Georgia: your 18-year-old’s paperwork

What this covers: how a Georgia student signs the four Covered18 documents (health care directive, financial power of attorney, HIPAA release, FERPA consent) and what to do afterward. It does not say which choices are right for your family.

0. Before you start

• Age: Georgia: age of majority is 18 (O.C.G.A. §39-1-1). An advance directive may be made by a person of sound mind who is emancipated or 18 or older (§31-32-5(a)). Sign on or after the 18th birthday.
• Talk with the person you plan to name (and a backup) before anything is printed. They need to agree and know where the papers will be.
• Schools, hospitals and banks sometimes ask for their own forms. Ask the school's registrar and student health center what they accept.
• If any item below says UNVERIFIED, confirm it with the notary, the state source, or a lawyer before relying on it.

1. Health care directive

Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care
Statutory form text reproduced verbatim from the official source (see Sources). Optional statutory form, O.C.G.A. §31-32-4 (text from the Justia copy of the 2025 Code of Georgia; compare with the State's Division of Aging Services form, revised March 2016, which predates the 2022 amendment).

• Principal signs and dates; two witnesses, each of sound mind and 18 or older, attest and sign in the principal's presence (O.C.G.A. §31-32-5(c)). The witnesses do not have to be together.
• Neither witness can be the agent or back-up agent, anyone who will knowingly inherit or financially benefit from the principal's death, or anyone directly involved in the principal's health care. No more than one witness may be an employee, agent or medical staff member of the facility where the principal is receiving care.
• No notary is required (the form says so).
• A copy has the same effect as the original (§31-32-5(e)).

Watch for: - Part Four (signatures) must be completed for the form to be effective. - Two witnesses are required; no notary is needed. - Line breaks were re-inserted for readability only; the wording was not changed. Compare with an official source before use.

2. Financial power of attorney

Georgia Statutory Form Power of Attorney
Statutory form text reproduced verbatim from the official source (see Sources). Optional statutory form, O.C.G.A. §10-6B-70 (text from the Justia copy of the 2025 Code of Georgia).

• Principal signs; ONE competent witness attests in the principal's presence; and a notary or other officer listed in O.C.G.A. §44-2-15 attests in the principal's presence. The witness and the officer must be different people, and neither can be an agent (O.C.G.A. §10-6B-5(a)).
• Plan for two people other than the agent in the room with the principal.

Watch for: - Signing requires a witness AND a notary or other officer, both present when the principal signs (O.C.G.A. §10-6B-5). Neither can be an agent, and they must be two different people. - Line breaks were re-inserted for readability only; wording unchanged. - Gifts and other specific authorities require initials; leave blank if unsure.

3. HIPAA authorization and FERPA consent

• The HIPAA release and FERPA consent are separate papers built from the federal required elements (45 CFR 164.508; 34 CFR 99.30). The student signs and dates each. Neither gives anyone the power to make decisions; they only allow information to be shared.
• Notarization is not required by the federal rules. Some schools and providers want their own form; ask first.
• Georgia mental-health record rules (Title 37) were not researched. UNVERIFIED.
• Ask the registrar and student health center which forms they accept.

4. Remote (online) options

Question	What we found
Remote online notarization	No permanent Georgia remote online notarization law was found. A 2026 bill (HB 289) was reported by a House committee on 2026-03-06; one tracker lists it as dead on 2026-04-02. Final status UNVERIFIED. Treat as in-person only.
Remote witnessing	No authority found. Treat as not allowed.

If the table says UNVERIFIED, plan on signing in person. See the notary options page for online notary services and their public prices.

5. If the student is signing from another state

• Another state's directive: treated as a complying Georgia directive if valid under the law where executed (O.C.G.A. §31-32-5(b)).
• Another state's POA: valid if its execution complied with the law of the jurisdiction determining its meaning and effect (§10-6B-6(b)).

Banks and hospitals decide for themselves what they accept. Whether yours accepts an out-of-state document is UNVERIFIED.

6. Stop and ask a lawyer if

• Only the agent and the agent's family are available as witnesses.
• Anything in your situation does not match this guide (for example guardianship, a disability, or a business interest).

7. Checklist to bring to the notary

• ☐ Government photo ID that is current (the notary will check it against the name on the papers).
• ☐ The documents, printed, unsigned. Do not sign ahead of time.
• ☐ Every person who must be present: the student, any witnesses (see Section 1 and 2), and the notary.
• ☐ Names, addresses and phone numbers for the agent(s) and backups.
• ☐ A black-ink pen. Print the HIPAA release and FERPA consent on their own pages.
• ☐ Ask the notary what the fee is before the appointment. Notary fees are not included in Covered18's price.
• ☐ Do not bring the agent as a witness unless the state section above says it is allowed.

8. After signing

• Make copies. Give a copy to the agent, the backup agent, the student's doctor or campus health center, and the bank if the financial document is meant to be used there. Keep the original somewhere safe and tell people where.
• Keep a scan in a place the agent can reach.
• Review once a year and after any big change (new school, move, relationship change). The HIPAA release has its own expiry date; set a reminder.
• If the student wants to change or cancel a document, ask the notary or a lawyer how to do that in your state.

9. UNVERIFIED items

• Official-source confirmation of the 2025 form text (the Justia copy is a secondary publication of the Code).
• Georgia RON/e-notary status for these documents.
• Georgia mental-health record rules and the psychiatric advance directive (Chapter 11 of Title 37).
• Real-estate recording form requirement noted in §10-6B-6(c).