Virginia Power of Attorney for a Child: The § 20-166 Parental POA Explained

What the Virginia Parental POA Does

Virginia Code § 20-166 lets a parent or legal custodian temporarily hand off caregiving authority to another adult — typically a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or family friend — for up to 180 consecutive days. The delegate (called the "attorney-in-fact") gains authority to handle school enrollment, medical consent, dental appointments, extracurricular activities, and day-to-day care decisions.

The statutory form itself is in Va. Code § 20-167. It's a template the General Assembly wrote into the statute, which means you don't need a lawyer to create one. You fill in the blanks, get it notarized, and it's legally valid. The POA delegates education decisions but does not itself establish school residency; a school division may also require the § 22.1-3 kinship affidavit.

The 180-Day Limit

An ordinary parental POA cannot last more than 180 consecutive days. It may end sooner on the date stated in the form or when revoked, and there is no automatic renewal. The active-duty military exception allows a service member deployed for longer than 180 days to execute a POA valid for the duty term plus 30 days.

For an ordinary delegation, the authority under the POA ends by day 180 at the latest, and may end earlier as stated in the form or after revocation. A separate school affidavit or in loco parentis medical authority is distinct from the POA. To continue the delegation, execute a brand-new § 20-167 form — same process, same notary, same required signers — before the old one expires.

Set a reminder for day 150. Chasing down signatures takes time, especially when a parent is incarcerated or living out of state.

Who Must Sign

This is the single most common execution failure, and it voids the entire document.

Joint legal custody — both parents must sign before a notary. Not one parent, not the parent who happens to be available. Both. Virginia Code § 20-166(A) is explicit. If you file a POA with only one signature when both parents hold joint custody, it's not legally valid, and a school registrar or clinic within their rights to reject it.

Sole legal custody — the parent with sole custody can sign alone. Attach a copy of the court order establishing sole custody.

The delegate (you) also signs — the § 20-167 form includes an acceptance section where the attorney-in-fact formally accepts the delegation. That signature also needs notarization.

What the POA Covers

A broad delegation under § 20-167 gives the caregiver authority over:

• School enrollment and participation — registering the child, attending parent-teacher conferences, signing permission slips, accessing educational records under FERPA
• Medical and dental consent — authorizing routine pediatric care, dental visits, immunizations, prescriptions, and school physicals
• Extracurricular activities — signing up for sports, field trips, after-school programs
• Daily care decisions — housing, meals, transportation, supervision

You can also execute a limited POA that covers only specific areas (school only, medical only), but most kinship caregivers need the full package.

What the POA Cannot Do

Virginia law carves out specific prohibitions. A parental POA cannot authorize:

• Consent to the child's marriage
• Consent to adoption or termination of parental rights
• Performance or inducement of an abortion
• Circumvention of academic or interscholastic athletic eligibility rules — a POA executed primarily to enroll a child in a different school district for sports is void under § 20-166(H), and the parent can be ordered to repay tuition

The POA also doesn't establish legal custody or change the parent's rights. Benefit eligibility is decided under each program's rules; relatives can apply for TANF child-only grants without a custody order and use an authorized-representative form for Medicaid/FAMIS applications.

Notarization and Execution

Every signature on the § 20-167 form must be acknowledged before a notary public. Virginia permits Remote Online Notarization (RON) under Va. Code § 47.1-13, so a parent in another state or a deployment zone can sign remotely if they have internet access and a valid ID.

For incarcerated parents, Virginia Department of Corrections facilities and local regional jails provide institutional notary services. Contact the facility's social services office to schedule the signing.

An out-of-state execution is valid if the POA substantially complies with Virginia's requirements or with the laws of the state where it was signed.

When the POA Isn't Possible

If a parent is missing, refuses to cooperate, or has had their parental rights terminated, a POA can't be executed. You can't forge a signature, and a notary can't substitute for a missing parent.

In that situation, your alternatives are:

• School enrollment through § 22.1-3 affidavit alone — some divisions accept this without a POA when circumstances justify it
• Medical consent under § 54.1-2969 — in loco parentis status lets you authorize routine care without a POA
• McKinney-Vento enrollment — if housing instability is part of the picture
• Custody petition in JDR court — the formal path when informal tools can't cover the need

The Virginia School and Medical Consent Guide includes the complete § 20-167 form walkthrough, parent-signature scenarios, notarization instructions, and the decision tree for choosing between a POA and a court petition.

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