Power of Attorney in Spain for Non-Residents: How It Works

What a power of attorney is and why non-residents use one

The Spanish Notariado defines the power in plain words: it is a public document authorised by a notary that allows a person, natural or legal (the poderdante), to designate another as their representative so that they can act in their name in certain legal acts. Behind it sits the Civil Code contract of mandate, by which a person undertakes to provide a service or do something on behalf of or at the request of another (art. 1709). The Code also states the basic rule that makes the power necessary: no one may contract in the name of another without being authorised by them or having legal representation, and a contract made in someone else's name without that authority is void unless that person ratifies it (art. 1259).

A power is unilateral. In the words of the Notariado, one person grants another the faculty to represent them without needing that person's authorisation, or that person being present before the notary at the time of signing. Your representative can be in Spain while you sign in another country, and they do not have to accept anything in front of the notary. For the acts to take effect, the representative must prove their status by showing the authorised copy of the power that the grantor has given them.

Non-residents typically use a power for four families of tasks: buying or selling a property in Spain, accepting and dividing an inheritance, dealing with the Spanish tax authorities, and operating with banks. The Civil Code also explains why a notarial deed, rather than a private letter, is the normal form: it requires a public document for the general power for litigation, for special powers to be presented in court, for the power to administer assets and for any other power whose purpose is an act drawn up or to be drawn up in a public deed or that must affect third parties (art. 1280.5). A purchase deed, a deed of inheritance or a mortgage are public deeds, so the power to sign them must be one too.

General or special power: what the Civil Code says

The Civil Code distinguishes two kinds of mandate. The general mandate covers all the business of the principal; the special mandate covers one or more specific matters (art. 1712). The Notariado brochure on powers describes the same split in practical terms: in a general power the grantor gives the representative faculties to act in all or some areas, with a general character, which must be specified in the power; in a special power the attorney is authorised for a specific type of legal act, such as the purchase of a property, the acceptance of an inheritance, a transfer or a payment.

The rule that matters most for property owners is art. 1713 CC: a mandate drafted in general terms only covers acts of administration. To settle (transigir), to sell (enajenar), to mortgage or to carry out any other act of strict ownership, an express mandate is required. The same article adds that the power to settle does not authorise submitting the matter to arbitrators. In practice this means that a power has to name the acts it allows: if it is going to be used to sell your apartment, the power must say so expressly.

The attorney is bound by those limits. Art. 1714 CC states that the attorney cannot exceed the limits of the mandate, and art. 1727 CC that the principal must fulfil the obligations the attorney contracted within those limits; for what the attorney did beyond them, the principal is only bound if they ratify it, expressly or tacitly. On the Spanish side, the notary before whom the attorney later signs records the identifying data of the power and states expressly that, in the notary's judgment, the powers shown are sufficient for the act in question (arts. 164 and 166 of the Reglamento Notarial). A power that does not clearly cover the act is the commonest reason for a signing to be postponed.

Which type of power for which task

The Notariado brochure lists the most usual general powers: the general power properly so called, which gives the attorney wide faculties, even of disposal over the whole estate, including the sale and mortgage of real estate; the power for litigation, by which a court representative (procurador) or a lawyer is authorised to appear in proceedings in the name of another; and the power to administer assets, which allows the attorney to manage the estate of the principal but normally excludes acts of disposal such as sale or mortgage. It adds that there are as many types of power as there are legal acts that admit representation, and that some acts do not admit it at all, such as making a will.

For a non-resident, the useful question is not the label but the list of acts. The table below summarises the powers we see most often and the faculties that are worth discussing with the notary in each case. It is a checklist for the conversation with the notary, not a template: the final wording is the notary's work, and each power must be tailored to the person and the transaction.

What the notary needs from you

Identity comes first. The Ley del Notariado allows the notary to identify a party by reference to identity cards or documents with photograph and signature issued by the public authorities whose purpose is to identify people, and the notary then answers for the match between the personal data, photograph and signature on the document and the person in front of them (art. 23 LN). For a non-resident that is normally a valid passport or national identity card. The deed itself records the name, surname, age, civil status and domicile of the grantors, and the identification documents of those appearing (art. 156, numbers 4 and 5, of the Reglamento Notarial).

