Medical consent form for a minor while parents are away (California §6910)

What does California Family Code §6910 say?

Family Code §6910 lets a parent authorize, in writing, another adult who is caring for the child to consent to the child's medical care, dental care, or both. The whole section is one sentence:

The parent, guardian, or caregiver of a minor who is a relative of the minor and who may authorize medical care and dental care under Section 6550, may authorize in writing an adult into whose care a minor has been entrusted to consent to medical care or dental care, or both, for the minor.

The authorization is in writing, signed by the parent (or one of the other two signers named), not by the adult who receives the authority. It goes to an adult into whose care the child has been entrusted, related or not. It covers medical care, dental care, or both. The statute prescribes no form, notary, witnesses or end date.

It is a consent to treatment, not a guardianship and not a release of records. Of written agreements in which parents give a caregiver decisions such as medical care, the California courts' self-help site says such an agreement "is not a court form" and "will not give you legal custody over the child" (Options other than guardianship).

Who can sign a medical consent form for a minor in California?

Under Family Code §6910, three kinds of people may sign: the child's parent, the child's guardian, or a caregiver who is a relative of the child and who may authorize medical and dental care under Family Code §6550, meaning a relative who has completed and signed items 1–8 of the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit. The signer gives the authority; the adult caring for the child presents the form at the doctor's or dentist's office.

A parent's nomination of a guardian is a different document: it tells a court whom the parent prefers, and a court still decides. In the RightForms questionnaire, the person signing chooses which of the three §6910 categories applies to them; nothing is pre-selected, because the choice is printed as the signer's own statement.

Medical consent form or Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit: what is the difference?

The difference is who signs and when: a parent (or a guardian, or a relative caregiver under §6550) signs a §6910 medical consent form and can do it in advance, for use once the child is in the authorized adult's care, while the caregiver signs the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit (CAA), under penalty of perjury, and only once the child lives in the caregiver's home.

The two can exist side by side: a parent can sign a §6910 authorization ahead of time, and a relative who later cares for the child at home can sign the CAA. Under the CAA, a parent's contrary decision about medical or dental care overrides the caregiver's, unless it would jeopardize the child's life, health or safety (Family Code §6550(b)). How these compare with court guardianship is covered in temporary guardianship without court in California.

Can grandparents give medical consent for a grandchild?

In California, a grandparent can consent to a grandchild's medical care in two ways: a parent signs a §6910 medical authorization naming the grandparent, or the grandparent, as a relative caregiver, signs items 1–8 of the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit once the grandchild lives with them. Aunts, uncles, adult siblings and other relatives within the definition below have the same two routes.

Medical authorization for grandparents signed by the parent

The parent signs, and can do so before anything happens. The condition in §6910 is that the child has been entrusted to the grandparent's care, for example while the parents travel or cannot be reached; the section says nothing about where the child lives.

The caregiver affidavit signed by the grandparent

The grandparent signs, and only after the grandchild has moved in. The form's instructions explain what each part does:

Completion of items 1–4 and the signing of the affidavit is sufficient to authorize enrollment of a minor in school and authorize school-related medical care. Completion of items 5–8 is additionally required to authorize any other medical care.

A relative who completes items 1–8 gets the same rights to authorize medical and dental care that a guardian has under Probate Code §2353, which may include mental health treatment subject to Probate Code §2356 (Family Code §6550(a)). Item 8 accepts a California driver's license or ID number or a government-issued consular card number. If the caregiver does not have that information, the form's notice to caregivers says to give another form of identification, such as a Social Security number or Medi-Cal number. The statute defines a relative this way:

"Relative" means an adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including all stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words "great," "great-great," or "grand," or the spouse of any of the persons specified in this definition, even after the marriage has been terminated by death or dissolution.

Can a babysitter, nanny or family friend consent to a child's medical care?

A babysitter, nanny or family friend can consent to a child's medical care in California if a parent authorizes it in writing under §6910, because the statute covers any adult into whose care the child has been entrusted. The caregiver affidavit is narrower for them: a caregiver who is not a relative "can only consent to medical care related to school," in the words of the courts' self-help site.

Leaving the hospital is a separate rule: a health facility may not release a child under 16 to anyone without written authorization from the parent, the legal custodian or a relative caregiver under §6550, and with limited exceptions it reports to the state the name and address of a non-relative who takes the child (Health and Safety Code §1283). The RightForms form includes that written authorization for the named caregiver; it does not change the facility's reporting duty.

Does a medical consent form for a minor need to be notarized?

California's §6910 does not require notarization: the statute asks only for a written authorization from the person who signs it (a parent, guardian or relative caregiver under §6550). The caregiver affidavit states that it "is not required to be notarized" (Family Code §6552).

A hospital, clinic or school may still ask for notarization under its own policy. The courts' self-help site says a parent-signed power of attorney for child care has "quite a few technical requirements" and that "it's a good idea for you and the parents to consult a lawyer." It also calls such a power of attorney "unusual" and warns that "it's possible that a service provider will refuse to recognize your authority." For a provider that asks, the RightForms PDF ends with an optional California notary acknowledgment; the statute does not make notarization a condition.

