10 USC § 1044c - Advance medical directives of members and dependents: requirement for recognition by States

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t10/s1044c"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "10 USC § 1044c - Advance medical directives of members and dependents: requirement for recognition by States"
title_number: 10
title_name: "ARMED FORCES"
section_number: "1044c"
section_name: "Advance medical directives of members and dependents: requirement for recognition by States"
chapter_number: 53
chapter_name: "MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "PERSONNEL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VII, § 749(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 388.)"
---


# § 1044c. Advance medical directives of members and dependents: requirement for recognition by States

**(a)** **Instruments To Be Given Legal Effect Without Regard to State Law.—** An advance medical directive executed by a person eligible for legal assistance—

**(1)** is exempt from any requirement of form, substance, formality, or recording that is provided for advance medical directives under the laws of a State; and

**(2)** shall be given the same legal effect as an advance medical directive prepared and executed in accordance with the laws of the State concerned.

**(b)** **Advance Medical Directives.—** For purposes of this section, an advance medical directive is any written declaration that—

**(1)** sets forth directions regarding the provision, withdrawal, or withholding of life-prolonging procedures, including hydration and sustenance, for the declarant whenever the declarant has a terminal physical condition or is in a persistent vegetative state; or

**(2)** authorizes another person to make health care decisions for the declarant, under circumstances stated in the declaration, whenever the declarant is incapable of making informed health care decisions.

**(c)** **Statement To Be Included.—**

**(1)** Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an advance medical directive prepared by an attorney authorized to provide legal assistance shall contain a statement that sets forth the provisions of subsection (a).

**(2)** Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to make inapplicable the provisions of subsection (a) to an advance medical directive that does not include a statement described in that paragraph.

**(d)** **States Not Recognizing Advance Medical Directives.—** Subsection (a) does not make an advance medical directive enforceable in a State that does not otherwise recognize and enforce advance medical directives under the laws of the State.

**(e)** **Definitions.—** In this section:

**(1)** The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and a possession of the United States.

**(2)** The term “person eligible for legal assistance” means a person who is eligible for legal assistance under section 1044 of this title.

**(3)** The term “legal assistance” means legal services authorized under section 1044 of this title.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VII, § 749(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 388.)

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

> “
> 
> , United States Code, shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [
> 
> ] and shall apply to advance medical directives referred to in that section that are executed before, on, or after that date.”

, , , provided that: