Spring 2026

What is Vermont Advance Directive Week?


Vermont Advance Directive Week (April 12-18, 2026) is devoted to educating and raising awareness about the importance of advance care planning. Each year, this week coincides with National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), “an annual initiative celebrated on April 16th to encourage and empower people to begin or continue conversations about their wishes for care through the end of life.” NHDD is coordinated by The Conversation Project which provides resources to participants in all 50 states and more than 20 countries.


Check out who has pledged to participate this year: Join the Movement (NHDD)


To celebrate Vermont Advance Directive Week, VEN will be sharing stories, resources, and local events across the state to encourage all Vermonters to have conversations about their health care values and consider completing or updating their advance directives.


How to participate in Vermont Advance Directive Week:

• Complete your own advance directive & share copies with your healthcare agent, loved ones, and your healthcare provider.
• Register your advance directive with the Vermont Advance Directive Registry.
• Tell someone you know about why you completed your advance directive.
• Start a conversation with friends or loved ones about what matters to you regarding your healthcare. If you couldn’t speak for yourself, what do those close to you need to know?
• Attend or host local events. See what events are happening in your area on our Community Events page.

The Vermont Advance Directive Short Form, Appointment of a Health Care Agent Form and VADR Administrative Form are all available on our FORMS page. Make sure your practice or facility has the latest resources available.

Advance directives do not expire. There is no requirement to complete a new document unless you are making changes.

This is the simplest version of an advance directive that we have available. It's the perfect choice for anyone who wants to appoint a healthcare agent without going into additional detail about care preferences or other advance care planning.

This version is a fillable PDF that can be saved to your device and filled out on your computer before printing for signing and witnessing. Make sure to save a copy to your computer before you start filling it out.

The Vermont Advance Directive Short Form is the most popular advance directive form in Vermont. The latest version includes updated guidance on CPR and airway support interventions and a dedicated space to reference any addendums that are being attached.

This version is a fillable PDF that can be saved to your device and filled out on your computer before printing for signing and witnessing. Make sure to save a copy to your computer before you start filling it out.

Submissions to the Vermont Advance Directive Registry (VADR) are now processed in Montpelier, VT by the Vermont Ethics Network. This form is required for all mail, fax and email submissions to the VADR and allows you to instruct us on the type of submission you are making and the necessary information to create or update your account.

This fillable PDF form includes updated mail, fax and email information for submitting documents to the VADR.

We offer multiple webinar series each year and our latest 5-part series for advance care planning facilitators is now available to watch on our website. Past series have covered palliative care and pain management topics, complex medical ethics questions in rural settings, and other legal and ethical questions in healthcare.