Property POA
When: Sale, lease or registration
- Property power of attorney, stamped and, where the registrar requires it, registered. The duty depends on the state, the value and the type of document, and is confirmed before execution.
General / Special POA
Power of Attorney Drafting in India Authorise someone to act, with limits you set
General or special power of attorney drafted for property, banking, business and family matters, including for NRIs executing abroad. An advocate we work with drafts the instrument. Regikart confirms what the sub-registrar, bank or department in question will accept, and coordinates stamping, witnesses and attestation.
Reviewed by an advocate we work with · Last updated 24 September 2026
Tell us what the attorney needs to do and who will act on the document. We confirm the form and quote the fee in writing before any work starts.
Advocate-drafted instrument2-5 working days from documentsBest for: NRIs, property owners, business heads and family members needing to authorise another to act.
Starting at
₹999
Power of Attorney
NRIs, property owners, business heads and family members needing to authorise another to act.
Advocate-drafted instrument
General or special
NRI execution abroad: consulate, or notary plus apostille
Cannot be signed electronically
Stamp duty depends on your state
Timeline
2-5 working days from documents
What it is
Power of Attorney, explained in plain English.
A power of attorney is a written authority by which one person, the principal, appoints another, the attorney, to act for them. It is dealt with by the Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882, and the relationship it creates is an agency under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Stamp duty on it is a state levy.
Routes & scenarios
Match the situation to the right fix.
Banking / Business POA
When: Operate accounts or business matters
- Notarised POA, bank-acceptable format.
NRI POA
When: Abroad-based principal
- Drafted in India, signed abroad before an Indian consular officer or a notary public, then stamped in India within three months of receipt.
General or special: which one do you need?
A special power of attorney authorises named acts. A general power of attorney authorises a class of acts. Give the narrowest authority that does the job.
| Special power of attorney | General power of attorney | |
|---|---|---|
| What it authorises | One or more specific acts, for example signing and presenting one named sale deed, or appearing before one named office | A class of acts, for example managing all the principal's property in a named city, or operating the principal's bank accounts |
| Typical use | A single transaction while the principal is abroad or unwell | Long absence abroad, an elderly parent's affairs, a business head authorising a manager |
| Risk | Low, because the authority stops at the named act | High, because the attorney can bind the principal across a wide field |
| What banks and registrars prefer | Usually accepted readily, because the authority is unambiguous | Often questioned, and some registrars and banks require their own format or a fresh special power of attorney for the actual transaction |
| Our advice | Use this wherever the transaction is known | Use only where you cannot name the acts in advance, and put a time limit and a value limit in it |
Four things to put in either kind. The attorney's full identity and relationship to you. An exact list of what the attorney may do, and an express statement of what the attorney may not do. A period of validity. And a clause saying the authority does not extend to gifting, mortgaging or selling any asset unless you have said so expressly.
What a power of attorney cannot do
Three limits worth knowing before you pay for one.
It cannot transfer property. The Supreme Court held in Suraj Lamp and Industries v. State of Haryana, decided on 11 October 2011, that immovable property can be legally and lawfully transferred only by a registered deed of conveyance, and that sale agreement, power of attorney and will transfers do not convey title. Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 requires a registered instrument for a sale, and section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registration of such instruments compulsory. A power of attorney lets your attorney sign and present the conveyance for you. It is not the conveyance. If a buyer or seller offers you a GPA sale instead of a registered deed, you are not getting title.
It cannot be signed electronically. A power of attorney under the Powers-of-Attorney Act, 1882 is on the excluded list in the First Schedule to the Information Technology Act, 2000, so sections 5 to 8 of that Act, which give legal recognition to electronic signatures, do not apply to it. The one carve-out, added by the amendment notified on 26 September 2022, is a power of attorney that empowers an entity regulated by the RBI, NHB, SEBI, IRDAI or PFRDA to act for the person executing it. Everything else needs a wet signature. Do not send a power of attorney through an e-signature platform. For documents that can be signed electronically, see contract drafting and review.
It cannot do more than the document says. The attorney's authority is read strictly. If the power of attorney does not expressly authorise selling, mortgaging, gifting, giving a guarantee or compromising a claim, the attorney cannot do it, and the counterparty's lawyer will say so at the worst possible moment.
Stamping, registration and authentication
Three separate requirements, often run together.
Stamping. Stamp duty on a power of attorney is a state levy under the relevant State Stamp Act, or under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applied to that state. The amount depends on the state, the value and the type of document, and it is often higher where the instrument relates to immovable property or to development rights. We confirm the amount with the state's schedule before you execute the document, and we do not publish rates we have not verified.
Registration. A power of attorney is not on the compulsory registration list in section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, which covers gifts of immovable property, non-testamentary instruments creating or assigning rights in immovable property of the value of ₹100 or more, and leases from year to year or for more than a year. In practice, registrars and banks in property matters frequently require a registered power of attorney, and some states have their own requirements, so we ask the office that will act on the document before we finalise the form.
Authentication under section 33. This is the one people miss. If the attorney will present a document for registration on the principal's behalf, section 33 of the Registration Act, 1908 recognises only certain powers of attorney:
- If the principal resides in a part of India where the Act is in force: one executed before, and authenticated by, the Registrar or Sub-Registrar of the district or sub-district where the principal resides.
- If the principal resides in a part of India where the Act is not in force: one executed before, and authenticated by, any Magistrate.
- If the principal does not reside in India: one executed before, and authenticated by, a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice-Consul, or a representative of the Central Government.
So a power of attorney that is perfectly valid between you and your attorney can still be refused at the registration counter if it was not authenticated in the way section 33 requires.
