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Step 1

A person who has executed an advance health care directive may register information regarding the directive with the Secretary of State. This information is made available upon request to the registrant's health care provider, public guardian, or legal representative. A request for information must state the need for the information.

You must first prepare and execute an advance health care directive. To obtain or create an advance health care directive:


Step 2

Once the advance health care directive has been prepared and executed, information regarding the advance health care directive may be registered with the Secretary of State by completing the Registration of Written Advance Health Care Directive. The Registration of Written Advance Health Care Directive is a voluntary filing. The registration form is provided in PDF file format and can be viewed, filled in and printed from your computer using the most current version of the Adobe Reader (available for free from Adobe's Website). Once the Registration of Written Advance Health Care Directive form has been completed, the form should be mailed to:

Secretary of State
Advance Health Care Directive Registry
P.O. Box 942877, Sacramento, CA 94277-0001.

  • There is a $10 fee for filing a new registration form or a revocation of prior directive and new registration.
  • The same form can be used to amend information on a previously filed registration form or revoke the registration by checking the applicable box on the form. There is no fee for filing an amendment or revocation.
  • The advance health care directive, or the location of the directive, can be made a part of the Secretary of State registry by attaching the advance health care directive to the Registration of Written Advance Health Care Directive filed with the Secretary of State.
  • A registrant must re-register upon execution of a subsequent advance directive.

For further information, please refer to Probate Code sections 4701 and 4800 and to the Office of the Attorney General's website.

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