Guide to Advance Care Planning Documents

On this page

What Is Advance Care Planning?

Advance care planning allows you to have a voice in your health care.

It allows you to:

  • Name a trusted person to make medical decisions if you are unable to do so.
  • Let this trusted person and your doctors know what is most important to you in life and your health care.
  • Record the name of your trusted person and your medical wishes in an advance directive form.

At UCSF, we encourage all our adult patients, at any age or stage of health, to talk to their provider about their wishes for medical care and to fill out an advance directive.

To enter your care preferences into your medical record, you can:

  • Discuss your wishes for care with a member of your health care team
  • Give a copy of your advance care planning document to a member of your care team who can scan it into your medical record
  • Upload your advance care planning document through the Advance Care Planning page in MyChart (instructions below)
  • Mail your advance care planning document to:
    Medical Records
    400 Parnassus Avenue, Room A88
    San Francisco, CA 94143

What Is an Advance Care Planning Document?

The most common advance care planning document is an advance directive. Other documents include a living will, health care power of attorney and physician order for life-sustaining treatment (POLST).

  • Advance directive. Records your medical wishes and names a person to make medical decisions on your behalf, if you are unable to do so.
  • Living will. Records only your medical wishes.
  • Health care power of attorney. Records only the person trusted to make medical decisions on your behalf.
  • POLST is a physician order. It is filled out by a doctor. It is focused only on your wishes regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and care in an emergency. This document informs emergency personnel about your medical preferences.
Having an advance care planning document means your medical team and your loved ones will understand your wishes if you are unable to speak for yourself.

Where to obtain an advance directive form:

To get help filling out an advance directive form:

  • Sign up for UCSF's monthly free online Advance Care Planning Workshop, which guides you through the steps of filling out an advance directive. To register, go to the MERI Center webpage.
  • Ask to speak to a social worker who can help you fill out the form.

How to Upload Your Advance Care Planning Document Into MyChart

To upload your forms, you will need to:

  1. Scan and upload your advance care planning document onto your personal computer or mobile device. Make sure to scan all the pages, then consolidate them into one document and upload the document onto your computer or phone. You can find instructions on how to consolidate multiple pages into one document at the end of this document.
  2. Locate the Advance Care Planning page in MyChart.
    • Click on the menu button in the upper left corner of your MyChart account. A search box will appear with a drop-down menu of options.
    • Type "advance care planning" into the search box or scroll down to the "Advance Care Planning" option, which is under the "My Record" section.
    • Once you are on the Advance Care Planning page, click on "Add an image or document" to upload your form.
  3. Select the advance care planning document that you saved on your computer or personal device and upload it to the Advance Care Planning page in MyChart. This will add the form to your medical record.

Before you upload your document, make sure to:

  • Sign and date it
  • Get additional necessary signatures (see requirements below)

UCSF accepts the following documents:

  • Advance directive 
  • Living will
  • Durable power of attorney for health care
  • Physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST)
  • Other advance care planning documents

File upload requirements:

  • Allowed file formats are JPG, PDF, PNG and TIFF.
  • The maximum size accepted is 10 MB.
  • All pages must be uploaded as a single document.
  • For an advance directive, the document must be dated and signed by you as well as by either two witnesses or a notary public. See below.

What happens once you upload your document?

  • Your document will be reviewed by UCSF Health staff within five business days.
  • If it is complete, it will show up on your Advance Care Planning page in MyChart. Your medical team will also be able to access it.
  • If it is not complete, it will show up on your Advance Care Planning page as "Not Accepted" with information about what is needed.
  • If you have questions, contact [email protected].

Advance Directive Signature Requirements

An advance directive must be signed by two people (also referred to as witnesses) or by a notary public. Please review the information below for more information.

The two people (witnesses) who sign your advance directive:

  • Must be over the age of 18
  • May not be the person you designate as your medical decision-maker
  • May not be your health care provider or anyone on your health care team
  • May not be an operator or employee of a community care facility or a residential care facility in which you reside

One of the signatures must be from someone who:

  • Is not related to you by blood, marriage or adoption
  • Will not benefit financially (inherit property or money from you) when you die

What is a notary public?

You need a notary only if you do not have two witnesses who can sign the form.

A notary public is a person whose role is to confirm that a signature is valid, meaning that it is signed freely (not under duress), and to verify the identity of the person signing. Notary services generally cost $15 or more to have a mobile notary come to you.

You can find a list of notary services in your area by searching online. Many mail delivery businesses (such as UPS and FedEx stores), libraries, banks, photocopy shops, tax businesses and hospitals offer notary services.

The UCSF Patient and Family Cancer Support Center provides free notary services by appointment to UCSF patients receiving cancer care. Call (415) 885-3693 or email [email protected] to schedule. The UCSF MERI Center for Education in Palliative Care maintains a list of notary services close to the UCSF campuses in San Francisco.

By uploading this form (advance directive, living will, durable power of attorney or POLST), you confirm that:

  1. The information provided is true and correct.
  2. The document is in compliance with California or federal laws.**
  3. The form, if executed in another state, is in compliance with the laws of that state or the laws of California

**California laws include Probate Code Sections 4673, 4674, 4675 and 4680, and federal laws include 10 U.S.C. Section 1044.

How to Combine Multiple Images into One Document

If you took separate pictures of each page, please follow the steps below for Apple iPhone or Android to combine them into a single PDF file before uploading them into MyChart. 

Apple iPhone directions 

Use the “Files” app to create one PDF.

  1. Open the Photos app
    • Find all the pictures of your document.
    • Make sure they are in the correct order.
  2. Select all pages • Tap “Select” (top right).
    • Tap each photo of the document in the correct order.
  3. Tap the “Share” button
    1. Tap the “Share” icon (square with arrow pointing up).
  4. Choose “Print”
    • Scroll down and tap “Print.”
    • You will see small preview images of your pages.
  5. Turn the preview into a PDF
    • Place two fingers on the preview image.
    • Spread your fingers apart (as if you are zooming in).
    • The preview will open as a PDF.
  6. Save the PDF • Tap the “Share” icon again.  
    • Tap ”Save to Files.”
    • Choose a location (such as “On My iPhone”).
    • Tap “Save.”
  7. Upload to MyChart
    • Go to MyChart.
    • Upload the saved PDF file.

Android directions 

Option 1 (Easiest)

Most Android phones have the Google Drive app. To use Google Drive to create one PDF, take the following steps:  

  1. Open the Google Drive app
  2. Tap the “+” (plus) button
    • Tap the “+” in the bottom right corner.
    • Select “Upload.”
    • Upload all the pictures of your document.
  3. Create a PDF
    • Open the first photo.
    • Tap the three dots (“⋮”) in the top corner.
    • Choose “Print.”
    • At the top, select “Save as PDF.”
    • Make sure all pages are selected. 
    • Tap the “PDF” button to save.
    • Save the file to your phone.
  4. Upload to MyChart 
    • Open MyChart.
    • Upload the single saved PDF file.

Option 2 (For users with Google Photos)

If your pictures are in Google Photos, take the following steps:

  1. Open Google Photos.
  2. Tap and hold the first image.
  3. Select all document pages in the correct order.
  4. Tap the three dots (“⋮”).
  5. Select “Print.”
  6. Change printer to “Save as PDF.”
  7. Save the file.
  8. Upload the single PDF to MyChart.