Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is a legal document authorising someone to act on your behalf.

A power of attorney, also known as a letter of authorisation, is a very common document. It is made by the “donor” or “grantor” and lists all the powers which the appointed “attorney” is authorised to carry out. It will also state how long the powers are due to last.

Each country has its own templates and wording for powers of attorney. For some countries, they must be drafted in bilingual format, or in the local language of the country. Although the power of attorney may be formatted slightly different, the general structure is universal.

Different countries will also have different requirements as to how the power of attorney is executed. For example, some countries will require a passport-sized picture or a copy of your passport to be attached, others will require at least two witnesses.

We strongly recommend that you instruct lawyers in the country where it will be used to draft the power of attorney to ensure it will be compliant with local law in that country. They will then provide you with a list of instructions that must be carried out when signing the document.

If you intend to use a power of attorney in a different country, you will need to have it notarised. Depending on the country, you may also need it to be apostilled and in certain cases further legalised by the embassy in the country in which it is going to be used.

The purpose of the notarisation and apostille is to provide assurance that it is a valid document and has been executed correctly.

When notarising a power of attorney the notary will witness the signature of the person granting it and will confirm that they have the necessary capacity to issue the document.

If you are signing on behalf of a company, the notary will additionally confirm the existence of the country and that you have the necessary authority to bind and represent the company.

You may need notarisation and an apostille stamp for one of the following reasons:

• Purchasing or selling an overseas property or vehicle
• Managing property
• Acting on behalf of a company internationally

The above list is far from exhaustive, and there are many other reasons why it may be needed.

A Power of Attorney can be both general and specific or limited. A general power of attorney will grant wide powers to the attorney and cover a range of actions. A specific or limited power of attorney will only authorise the attorney to carry out a particular act and the power of attorney will be ended once the act has been carried out.

Power of attorney documents requires notarisation by a notary public before they are submitted to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in the UK for an apostille certificate.

The Hague Convention in 1961 introduced apostille stamps as a form of legalisation for different types of documents such as a power of attorney. Apostille certificates are accepted by over 120 member countries of the Hague Convention.

When applying for an apostille certificate on a power of attorney document, you will need the following:

• A power of attorney notarised by a UK notary public

To obtain an apostille, you will need to submit your power of attorney document to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation Office.

There are two Legalisation Office counters – one in London (Premium Service) and one in Milton Keynes (Standard Service). We offer a premium same-day apostille service for urgent matters and standard 3-5 working day apostille service if you are not in a rush.

Notary.co.uk can assist you with our fast and cost-effective services and walk you through every step of the process:

1. Firstly, you will need to email a draft of the power of attorney to us at
   info@notary.co.uk. We will review it and let you know if there is any additional information needed.
2. You will need to sign the document in the presence of one of our notaries. At the appointment, you will need to complete our Client Registration Form and provide one form of photographic ID and one proof of address so the notary can confirm your personal identity.If signing on behalf of a company, the notary may need to see further evidence of the existence of the company and your authority to bind the company. Our highly trained team of notary publics can assist you with notarising the document.
3. After the notarisation, we will submit the document to the FCDO to be apostilled on either our Premium or Standard Service. If you need Embassy legalisation, we will also handle this for you.
4. When completed, we will share a PDF scan with you. You can then collect it from our office, we can arrange to send the document back to you, or we can forward it to a third party.

If you intend to use your power of attorney document in another country that is not a member of the Hague Convention, then you may need Embassy legalisation. Find out more information about individual countries on our Country Requirements List.

If you need your power of attorney document notarised or issued an apostille or consular legalisation, we’ll handle all the steps for you.

This will need to be drafted by your lawyer in Spain. They will draft it in bilingual English and Spanish format, and in a way known as the public form.

Once drafted, you can email it to us to review. Our notary will add their details to the power of attorney, and if any amendments are required will let you or your lawyer know.

Powers of attorney for Spain typically also require a copy of the photographic page of your passport to be attached. If applying for an NIE number in Spain, a copy of the entire passport will be required.

If you can revoke a power of attorney before the specified duration has ended or the act required has been completed or you are sending it abroad, you will need to execute a Deed of Revocation. This will need to be signed in the presence of a notary public and apostilled. It may also need Embassy legalisation.

The deed of revocation will need to be served on the attorney in order for it to be effective.

We would recommend getting a lawyer in the country where the power of attorney is being used to draft the deed of revocation to ensure any local requirements are met.

However, if you need assistance drafting the document in English we can assist. Our team of experienced notaries can help you with drafting, notarising and legalising a deed of revocation.