To get a North Carolina Do Not Resuscitate form, talk to your physician. Under state law, only a physician can issue the portable DNR order, and the form has to be completed, signed, and printed on goldenrod-colored paper to be valid.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.17 – Portable Do Not Resuscitate Order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment Your doctor’s office, hospital, hospice, or other licensed healthcare facility will have the form, and the Office of Emergency Medical Services also hosts a fillable version on its website.2North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services. DNR/MOST There is no cost for the form itself, though you may pay for the office visit where it is discussed and signed.
Who Can Sign a DNR in North Carolina
Only a physician can issue a portable DNR under North Carolina General Statute 90-21.17. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners cannot sign one, even though they are authorized to sign the related Medical Order for Scope of Treatment (MOST).1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.17 – Portable Do Not Resuscitate Order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment The physician needs your consent to issue the order, and must also document the basis for it in your medical record.
If the patient cannot make their own medical decisions, someone else can consent on their behalf. North Carolina’s healthcare consent statute sets a priority order for who qualifies: a court-appointed guardian of the person, a healthcare agent named in a valid healthcare power of attorney, another agent granted healthcare decision-making authority, a spouse, a majority of reasonably available adult parents and children, a majority of reasonably available adult siblings, or an individual with an established relationship who acts in good faith and can reliably convey what the patient would want.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.13 – Informed Consent to Health Care Treatment or Procedure For a minor, the parent or guardian gives consent.
Completing the Form
The DNR form is not something you can download, fill out, and sign yourself. Your physician completes and signs it during or after a conversation about your wishes. The form asks for your full name, address, and date of birth, along with the physician’s name, address, phone number, and signature.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.17 – Portable Do Not Resuscitate Order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment Every field needs to be complete and accurate.
The statute does not require witnesses or a notary, which makes the DNR simpler to execute than many other legal documents. What it does require is the goldenrod paper. That distinctive bright yellow-orange color helps EMS crews recognize the form quickly, and a DNR printed on plain white paper will not be treated as valid by first responders.2North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services. DNR/MOST If your provider gives you the form electronically, print it on the correct paper before signing.
Keeping the Form Where EMS Can See It
A DNR only works if emergency responders can find it. Most people keep the original in a visible spot at home, such as on the refrigerator or a bedside table. If you live in a care facility, staff should keep it accessible in your records.
Medical ID bracelets and necklaces engraved with DNR information can prompt first responders to look for your paperwork, but the bracelet alone is not legally sufficient in North Carolina. EMS still needs the actual goldenrod form.2North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services. DNR/MOST If you collapse somewhere the form isn’t, EMS is trained to perform full resuscitation. The statute explicitly protects providers from liability when they resuscitate someone whose DNR they didn’t know about, so the default is always life-saving measures unless the form is present.4North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.17 – Portable Do Not Resuscitate Order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment
Changing or Revoking the Order
You can revoke your DNR at any time. The statute allows revocation but doesn’t spell out a procedure, so the practical methods are destroying the physical form or telling your medical providers directly that you want to cancel it. Verbal notice to medical personnel counts, and they should note it in your records.
If your wishes have shifted rather than reversed, ask your physician about a MOST form. The MOST is broader than a DNR and covers CPR, other medical interventions, antibiotics, and medically administered fluids and nutrition. Unlike a standalone DNR, the MOST must also be signed by the patient or the patient’s representative, and a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner can authorize it.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 90-21.17 – Portable Do Not Resuscitate Order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment A new DNR or MOST supersedes any earlier version. Tell your family, your healthcare agent, and anyone who might deal with EMS about the change, and destroy old copies to avoid confusion.
What a DNR Does Not Cover
A portable DNR tells EMS and hospital staff not to perform CPR, defibrillation, artificial ventilation, or intubation if your heart stops or you stop breathing. It does not mean “do not treat.” Comfort care, pain relief, and treatment for conditions unrelated to cardiac or respiratory arrest continue. If you break a hip or develop an infection, you still get full medical attention. The order governs only what happens when your heart or breathing stops.
A DNR is also narrower than a living will, which covers broader end-of-life preferences such as artificial nutrition and hydration when you are terminally ill, and narrower than a healthcare power of attorney, which names someone to make medical decisions if you become incapacitated. If you want a single document that addresses resuscitation along with a wider set of treatment decisions, the MOST is worth discussing with your physician.