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Absorption of a chemical analyte into a polymer coating results in an expansion governed by the concentration and type of analyte that has diffused into the bulk of the coating. When the coating is attached to a microcantilever, this expansion results in bending of the device. Assuming that absorption ͑i.e., diffusion across the surface barrier into the bulk of the coating͒ is Fickian, with a rate of absorption that is proportional to the difference between the absorbed concentration and the equilibrium concentration, and the coating is elastic, the bending response of the coated device should exhibit a first-order behavior. However, for polymer coatings, complex behaviors exhibiting an overshoot that slowly decays to the steady-state value have been observed. A theoretical model of absorption-induced static bending of a microcantilever coated with a viscoelastic material is presented, starting from the general stress/strain relationship for a viscoelastic material. The model accounts for viscoelastic stress relaxation and possible coating plasticization. Calculated responses show that the model is capable of reproducing the same transient behavior exhibited in the experimental data. The theory presented can also be used for extracting viscoelastic properties of the coating from the measured bending data.