Tax identification is the second point. Art. 156.5 RN requires the deed to state the tax identification number when tax rules so provide and, in particular, the numbers of those appearing and of the persons or entities they represent in deeds relating to the acquisition, transfer or encumbrance of rights over real estate, or any others with tax significance. Art. 23 LN repeats the duty. If someone refuses or cannot provide the number, the notary records it in the deed and warns them verbally about art. 254.2 of the Ley Hipotecaria. For a foreigner, the Spanish tax number is the NIE, so if you already have one, bring it; if you do not, ask the notary in advance whether your power will need it.

The rest depends on the case. Profession or any other personal datum is included when the grantor asks for it, when the notary considers it useful for proper identification, or when a law or regulation requires it (art. 156.10 RN). The notary also states that, in their judgment, the grantor has the legal capacity needed for the act (arts. 156.8 and 167 RN), which is why the Notariado says that any adult in full possession of their mental faculties can grant a power. Finally, you will need the full name and identity document details of the attorney, because the deed names who can act for you; the attorney does not have to attend.

Drafting the power: why limiting the faculties protects you

Before the signing, the notary prepares a draft of the deed (the minuta). This is the moment to read every faculty. A general power properly so called can, according to the Notariado, allow the attorney to dispose of your whole estate, including selling and mortgaging property. That is convenient, but it is also the widest possible exposure: everything the attorney does within the power binds you (art. 1727 CC), and third parties who deal with them in good faith are protected even after certain causes of termination (art. 1738 CC).

Limiting the power is simple. Name the specific property (address and land registry details), the act (buy, sell, accept an inheritance, sign the tax return), any economic conditions you want fixed (such as a minimum price or the account where proceeds must be paid), and whether the attorney may sign with themselves on the other side. Decide also whether the attorney can appoint a substitute: under art. 1721 CC the attorney may appoint one if the principal has not forbidden it, so if you want only that person to act, say so.

If you are not comfortable reading legal Spanish, the Reglamento Notarial gives you options. When a foreigner does not understand Spanish, the notary can authorise the deed if they know the foreigner's language, stating that they have translated its content orally; the deed can also be drawn up in two columns in both languages if the foreign grantor asks for it, even if they know Spanish perfectly; and if the notary cannot communicate the content, an interpreter designated by the grantor intervenes and signs the deed (art. 150 RN).

Signing in Spain before a Spanish notary

The simplest route, if you are in Spain anyway, is to sign before any Spanish notary. The Notariado answers the question directly: a citizen of any country can go to the office of a Spanish notary and grant a power. The result is a Spanish public deed: no apostille, no translation, and the notary can send authorised copies electronically to another Spanish notary, which the Notariado highlights as a way to avoid sending paper.

There is also a remote route for some powers. Since 9 November 2023, art. 17 ter of the Ley del Notariado allows signing by videoconference for, among other acts, powers of procedural representation, powers to act before public administrations, electoral powers and powers for specific acts, and the revocation of powers except general preventive ones. It expressly excludes general or preventive powers. The grantor accesses the notarial electronic office using the identification systems of art. 9 of Ley 39/2015, and the notary shows the document on the platform and authorises it with a qualified electronic signature. Whether this route is open to you depends on having one of those identification systems, so ask the notary before counting on it.

Whichever way you sign in Spain, the notary checks identity and capacity at the moment of signing, explains the content and keeps the original (the matriz) in their protocol. What you take away, or what is sent to your attorney, is a copy, which is covered below.

Signing abroad at a Spanish consulate

If you cannot travel, the Notariado points out that you can also grant the power at the Spanish consulate and it will be valid in Spain. Annex III of the Reglamento Notarial gives heads of diplomatic missions and career consuls of Spain the exercise of public faith abroad (art. 1), and requires them to follow the Ley del Notariado and the Reglamento in drawing up deeds, issuing copies and keeping their protocols (art. 5). The power is therefore drawn up under Spanish rules, in Spanish, by a Spanish official.