Executing a power of attorney from abroad
If the principal is an NRI or is otherwise outside India, the sequence matters more than the drafting.
Step 1. Draft in India. We have the instrument drafted here, to the form the Indian office that will act on it accepts, and send you the final text.
Step 2. Sign abroad, one of two ways.
- Before an Indian consular officer. Sign at the Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate, where a consular officer attests it. Section 33 of the Registration Act, 1908 expressly recognises a power of attorney authenticated by an Indian Consul or Vice-Consul for a principal not residing in India.
- Before a local notary public, then apostilled. Sign before a notary public in your country, then have the document apostilled by that country's competent authority. India has been a member of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents since 2005, and the Ministry of External Affairs is India's competent authority for apostilles on Indian documents. An apostille from a member country removes the need for further legalisation. If your country is not a member, the document is legalised at the Indian mission instead.
Step 3. Stamp it in India within three months. Section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 says an instrument chargeable with duty executed only out of India, other than a bill of exchange or promissory note, may be stamped within three months after it has first been received in India, and that where a private person cannot stamp it, it may be taken to the Collector within that period. Courts have impounded powers of attorney executed abroad and not stamped in time, and recovered the duty with penalty. Note the date the document lands in India and start the clock.
Step 4. Deliver it to the person who will use it. Send the stamped original to your attorney, with a copy of your passport and the attestation page. Banks and registrars usually want to see the original.
Two related points for NRI principals. If the transaction is a property sale, the buyer must deduct tax at source, and the rate and procedure for an NRI seller differ from a resident seller: see TDS on property. Your Indian income and the gain on the sale still have to be returned in India: see ITR for NRIs.
Revocation, and when a power of attorney ends by itself
Revocation. A principal can revoke the authority. Do it in writing, notify the attorney, and notify every bank, registrar, tenant, buyer or department that has been given a copy. If the power of attorney was registered, execute and register a deed of revocation and tell the same sub-registrar's office. Acts the attorney did in good faith before notice of revocation reached the other side can still bind the principal, which is why notice matters as much as the revocation itself. Where formal notice to a third party is needed, an advocate can send a legal notice.
Automatic termination. Section 201 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 says an agency is terminated by the principal revoking the authority, by the agent renouncing the business of the agency, by the business of the agency being completed, by either the principal or the agent dying or becoming of unsound mind, or by the principal being adjudicated insolvent under a law for the relief of insolvent debtors.
Two practical consequences. A power of attorney does not survive the principal's death, so an attorney cannot sell a deceased principal's property, whatever the document says. And a special power of attorney ends once the named transaction is complete, so a second transaction needs a second document.
Power of attorney fees
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee, drafting a general or special power of attorney | From ₹999 |
| Bilingual version, where a registrar or bank wants one | Quoted in writing |
| Deed of revocation | Quoted in writing |
| Stamp duty | A state levy. Depends on the state, the value and the type of document, and is usually higher where the instrument relates to immovable property. Confirmed before execution. |
| Registration fee, only where the document is registered | Under the state's Table of Fees framed under the Registration Act, 1908. Confirmed before execution. |
| Notarial charge, consular attestation or apostille | At actuals, charged by the notary, the Indian mission or the foreign competent authority |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 24 September 2026.
Know who will act on the document?
Tell us which sub-registrar, bank or department will rely on it, and where the principal will sign. We confirm the form and quote in writing.
The process
How it works
1
Scope
You tell us what the attorney must do, who the attorney is, how long the authority should last, and which office will act on the document.
2
Form and quote
We confirm general or special, whether section 33 authentication applies, what the office in question accepts, and the duty payable in your state, then quote in writing.
3
Drafting
The advocate drafts the instrument, with the express authorities, the express exclusions and the validity period.
4
Stamping
Stamp paper of the value your state requires, or, for a document executed abroad, stamping in India within three months of receipt.
5
Execution
Signed before a notary, the Sub-Registrar or an Indian consular officer, with witnesses, depending on what the document must do and where the principal is.
Documents required
What we'll need from you.
Send these by email or WhatsApp. A power of attorney is not filed on any portal. What matters is that the sub-registrar, bank or department that will act on it accepts the wording, so tell us who that is.
Principal and attorney ID proofs
Address proofs
Property documents (if applicable)
Photographs
Witness details
Other legal documents
Not sure a power of attorney is what you need? If you only need to swear a fact, an affidavit is the document. If you are selling property, you need a conveyance, and the power of attorney only lets someone sign and present it for you.
Affidavit · Contract drafting and review · Service agreement · NDA · Offer letter · Legal notice · Contact us
Power of Attorney FAQ
Power of attorney questions, answered.
Not sure a power of attorney is what you need? If you only need to swear a fact, an affidavit is the document. If you are selling property, you need a conveyance, and the power of attorney only lets someone sign and present it for you.
Still have questions?
Tell us what the attorney needs to do, who will act on the document, and where the principal will sign it. We confirm the form and quote in writing.
Get my power of attorney drafted →A special power of attorney authorises named acts, such as signing and presenting one particular sale deed. A general power of attorney authorises a class of acts, such as managing all the principal's property in a city. The special one is lower risk and is usually accepted more readily by banks and registrars. Use a general power of attorney only where you cannot name the acts, and put a time limit and a value limit in it.
Ready when you are
Get your power of attorney drafted
Tell us three things: what the attorney needs to do, who will act on the document, and where the principal will be when they sign. Fee quoted in writing before work starts. Stamp duty confirmed for your state before you execute.
Call +91 70444 94804 or email [email protected]. Offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru.