A statutory form is a form created by a government, usually designed to serve as a model form or a free form for the public. The text of the form resides within the governments statutes. Statutory forms can be used for a variety of purposes, such as registering a companys business activities with a governmental authority, creating a will or power of attorney, or filing a statement of the condition and affairs of an insurance subsidiary.

The advantages of using statutory forms include getting them for free and the certainty of knowing that the form itself meets legal requirements. However, the disadvantages of using statutory forms are numerous and more grave. Because legislatures design statutory forms for the masses, they are one-size-fits-all and rarely flexible enough to meet individualized needs. In contrast, a lawyer can usually craft a document that takes your unique situation into account. Also, statutory forms may not come with instructions that explain how to correctly fill out and finalize the form, so you will probably need to educate yourself about how the form works, how to sign it, and other legal or practical issues.

While governments provide statutory forms for convenience and clarity, they are rarely mandatory. That is, in most cases, states also allow you to use non-statutory forms.