Because it is a document of a Spanish authority, the apostille does not come into play: the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 expressly does not apply to documents issued by diplomatic or consular agents (art. 1). When the deed is authorised by an honorary consular agent authorised for public faith, the Annex requires its copies to be certified by the career consul on whom that agent depends for them to be valid in Spain (art. 3 of Annex III). Ask the consulate for an appointment for notarial acts well in advance and send them the draft prepared with your Spanish adviser.

Signing before a foreign notary: apostille, legalisation, translation and equivalence

You can also sign before a notary in your own country. The Notariado's example is a French citizen: a power granted before a French notary will be valid in Spain, but it must be complemented with an administrative requirement called legalisation or apostille. The Hague Convention covers notarial documents (art. 1) and makes the apostille the only formality that can be required to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and the seal (art. 3). It is placed on the document itself or on an extension of it (art. 4) and issued at the request of the signatory or of any bearer of the document (art. 5) by the authority that each State designates (art. 6). According to the Notariado, the signatories of the Convention are today practically all countries.

If your country has not joined the Convention, the route is legalisation: the formality by which the diplomatic or consular agents of the country where the document must take effect certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the signatory and the seal (art. 2 of the Convention). Spanish procedural law reflects both options: a foreign document is treated as public if it contains the legalisation or apostille and the other requirements for its authenticity in Spain (art. 323.2 LEC). For the Land Registry, the Reglamento Hipotecario asks for the legalisation and other requirements for authenticity, and allows compliance with foreign forms and the capacity of the grantor to be proved by a statement or report of a Spanish notary or consul, among other means (art. 36 RH).

Two further checks decide whether the foreign power will work. Language: documents not in Spanish can be translated, for Registry purposes, by the Oficina de Interpretación de Lenguas, by competent officials authorised under laws or conventions, or by a notary who answers for the fidelity of the translation (art. 37 RH), and in court proceedings every document in a non-official language must be accompanied by a translation (art. 144 LEC). Equivalence: foreign extrajudicial public documents can be registered in Spain if the foreign authority performed functions equivalent to those of the Spanish authorities and the document has the same or closest effects in its country of origin (art. 60 of Ley 29/2015). A simple signature certification by a foreign official, with no control of identity, capacity and content, may not pass that test, and the Spanish notary will judge whether the powers are sufficient (art. 166 RN).

Authorised copy, simple copy and how the attorney uses the power

The notary keeps the original deed (the matriz) and issues copies. The Ley del Notariado gives each grantor the right to obtain a first copy (art. 17), and the Reglamento states that the copies issued with legal formalities are public deeds too: on paper they must be signed and sealed by the issuing notary, and in electronic form they carry the notary's electronic signature (art. 221 RN). That authorised copy (copia autorizada) is what the attorney shows: as the Notariado puts it, the representative must prove their status by showing the authorised copy of the power.

A simple copy (copia simple) is something else. Notaries issue simple copies without the effects of an authorised copy, and the signatures of the grantors can never appear on them (art. 224.2 RN). It is useful to review the text or to send it to a bank in advance, but nobody should sign a deed on the strength of a simple copy.

Between Spanish notaries, the authorised copy can travel electronically. Art. 17 bis of the Ley del Notariado allows the notary to issue authorised copies with a qualified electronic signature, sent through the notarial electronic office, and the Notariado notes that electronic notarial signatures allow notaries to send each other authorised copies of powers immediately and securely, without paper. When you sign, tell the notary which notary will authorise the later deed so the copy can be sent there directly.

How long a power lasts, how it ends and how to revoke it

Art. 1732 CC lists the causes that end a mandate: revocation; renunciation by the attorney; the death or insolvency of the principal or the attorney; the establishment of support measures for the attorney affecting the act in which they must intervene; and the appointment, for the principal, of a representative guardianship (curatela representativa) as a support measure, except for the rules on preventive mandates. The list contains no automatic expiry date, so if you want a power to end on a given date or once a task is completed, that has to be written into the deed.

