A healthcare directive is read by hospital staff under time pressure, and the signature and witness block is the first thing they check. Here is exactly what Wisconsin requires when you sign a healthcare directive, and how to run the signing so it holds up.
What Wisconsin requires
Wisconsin law calls for two witnesses when a healthcare directive is signed, and notarization is not required.
Witnesses watch you sign (or hear you acknowledge the signature as yours) and then sign themselves, so everyone must be present at the same time.
Statutory detail: A Wisconsin power of attorney for health care uses the Wis. Stat. 155.30(3) statutory form and requires TWO witnesses, with the principal and both witnesses signing AT THE SAME TIME. No notary. The disqualification list is long and strictly applied: a witness may not be related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption, may not be the principal's domestic partner under ch. 770, may not be directly financially responsible for the principal's health care, may not be a health care provider serving the principal or an employee of that provider or of an inpatient health care facility (chaplains and social workers excepted), may not be the health care agent, and may not have a claim on the principal's estate. Wis. Stat. 155.30(1) and (2) require any printed form sold or distributed for use by someone who does not have the advice of legal counsel to carry a specified notice in not less than 10-point boldface type and to grant no authority beyond health care decisions; that notice is printed at the front of this form.
- Witnesses: 2
- Notary: not required
Step-by-step signing checklist
Follow the steps in order, and sign nothing until everyone who needs to be present is in the room.
- Print and review the final PDF: Print the final version single-sided and read every page. Confirm the names, dates, and the people you appointed before anyone signs — a correction after signing means re-signing.
- Arrange two witnesses: Ask two witnesses to be with you at the same time and place. Choose adults who receive nothing under the document, and ask each to bring photo ID.
- Sign in front of everyone: Sign and date where the healthcare directive indicates, with two witnesses watching. Do not sign ahead of time.
- Have the witnesses sign: Each witness signs the attestation section while you and the other witness watch, then prints their name and address by hand.
- Store the original and hand out copies: Keep the signed original somewhere safe and fireproof, tell the people you appointed where it is, and give them copies. Never write changes on the signed original — sign a corrected version instead.
Mistakes that undo a valid document
Most signing failures are procedural, not substantive — the document was fine and the ceremony was not.
- Signing before the witnesses or notary arrive, then asking them to sign later.
- Witnesses who sign at different times or out of each other's sight.
- Using someone who benefits under the document as a witness — it invites a challenge and, in some states, costs them their gift.
- Skipping a page, an initial line, or the date.
- Writing changes by hand on the signed original.
- Losing the original; a photocopy is often not enough.
After signing
The original is the document. Store it where it will survive a fire and a move, and make sure the people you appointed can find it without you.
Revisit the healthcare directive when your family, your finances, or the people you appointed change. A new version is signed the same way; the old one should be destroyed once the new one is complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many witnesses does a Wisconsin healthcare directive need?
Two. They must be present at the same time, watching you sign or hearing you acknowledge the signature, before they sign themselves.
Does a Wisconsin healthcare directive have to be notarized?
No. Notarization is not required, though there is a statutory detail worth knowing: A Wisconsin power of attorney for health care uses the Wis. Stat. 155.30(3) statutory form and requires TWO witnesses, with the principal and both witnesses signing AT THE SAME TIME. No notary. The disqualification list is long and strictly applied: a witness may not be related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption, may not be the principal's domestic partner under ch. 770, may not be directly financially responsible for the principal's health care, may not be a health care provider serving the principal or an employee of that provider or of an inpatient health care facility (chaplains and social workers excepted), may not be the health care agent, and may not have a claim on the principal's estate. Wis. Stat. 155.30(1) and (2) require any printed form sold or distributed for use by someone who does not have the advice of legal counsel to carry a specified notice in not less than 10-point boldface type and to grant no authority beyond health care decisions; that notice is printed at the front of this form.
Do the witnesses need to read the document?
Generally no. A witness attests that you signed willingly and appeared to know what you were doing — not to the contents. They need to see you sign, or hear you say the signature is yours.
What should I do with the signed original?
Keep it somewhere safe and fireproof, tell the people you appointed exactly where it is, and give them copies. If anything needs to change later, sign a corrected version rather than marking up the original.