State guide
Advance Directive Forms in Arkansas
By Jason Su · Sources last confirmed September 14
We link to official sources only. We are not a law firm and we never write legal documents. The form you sign must come from an official or authorised source in your state.
What this document does
An advance directive is where you write down the healthcare treatment you would and would not want if you could not speak for yourself. In most states it also names a healthcare agent — the person who speaks for you when you cannot.
Where to get the Arkansas form
Arkansas Department of Health publishes the current form here: https://healthy.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/AdvanceCarePlanForm.pdf
Arkansas uses a single Advance Care Plan form.
Background reading: Arkansas Department of Health guidance
Arkansas groups its advance directive with POLST, and they are not the same thing
Arkansas uses a single Advance Care Plan covering both a living will and a health care agent. Note the name: Arkansas does not call it an "advance directive", so a search using that phrase can miss the state's own document entirely.
The other thing to understand is the company it keeps. Arkansas publishes its advance care planning material alongside POLST, and these are not the same kind of document, even though they are often mentioned together.
An advance directive is something you write about your own wishes. POLST is a medical order, completed and signed with a clinician, designed to travel with you through the healthcare system. One is your statement; the other is a clinical instruction. Filling in one does not do the work of the other.
The Advance Care Plan is published by the Arkansas Department of Health. It is free, and it does not have to be filed.
Arkansas calls its document an Advance Care Plan, and its pages also cover POLST. If you are looking for an "Arkansas advance directive" and finding POLST forms instead, you are on the right site but looking at a different document.
National resources
- USA.gov — Official U.S. government portal.
- Medicare.gov — Official Medicare information.
After you sign it
- Sign it the way Arkansas requires. Many states need witnesses or a notary. The form itself says which — follow the form, not a blog.
- Give copies to your healthcare agent and your doctor. A form nobody can find is a form that does not work.
- Keep the original somewhere reachable — not locked in a safe deposit box that needs a bank visit during an emergency.
- Add it to your checklist so your trusted contact knows it exists and where it lives.
Frequently asked
Is the Arkansas advance directive form free?
Yes. Arkansas Department of Health publishes the current form free of charge, and we link to the official source only.
Do I need a lawyer to complete the Arkansas form?
No. You can complete the form yourself. It must be signed the way Arkansas law requires — usually with witnesses or a notary — so follow the instructions printed on the form itself.
Where should I keep my signed Arkansas advance directive?
Give copies to your healthcare agent and your doctor, and keep the original somewhere reachable at home — not locked in a safe deposit box that needs a bank visit during an emergency.
Next: build your checklist and record where this form is kept.