Revocation is in your hands. The principal can revoke the mandate at will and require the attorney to return the document in which it is recorded (art. 1733 CC), and the Notariado adds that the grantor can revoke a power at any time before any notary. Appointing a new attorney for the same matter revokes the previous mandate from the day it is notified to the previous attorney (art. 1735 CC). The attorney, in turn, can renounce by informing the principal (art. 1736 CC) but must continue managing until the principal has been able to make other arrangements (art. 1737 CC).

The weak point is third parties. When the mandate was given to contract with specific persons, its revocation cannot prejudice them if they have not been informed (art. 1734 CC), and what the attorney does while unaware of the death of the principal or of any other cause of termination is valid with respect to third parties who dealt with them in good faith (art. 1738 CC). Revoking before a notary is the first step; notifying the attorney and anyone who was going to contract with them is the second.

Powers for tax matters, banks and the digital certificate

The Spanish General Tax Law allows taxpayers to act through a representative, who may be a tax adviser (art. 46.1 LGT). For filing appeals, waiving rights, assuming obligations, requesting refunds and the other cases where the taxpayer's signature is needed, the representation must be proved by any valid legal means that leaves a reliable record, and a notarial power is such a means (art. 46.2 LGT). For mere procedural steps representation is presumed (art. 46.3), and a missing or insufficient power can be remedied within ten days granted by the tax authority (art. 46.7). Non-residents must also appoint a representative when tax rules expressly require it (art. 47 LGT), which is a separate obligation from granting a power.

With banks, apply the same logic as with the notary: a power is only as useful as the acts it names. If the power is meant to open or close an account, receive the proceeds of a sale or pay taxes from your account, list those acts, and ask the bank before you sign which wording it needs to see.

The digital certificate is the exception that catches many people. The FNMT (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre) explains in its FAQ 1731 why a notarial power is not valid: under art. 7.1 of Ley 6/2020, identifying the applicant for a qualified certificate requires their personal appearance, which can only be waived if their signature on the application has been legitimised before a notary; a notarial power does not meet that requirement. After that legitimisation, a third person can present the application at a registration office. The ACCV, the certification authority of the Generalitat Valenciana, works differently: its help page states that another person can attend in your name if they bring a notarial power or a specific clause in a notarial power that expressly authorises them to obtain the digital certificate in your name.

What a power of attorney costs

Notarial fees in Spain are not free-market prices: they follow the tariff approved by Real Decreto 1426/1989. That tariff classes powers among documents without a stated value, with a fixed base amount for powers in general and a lower one for powers for litigation, an extra amount when there are more than two grantors, and separate charges for the authorised copies issued (per page) and for the pages of the original from the fifth one onwards.

The final figure therefore depends on the length of the deed, the number of grantors and copies, and taxes. Rather than rely on a number found online, ask the notary for a quote once the draft is ready. If you sign abroad, add the cost of the local notary, the apostille or legalisation and the translation, which are set in each country and by each translator.

Common mistakes that stop a power from working

The mistakes we see most often are predictable. A power that is too broad exposes your whole estate when the task was a single sale. A power that is too narrow or vague, drafted in general terms, does not allow a sale or a mortgage because art. 1713 CC requires express powers for those acts. A power signed abroad without an apostille or legalisation is not authentic for Spanish purposes (art. 323.2 LEC; art. 36 RH). A translation that the Spanish notary or registry does not accept forces you to start again. And a missing NIE, yours or your attorney's, stops the deed in which the power is used, because the notary records the tax numbers of those appearing and of those they represent (art. 156.5 RN).

Two more are less obvious. A simple copy sent by email is not enough: the attorney needs the authorised copy (art. 224.2 RN). And forgetting to revoke an old power after appointing a new attorney leaves room for confusion: the new appointment revokes the old one only from the day the previous attorney is notified (art. 1735 CC). Plan the power with the end transaction in mind, check it with the notary who will use it, and keep track of every copy issued.