Do both parents need to sign a medical consent form?

Section 6910 refers to "the parent" and does not itself require both parents to sign. A custody order can change that: when a court orders joint legal custody, the order must specify when the consent of both parents is required (Family Code §3083). What a particular order requires is a question for a family law attorney or the court's self-help center. The RightForms form can be signed by one parent or two.

How long is a medical consent form for a minor valid?

Family Code §6910 sets no expiration date, so the form itself states how long it lasts. In RightForms the signer chooses the end date: the questionnaire suggests one year, which is a software default and not a rule from the statute, and allows a longer term up to the youngest child's 18th birthday. A provider may apply its own policy on how recently an authorization was signed.

The authorization covers only minors, and "a minor is an individual who is under 18 years of age" (Family Code §6500). When several children are on one form, it ends for each child on that child's 18th birthday, whatever end date is printed; the RightForms PDF prints a separate line for every child who turns 18 on or before the end date.

How does a parent cancel a medical consent form?

The RightForms form states that it is in effect until its end date or until the person who signed it revokes it in writing, whichever comes first. The courts' self-help site says a parent "can cancel this agreement or power of attorney at any time." A doctor, dentist or school that holds a copy learns of the revocation only when someone gives it to them.

For the caregiver affidavit, the law puts the duty on the caregiver: if the child moves out, the caregiver notifies each school and provider that received it (Family Code §6550(f)).

What medical care can a caregiver not consent to?

A caregiver can consent only within what the authorization gives: medical care, dental care, or both, minus any limits the parent writes in. In this part of the Family Code, "medical care" means X-ray examination, anesthetic, medical or surgical diagnosis or treatment, and hospital care by or under the supervision of a licensed physician, and "dental care" means the same kinds of care by a licensed dentist (§§6901–6902). Section 6910 does not mention mental health treatment; §6550(a) mentions it only for relative caregivers using the CAA.

California also lets minors consent to some care on their own, and a parent's authorization does not replace those rights (Family Code §§6920–6930). For example, a minor 12 or older may consent to outpatient mental health treatment or counseling if the professional finds the minor mature enough to participate; that section does not let the minor consent alone to psychotropic drugs, convulsive therapy or psychosurgery, and the professional involves the parent unless that would be inappropriate (§6924). A minor 15 or older who lives apart from the parents and manages their own finances may consent to their own medical, vision and dental care (§6922). The RightForms PDF prints a notice listing these sections.

Does a medical consent form give access to a child's medical or school records?

A medical consent form is written for treatment decisions, not as a release of records. Access to records is generally governed by HIPAA and California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA, Civil Code §56 and following) for health care providers, and by FERPA for schools.

• HIPAA and CMIA (medical records). Except where the Privacy Rule permits otherwise, a provider may not disclose health information without a written authorization that meets 45 CFR §164.508, including an expiration date or event. HIPAA treats a parent, guardian or other person acting in loco parentis with authority under state law to make a minor's health care decisions as the minor's "personal representative" for information relevant to that authority, with exceptions such as care the minor lawfully consents to alone (45 CFR §164.502(g)(3)). Under the CMIA, a California provider likewise may not disclose medical information without an authorization, except as the act allows (Civil Code §56.10).
• FERPA (school records). Apart from listed exceptions, a school needs a signed and dated written consent naming the records, the purpose and the recipient before it discloses education records (34 CFR §99.30). Those rights pass to the student at 18 or on attending a postsecondary institution (34 CFR §99.5).

In RightForms, records access is a separate document (the HIPAA & FERPA Authorization), and the medical consent PDF points to it.

What does a medical consent form for a minor include?

Section 6910 requires only that the authorization be in writing. The writing names who signs and on what basis, the child, the authorized adult and the care covered. The RightForms form adds start and end dates, any limits, the authorized adults in order of priority, each child's doctor, allergies, medical notes and vaccinations, and the details of one health insurance policy.

Free options exist. The Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit is free on the courts' self-help site, which also offers a free sample form, Consent for Minor Child to Live with Non-Parent, with a checkbox for consent to medical, vision and dental care; that form's own instructions ask for the parents' signatures to be notarized.

RightForms prepares a §6910 authorization from a guided questionnaire; the software fills in a PDF with these details, the 18th-birthday lines, the minor's-rights notice, the hospital-release authorization, an optional notary acknowledgment and a short note on notarization.

Does a California medical consent form work in other states?

Family Code §6910 is California law, and the RightForms form is drafted under it for California families. Rules on who may consent to a minor's care differ by state, and this page does not cover other states. For a trip outside the United States, a minor travel consent letter is a separate document.

What this page does not answer

This page explains §6910 and related California rules in general terms. It does not cover:

• an existing custody, divorce or juvenile court case, where a court order may decide who makes medical decisions;
• parents who disagree about the child's care;
• children who live or receive care outside California;
• special education decisions (an IEP);
• the parent's own health care, which is a power of attorney for health care question (Probate Code §4671);
• immigration questions.

Places to start include the California courts' self-help site, court self-help centers, and LawHelpCA for free and low-cost legal aid. How the documents fit into a plan for a parent's possible absence is covered in the family preparedness plan guide.