the agreement covers.9eCFR. 34 CFR 99.310U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Guidance: Personal Representatives Bring the notarized original when requesting records in person. Front-desk staff may need a moment to run it by a supervisor since this form comes up less often than standard custody documents.
Ending the Agreement
The parent keeps all legal rights over the child. Chapter 34 states outright that the authorization agreement does not affect the parent’s rights regarding care, custody, and control, and does not give the caregiver legal custody.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 34.007 – Effect of Authorization Agreement You can end the arrangement at any time.
An agreement also becomes void automatically if the parties did not comply with the other-parent notification requirements, and either party can void it if the other fails to keep contact information current. To terminate voluntarily, notify the caregiver in writing and collect the copies from any school or provider that has one on file. Certified mail on the termination notice creates a paper trail if the caregiver later tries to act under the revoked document.
Mistakes That Void the Agreement
The form itself is simple. The procedural steps around it are where families run into trouble:
- Signing without notarization. An agreement that is signed but not sworn to before a notary has no legal force, and providers will reject it.
- Skipping the other-parent notification. Unless the family-violence exception applies, failing to mail both copies within ten days voids the whole agreement, not just the notice step.
- Signing while a court order or pending suit exists. Without prior written court approval, the agreement is void from the start.
- Overlapping agreements. Signing a new one for the same child before terminating the old one makes the new one void.
- Vague authority. Leaving the scope of powers ambiguous invites resistance from schools and doctors.
A voided agreement discovered months later, after the caregiver has already been making decisions, is far harder to unwind than the records check that would have caught the problem beforehand.