A Power of Attorney (POA) allows someone else to make decisions on your behalf if you're unable to. To make your Power of Attorney documents legally valid, they must be signed and witnessed according to provincial rules. Because these documents carry significant responsibility, witnessing rules help ensure they were signed willingly and knowingly.
Who can witness your Power of Attorney?
In most provinces, your POA must be signed in front of two witnesses who meet the following criteria:
Over the age of majority (18 in most provinces)
Mentally capable of understanding what they’re doing
Not an attorney or spouse of an attorney named in the POA
Witnessing tip: To avoid potential legal challenges, choose witnesses who are neutral third parties - friends, neighbours, or coworkers often make good options.
Each Willful document has a detailed instructions page outlining signing and witnessing your POA. It also includes a list of people who should not witness your POA.
Tips for finding witnesses:
Reach out to your community
Neighbours: A friendly neighbour can be a convenient choice.
Friends & acquaintances: You don’t need a close friend - just someone willing to witness the signing.
Check your workplace
Coworkers: A colleague may be happy to help, especially for a quick signature.
Utilize paid witnessing services
If you’re unable to find personal witnesses, paid services offer professional witnessing for an additional fee.
Witnessing requirements vary by province and by the type of POA.
British Columbia
Representation Agreement: You and two witnesses must sign the Representation Agreement at the same time and on the same date. Your representative(s) and backup(s) must also sign, but their signatures do not need to be witnessed or done at the same time. You can mail the document to your represenative(s) for signing if needed.
Enduring POA: You and two witnesses must sign the Enduring Power of Attorney document at the same time. Your chosen attorney(s) and backup(s) must also sign in front of two witnesses, who also sign at the same time. These can be the same witnesses you choose or different witnesses. Your attorney(s) do not need to sign at the same time as you, but they cannot act until they have signed in front of two witnesses.
Alberta
Representation Agreement: Must be signed in the presence of one witness.
Enduring POA: Must be signed in the presence of one witness.
Manitoba
Enduring POA: If you have a spouse, you must include a document related to the Homesteads Act with your EPOA. This requires a lawyer’s signature and an affidavit of execution.
Recommendation: Because of the restrictions and lawyer requirements, it’s best to have a lawyer complete all signatures simultaneously.
If you want someone other than a lawyer to witness your EPOA, they must fall into one of the categories below (but a lawyer is still required for Homesteads Act documentation): Individuals registered to solemnize marriages, Superior court judge, Justice of the peace or provincial judge, Duly qualified medical practitioner, Notary public, Lawyer entitled to practice in the province, RCMP member, Police officer under The Police Services Act.
Nova Scotia
Personal Directive: Must be signed in the presence of one witness.
Enduring POA: One of your two witnesses will need to complete the Affidavit of Execution.
How to sign your POA documents
Follow these steps to make your POA legally valid:
Print the full document. If you created your POA online, print the complete version.
Review the instructions. Check how many witnesses are needed for your province.
Sign in front of your witness(es). Everyone must be physically present.
Have your witness(es) sign. Each witness signs in your presence and in each other’s presence.
Note: Only the person creating the POA needs to sign it in front of witnesses - attorneys typically do not sign the document unless specified. In BC, the attorney(s) and representative(s) will need to sign the documents with witnesses before they could act.
Initialing is not legally required in any Canadian province, but it’s a good practice. At Willful, we provide space for the document-maker and witnesses to initial each page to confirm that the content has been reviewed and to help prevent tampering. You and your witnesses can sign your document(s) while outside your province or country. To complete your Willful documents, you and your two witnesses initial the bottom of each page of the document body. You will also sign on the signature page at the end, next to your names.
What counts as the original?
You only need one original of each document. Once it’s properly signed and witnessed, that version becomes legally valid. Having multiple originals (each one signed and witnessed) can sometimes lead to confusion - especially if there’s uncertainty about which one is the “true” original.
Storage tip: Make a few photocopies or digital copies for your records or to share with appointees. Just make sure they know where the original is stored. Read more about storage here.
Important: Scans, photocopies, or unsigned printed copies are not considered originals. However, in some cases, courts may validate imperfect documents under "substantial compliance" laws.
Remote and digital witnessing options
Currently, the only paid option for digital execution of a POA is in Ontario through NotaryPro. If you want to get your will signed at the same time, you can add on the POAs:
Book your appointment using this link or directly from your Willful account. Note that this pricing is exclusive to Willful customers.
Upload your will and POAs
Add the "Extra Single Will or POA" to cart. If you are signing all 3 documents (your will and both POAs), you would need to add 2 to cart.
Choose a date and time.
Complete payment to secure your appointment.
Once confirmed, you’ll receive instructions from the notary to finalize your session.
Alternatively, you can book an appointment with Notary Pro by using their booking link at their regular pricing.
Does a POA need to be notarized?
For most provinces, you do not need to notarize your Power of Attorney documents to make them legally valid.
However, there are exceptions:
British Columbia and Nova Scotia (real estate transactions): Only if you need your chosen attorney to buy or sell real estate on your behalf. For BC, the statutory declaration included must be notarized. For Nova Scotia, the affidavit of execution included must be notarized. This notarization can be completed later by your chosen attorney and one of your witnesses.
In other scenarios, notarization may still be useful if:
You plan to use the document outside your province
A financial institution specifically requests it