Maryland Medical Consent for Grandparents Raising a Grandchild

A child is running a fever and needs to see the doctor. You are the grandparent, the child lives with you, and the pediatrician's office says they cannot treat without a parent's signature. Maryland law gives you a way around this — without going to court.

The Health Consent Affidavit

Health-General Article § 20-105 allows a relative caregiver to consent to medical treatment on behalf of a minor child. You sign a sworn affidavit — the official state form is DHS/SSA/554, published by the Department of Human Services — and that affidavit gives healthcare providers the legal authority to treat the child based on your consent.

The form covers:

• Routine pediatric exams and physicals
• Childhood immunizations and vaccinations
• Dental exams, cleanings, and fillings
• Diagnostic testing, X-rays, and prescription medications
• Specialist consultations, outpatient procedures, and emergency care

Healthcare providers who treat the child in good-faith reliance on a properly executed § 20-105 affidavit are protected from civil liability. They will not face disciplinary action for proceeding without a parent's direct consent.

Who Can Sign

You must be related to the child by blood or marriage within the fifth degree of consanguinity — grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, first cousins, great-aunts, and great-uncles all qualify.

The child must live with you full-time at your Maryland address, and the arrangement must stem from one of six serious family hardships: the parent's death, serious illness, drug addiction, incarceration, abandonment, or active military deployment.

How to File

Complete Form DHS/SSA/554 with the child's name, date of birth, your relationship, the qualifying hardship, and the parent's last known address. Sign and date it under penalties of perjury in the physical presence of a commissioned notary public. Submit the original to the DHS Social Services Administration, and give a copy to every treating healthcare provider — the pediatrician, the dentist, the urgent care clinic.

If any details change during the year (the care arrangement ends, the hardship circumstances shift, or the child moves), you must notify the relevant agencies within 30 days.

What the Affidavit Cannot Override

Two situations immediately void your consent authority:

A parent objects. If the biological parent contacts the doctor or hospital and explicitly objects to treatment, the affidavit is overridden. The parent's decision controls.

A court order exists. If a court has awarded custody or healthcare decision-making authority to another person, the affidavit cannot be used.

For routine and emergency care where no parent is available to object, the affidavit gives you full consent authority. But it is not a permanent replacement for a parent's role — it is a statutory bridge for families in crisis.

Emergency Treatment Without Any Paperwork

If a child needs emergency care and the affidavit has not been filed yet, Maryland law still protects the child. Emergency medical or dental treatment can be provided without prior parental or caregiver consent when the attending physician determines immediate treatment is necessary to prevent a substantial risk of death, serious physical harm, or severe impairment of the child's health, and delaying treatment to obtain consent would adversely affect the child's life or health.

Get the affidavit filed as soon as the immediate crisis passes. Routine care — the follow-up appointment, the next dental visit, the prescription refill — does require documented consent authority.

Our Maryland School and Medical Consent Guide walks through the health affidavit alongside the companion school enrollment affidavit, with a medical provider notification log and intake prep sheet.

See more Maryland guides →