Quick answer: Before move-in, most families want four things signed: a HIPAA authorization, a health care proxy, a durable power of attorney, and the college's FERPA release. They take an afternoon and often cost nothing.
DormHQ is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Forms and requirements vary by state, and some need a notary. Free state-specific versions are usually available from your state bar association or hospital systems, and a family lawyer can review everything quickly if you want certainty.
Why this matters the day they turn 18
At 18, your student is a legal adult. That changes more than either of you expects: doctors can decline to share medical information with you, the college cannot show you grades or records without permission, and nobody can act on your student's behalf if they are unable to. None of this comes up until the exact moment it matters, which is why it belongs on the move-in checklist and not on the someday list.
1. HIPAA authorization
HIPAA privacy rules mean medical providers generally cannot discuss an adult patient's care with anyone else, parents included. A signed HIPAA authorization lets doctors and hospitals share information with the people your student names. If the campus health center or an ER calls, this is the form that lets them actually talk to you.
- Free forms are widely available, and many hospital systems have their own version.
- Your student chooses what to share. Many families carve out privacy where the student wants it.
- Keep a copy on your phone and one wherever the student keeps important papers.
2. Health care proxy
Also called a medical power of attorney or health care agent designation, depending on the state. It names who makes medical decisions if your student cannot make them, for example after an accident. Without one, families can end up needing a court order during the worst week of their lives.
- State-specific forms matter here. Use the version for the state where the student attends school, and consider one for your home state too.
- Some states require witnesses or a notary. Read the signing instructions before the signing.
3. Durable power of attorney
The financial sibling of the health care proxy. It lets a named person handle money and practical matters on the student's behalf: the bank account, the lease, the tuition office, the insurance claim. "Durable" means it keeps working if the student is incapacitated, which is the moment it exists for.
- It can be written narrowly. Some families limit it to specific accounts or situations.
- Banks are picky. Ask your student's bank whether they want their own form on file.
4. FERPA release
FERPA is the federal law that makes college records private, including grades, even from the people paying tuition. Most colleges have their own FERPA waiver inside the student portal that lets your student choose what the school may share with you: grades, billing, disciplinary records, or some subset.
- This one is done at the college, not with a generic form. Have your student search the student portal for FERPA or "consent to release".
- Billing access is often a separate authorization in the same portal. Worth doing at the same time if you are the one paying.
- A conversation beats a blanket waiver: agree together on what gets shared and why.
Worth doing at the same time
- Health insurance card: a photo on the student's phone plus a physical copy in the dorm. Confirm the plan covers care near campus, not just at home.
- Bank access: a joint account or at least mutual visibility for emergencies, set up before the first "my card is not working" call.
- Emergency contacts: set the ICE contact on their phone, and make sure the college's emergency contact info is current in the portal.
- Copies of everything: insurance cards, signed forms, prescriptions, and the campus health center number, stored where both of you can find them.
Make it a move-in task, not a crisis task
The families who have these forms never regret the afternoon it took. Add a "Sign the 18+ documents" task in DormHQ with a due date before move-in day, put the copies with the dorm paperwork, and it becomes one more thing that is simply handled. That is the whole DormHQ philosophy: boring preparation now, zero drama later.
Add a Documents task in DormHQ and get the paperwork done before move-in.
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