Advance Healthcare Directives
That little box is called a 'QR code' and will allow anyone with access to the card, including trusted health care agents/POAs and health officials, to scan it with the camera on their smart phone and access the directive you have on file with our office without having to enter your file number and password. Your document may still be accessed as it always has been by going to www.sosnc.gov/health and entering the file number and password found on the printed registration card. The QR code is a digital representation of your file number and password. Scanning it with the camera on a smart phone will provide faster and easier access to the document when needed.
New/additional cards may be ordered for by sending a letter to the:
Be sure to include:
- How many additional cards for each document on file
-
Details about each document for which you want new cards:
- Which document(s)
- Your user name(s) & password(s) for each document (or a photocopy of existing cards), and
- A check made out to the NC Secretary of State to cover the cost.
Additional/duplicate/replacement cards are available for $5 per document on file. That gives you two cards for each document. Additional cards ordered at the same time cost $3 per set.
Example: You have two documents on file and you want two more cards for each document (one for you and one for your health care agent, for instance), then the charge is $10. If you want extras to give to others, then it'll cost $6 ($3 for each additional set of two).
Advance Health Care Directives are legal documents in which you give written instructions about your health care if, in the future, you cannot speak for yourself.
- A health care power of attorney.
- A declaration of a desire for a natural death.
- An advance instruction for mental health treatment.
- A declaration of an anatomical gift.
- A health care power of attorney allows you to name a person you trust to make your health care decisions if you cannot make them yourself.
- A declaration of a desire for a natural death (often referred to as a “living will”) is a document which states your desire not to have your life prolonged by extraordinary measures if you have a terminal or incurable illness, or if you are in a vegetative state.
- An advance instruction for mental health treatment makes a declaration of instructions, information and preferences regarding your mental health treatment. It also states that you are aware that the advance instruction authorizes a mental health treatment provider to act according to your wishes. It may also outline your consent or refusal of mental health treatment.
- A declaration of an anatomical gift allows anyone over the age of 18 to make a gift by will, organ donor card or other document.
Links to popular organ donation sites can be found on our Advance Health Care links page. Contact those organizations directly for specific information on how to become an organ donor. You may also register to become a donor at the NC Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when applying for or renewing your license.
In each of the above cases, the directive must be notarized before you may submit it to the Secretary of State for filing into the Health Care Registry. The only notarization exception is the Declaration of an Anatomical Gift (Organ Donor Card). This document need not be notarized but does require your signature and two witness signatures.
The North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office is only the Administrator of the Advance Health Care Directive Registry and is prohibited from giving legal advice. If you do not already have one, you may find a licensed attorney using the North Carolina Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service.
Questions about advance health care directives may be answered by consulting with your attorney or other agencies that specialize in end of life care choices and issues.
Registration of your Advance Health Care Directive is entirely voluntary.
No. You may file your directives in any format. The forms available on our web page are for the convenience of our customers, not a requirement of the General Statutes. However, note: the North Carolina Secretary of State is not required to review the document to make sure it complies with the particular statutory requirements applicable to that directive.
Print a Registration Form (Word) from our Advance Health Care forms site and
fill in the required information. Failure to use the latest version of the Registration
Form found on the Secretary of State’s website will result in the return of the outdated form
and will delay the registration of any directive. Indicate on the Registration Form each
document you wish to register and submit a COPY of each document along with the fee of $10.00/document.
Do not send original documents. Mail the registration, copies of the documents to be registered, and
fees to:
Advance Health Care Directive Registry
North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State
Post Office Box 29622
Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0622.
We will scan your paperwork into our database. You will receive two cards for each directive that you register with our office.Each card shall contain your name, file number and password.It will also contain a QR code as described in an earlier section above.If you submitted original directive documents—which we discourage you to do—we will return them to you with your Registry Cards. You and anyone else with access to your card will then be able to access your directives on our lookup page which is available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Whether or not you decide to register your directives with the North Carolina Secretary of State, you should notify everyone that needs to know your wishes for any of the above directives. Make sure you tell your doctor, your hospital, agent or surrogate and other family members.
After receiving your Registry Cards, you may want to make copies for anyone you feel should have access to your directives. This might include your health care agent, trusted family members, and/or health care providers. You might also consider placing a copy in the glove compartment of your vehicle(s), as well as keeping copies in any other residences you may have. Directives should be readily available to those who will need to make decisions for you in the event you are unable make decisions for yourself. If you place your Registry Card in a hidden location or a safety deposit box, the directive information may not be nearby when it's needed the most.
You may, at any time, revoke the filing of any of your directives. Simply fill out the Removal Form located on our website and have it notarized. Mail the Removal Form to the North Carolina Secretary of State, Advance Health Care Directive Registry, Post Office Box 29622, Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0622. We will revoke (delete) your documents that are filed online, and they will no longer be accessible over the Internet. There is no fee for the revocation. Generally, only the Registrant may revoke their directive. If you are submitting a Removal Form for a deceased Registrant, include a certified copy of the Registrant's Death Certificate. The Death Certificate will be returned to you.
Nothing in House Bill 634 invalidates old statutory forms or old “custom” forms. Those forms will still apply according to those terms. North Carolinians who have executed forms under the old statute may, of course, wish to consider executing new forms to more clearly express their intent.
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order and Medical Order for Scope of Treatment (MOST) are doctor’s orders prepared by and for the use of physicians and other licensed healthcare facilities relating to a patient’s desire for resuscitation or life-prolonging measures. The DNR form is printed on yellow paper, and the MOST form is printed on pink paper. Each is to be visible to staff. They are available only to physicians’ offices or other licensed hospital or healthcare facilities. For more information, or to see examples of either form, visit the NC Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Emergency Medical Services’ website. You may also contact the Office of Emergency Medical Services at (919) 855-3935. Additional information is available by downloading the NC Medical Society’s FAQ(PDF) and at N.C.G.S. § 90-21.17.
No, for two very important reasons:
First, for MOST to be followed by emergency medical services and other health care personnel in another setting, the original form is needed. Copies of MOST are appropriate for inclusion in the patient’s medical record for documentation purposes only. It is extremely important that the original MOST form accompany the patient as he or she moves from one health care setting or care level to another. For more information about the MOST form, see the extensive list by downloading the NC Medical Society’s FAQ(PDF) See also N.G.G.S. § 90-21.17(d).
Second, neither the MOST nor the DNR can be placed on the Secretary of State Advance Health Care Directive Registry. State law currently limits what can be filed to four (4) documents: