How to Get an Illinois Do Not Resuscitate Form

To put a Do Not Resuscitate order in place in Illinois, you complete the IDPH Uniform POLST form (Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment), which serves as the state’s official Illinois Do Not Resuscitate form. You can download it for free from the Illinois Department of Public Health website or request a copy from your doctor, hospital, or nursing home.¹ The form only becomes a valid medical order after you discuss it with a qualified healthcare practitioner and both of you sign it.²

What the Form Actually Does

A DNR order tells medical professionals not to perform CPR if your heart or breathing stops. CPR includes chest compressions, electrical shocks, and inserting a breathing tube. The Illinois POLST form goes further than a standalone DNR by also recording your preferences about other life-sustaining treatments, such as mechanical ventilation and defibrillation.²

A DNR order does not stop your medical care. You still receive comfort care, pain management, and any other treatment aimed at keeping you comfortable. What changes is only what happens when your heart or breathing stops.²

One boundary worth naming: a POLST is not a living will. A living will is a written statement of your wishes about life-prolonging treatment if you become terminally ill or permanently unconscious. A POLST/DNR is a medical order signed by a practitioner that gives EMS and hospital staff an immediate, actionable instruction. Illinois recognizes four advance directives in total: a healthcare power of attorney, a living will, a mental health treatment preference declaration, and a POLST.¹ Many people have both a living will and a POLST.

Who Can Sign the Form

Any adult of sound mind, or an emancipated minor, can execute a POLST directing that resuscitation not be attempted.³ You do not need to have a terminal illness. The form is voluntary; no one should pressure you into signing.²

If a person lacks capacity to make their own healthcare decisions, someone else can consent on their behalf: a legal guardian, an agent under a healthcare power of attorney, or a surrogate decision-maker. A parent or legal guardian can request a DNR order for a minor child.²

When no guardian, agent, or power of attorney exists, Illinois law sets a priority list for who can act as surrogate. In order: a court-appointed guardian of the person, then the patient’s spouse, then any adult child, then either parent, then any adult sibling, then any adult grandchild, then a close personal friend, and finally a court-appointed guardian of the estate.⁴ A higher-priority person’s decision overrides a lower one. If you want a specific person making these calls, name a healthcare power of attorney in advance and skip the ambiguity.

Completing the Form Step by Step

Getting the paper is the easy part. Making it a valid order takes a few specific steps.

Talk with your healthcare practitioner first. Discuss your diagnosis, prognosis, and what different interventions would realistically accomplish. A form filled out without this conversation is just paperwork.
Fill in your personal information: full name, date of birth, and address.⁵
Select your treatment preferences. The form has sections covering CPR, other life-sustaining interventions, and comfort measures. Your practitioner walks you through the choices.
Sign the consent section yourself, or have your legal representative sign if you lack capacity. Electronic signatures are accepted.⁵
Have your practitioner sign. Under Illinois law, a qualifying practitioner is a licensed physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, a physician assistant, or a medical resident with at least one year of graduate training.⁵

Illinois no longer requires a witness signature. Older DNR forms that were properly completed at the time they were signed remain valid.⁶

Where to Keep It So It Works in an Emergency

A DNR order only helps if someone can find it. Photocopies, faxes, and digital copies are legally valid, and the form can be printed on any color paper.⁵ Make several and put them where responders and family will look.

At home, post the original on your refrigerator or another prominent spot. EMS responders check there first.
Give a copy to every healthcare provider involved in your care: primary doctor, specialists, home health, hospice.
Make sure close family members have copies and know where the original is kept.

Some people also wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace engraved with “DNR.” In Illinois, a bracelet alone is not enough for EMS to withhold resuscitation. The signed POLST form, or a copy, still needs to be apparent and immediately available.³ The bracelet is a useful prompt to look for the paperwork, nothing more.

Who Has to Honor It

Licensed hospitals, licensed long-term care facilities including nursing homes, and licensed EMS personnel in Illinois all must comply with a properly executed IDPH Uniform POLST form.⁶ The form is portable and follows you across settings.

Illinois providers must also honor a National POLST form, another state’s authorized POLST form (sometimes called MOST, MOLST, or POST elsewhere), or an out-of-hospital DNR order from any U.S. state, as long as it was executed by an adult and is apparent and immediately available.³ If you moved from another state or are traveling with an existing DNR, it should be recognized. Once you establish care with an Illinois practitioner, completing a new state form removes any doubt.

Changing or Revoking the Order

You can revoke your POLST at any time if you are the person who executed it. The statute lets the individual revoke the document at will.³ Under the IDPH administrative rules, revocation happens one of two ways:

Either way, tell your family and every provider who has a copy. A revoked form still stuck to a refrigerator can create real confusion in an emergency. To change your treatment preferences rather than cancel altogether, complete a new POLST with your practitioner.

1
Illinois Department of Public Health. Advance Directives
2
Illinois Department of Public Health. Guidance for Individuals – IDPH Uniform Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Advance Directive
3
Justia. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 40 – Health Care Surrogate Act
4
FindLaw. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 40/25
5
Illinois Department of Public Health. IDPH Uniform Practitioner Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment Form
6
Illinois Department of Public Health. POLST Guidance for Health Care Providers and Professionals
7
Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 77 Section 515.380 – Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) and Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Policy