How Do I Revoke an Advance Directive?

By Chad Foster, Family Law Attorney · Updated July 16, 2026

Your wishes about end-of-life care can change, and Washington law makes it easy to change your directive along with them. Knowing how to revoke an advance directive correctly ensures your current wishes, not your old ones, are the ones that get followed.

The Short Answer

In Washington, you can revoke an advance healthcare directive at any time, and you can do it regardless of your mental state or competency at the moment of revocation. The law spells out several specific methods for canceling a directive, and using any one of them is enough. This right to revoke is set out in Washington's Natural Death Act, specifically RCW 70.122.040. Because a directive is meant to reflect what you truly want, the law makes sure you are never locked into a decision you no longer hold.

Why the Right to Revoke Is So Broad

One striking feature of Washington law is how far it goes to protect your ability to change your mind. Under RCW 70.122.040, a directive may be revoked at any time by you, the declarer, without regard to your mental state or competency. This is unusual, because most legal documents require capacity to change. Here the law recognizes that a directive is about your body and your care, and it does not want a technical question about capacity to trap you in a decision you have clearly moved away from. If you express the intent to revoke, that intent counts.

Four Ways to Revoke a Directive

Any one of them works (RCW 70.122.040).

Destroy it

Physically cancel it

Deface, burn, tear, or obliterate the document yourself, or direct someone to do it in your presence.

Write it

Signed and dated

A written statement of intent to revoke, effective once your attending physician is told.

Say it

A verbal revocation

Expressing your intent out loud counts, effective when communicated to your physician.

Registry

Online option

If your directive is in the state registry, an online method is available too, but never required.

The Approved Methods of Revocation

Washington provides several distinct ways to revoke a directive, and RCW 70.122.040 lists them out. You can use whichever fits your situation.

The first method is physical destruction. Under RCW 70.122.040, you can revoke a directive by canceling, defacing, obliterating, burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying it. You can do this yourself, or you can direct someone to do it in your presence. Tearing up the document, with the clear intent to revoke it, is a valid revocation.

The second method is a written revocation. Under RCW 70.122.040, you can sign and date a written statement expressing your intent to revoke the directive. There is an important wrinkle here: this written revocation becomes effective only once it is communicated to your attending physician, either by you or by someone acting on your behalf. Your physician then records the time and date the notice was received in your medical record. In other words, writing the revocation is not enough by itself; your doctor has to be told.

The third method is verbal. Under RCW 70.122.040, you can revoke a directive simply by expressing, out loud, your intent to revoke it. As with a written revocation, a verbal revocation takes effect only when it is communicated to your attending physician, by you or by someone on your behalf. The physician records the time, date, and place of the revocation, along with when notice was received. This method is especially important in a hospital setting, where a patient may change their mind in the moment.

The fourth method applies only if your directive is stored in the state's health care declarations registry. Under RCW 70.122.040, a registry directive can be revoked through an online method established by the Department of Health. Importantly, the statute makes clear that failing to use the online method does not invalidate a revocation you make by any of the other approved methods. The registry option is an added convenience, not a trap.

What Happens If You Cannot Communicate

The law also anticipates a hard situation: what if you slip into a coma or otherwise lose the ability to communicate before revoking? Under RCW 70.122.040, if you become comatose or are rendered incapable of communicating with your attending physician, the directive remains in effect for the duration of that condition, or until you regain the ability to communicate. This provision keeps your last clearly expressed wishes in force during a period when you cannot speak, which is precisely the situation the directive was written to address.

Communication Is the Key

If there is one practical lesson in the revocation rules, it is that communication makes the difference. A torn-up document in a drawer that no one knows about, or a change of heart you never voiced to your doctor, may not protect you the way you intend. Under RCW 70.122.040, written and verbal revocations become effective when your attending physician is notified. The law also protects people who act in good faith: there is no criminal or civil liability for failing to act on a revocation unless the person had actual or constructive knowledge of it. That is one more reason to make sure your revocation is clearly communicated to your care team.

Revoking Is Often a Good Time to Update

Revoking a directive is frequently a sign that your life has changed, perhaps a new diagnosis, a shift in your values, or a change in your family circumstances. It is a natural moment to create a fresh directive that reflects where you are now. Many people also take the opportunity to review their healthcare power of attorney, governed in Washington by RCW 11.125.400, to be sure the right agent is still named. Revoking the old and drafting the new usually go hand in hand.

Why This Matters in Snohomish County

For families across Snohomish County, from Everett to Snohomish to Monroe, keeping directives current prevents confusion when it counts. An outdated directive that no longer reflects your wishes can cause the same heartache as having no directive at all. This is especially true after major life events like a divorce or remarriage, when the people involved in your care and the wishes you hold may both have shifted. Making sure your documents match your current life spares your loved ones from acting on instructions you no longer stand behind.

Keeping Your Plan Current

Revoking an advance directive is your right, and Washington law makes it accessible. The important thing is to do it clearly, communicate it to your physician, and replace it with a document that reflects your current wishes. If you need to revoke an old directive or update your estate plan to match your life today, the Law Office of Chad Foster helps Snohomish County families keep their plans current and clear. Reach out to start the conversation.