Certification of Powers of Attorney - The Notarial Act That Lets Someone Act in Your Name

What a notarial power of attorney is under Georgian law

Under the Civil Code of Georgia, a power of attorney is a unilateral act by which a principal authorizes a representative to act in the principal's name, and it must be in the form the underlying transaction requires; because the transactions foreigners delegate most - dealing with real estate and vehicles, company matters, bank accounts, court representation, acts before the House of Justice and the Public Registry - either require notarial form or are accepted by the receiving institution only in notarial form, the power of attorney is drawn up or certified by a notary as a notarial act. The notary establishes the principal's identity and capacity, ascertains that the principal understands and intends the powers granted, drafts the text or checks a text brought in, reads it to the principal (through an interpreter where needed), has the principal sign, certifies the act with the notary's signature and seal, and enters it in the electronic register of notarial acts, from which any authority can verify it. The representative need not be present and need not sign; the act is the principal's alone.

General and special powers, and what institutions need to see

A general power of attorney authorizes the representative to act in all the principal's affairs, or in a broad category of them, for the period stated; a special power authorizes specific acts concerning specific objects - the sale of a named apartment at a stated or unrestricted price, the registration of a named company, the operation of a named account, the representation in a named case. Georgian institutions read powers of attorney narrowly and each wants specific wording: the National Agency of Public Registry wants the property identified by cadastral code and the power to sign the contract and apply for registration stated; banks want the account and the operations (open, deposit, withdraw, close, receive statements) stated and often insist on their own form; the House of Justice wants the acts of company registration or civil registration named; the Revenue Service wants tax matters specified; courts want the procedural powers listed as the Civil Procedure Code requires (to file, settle, withdraw, appeal, receive money); the Service Agency wants the vehicle identified. We draft each power with the wording the receiving institution expects, because a power that says "manage" where the institution wants "sell" is refused at the counter.

The appointment: what to bring and how long it takes

Bring your valid passport or Georgian ID; the representative's full name, date of birth and ID or passport details (a photo of their document is ideal); the identifying details of any property, vehicle, company or account concerned (cadastral code, registration number, company identification number, account number); and a clear description of what the representative must be able to do and for how long. Send these on WhatsApp or Telegram in advance and we draft the power before you arrive - in Georgian with a parallel column in your language if you are a foreigner - so that the appointment at Agmashenebeli 117 takes about half an hour: the notary checks your identity, our interpreter reads the power with you clause by clause where you do not speak Georgian and is recorded in the act, you sign, the notary certifies and registers, and you leave with the original and, on request, an electronic version with the notary's qualified signature. Your foreign passport is translated and notarized for the notary's file beforehand from a photo, at no delay to the appointment.

Duration, revocation and sub-delegation

A power of attorney states its period of validity; Georgian law sets a maximum term for powers that state one and limits the validity of powers that state none, and receiving institutions abroad often want a recent power regardless, so we advise on the term for your purpose. A power ends on expiry, on revocation by the principal, on the principal's death or loss of capacity, on the representative's refusal, and on completion of the act it was given for. Revocation is itself a notarial act: the principal revokes before a notary, the revocation is entered in the electronic register, and because Georgian notaries and the Public Registry check the register before acting on a power, a revoked power stops working at once in Georgia; we notify the representative and the institutions concerned on request, and we draft revocations for powers made anywhere. Sub-delegation - the representative appointing a substitute - is possible only if the power expressly allows it, and we draft it in where a client needs a lawyer to be able to delegate to a colleague.

Using a Georgian power of attorney abroad

A power of attorney certified in Tbilisi is a Georgian public document, and for use in another country it is apostilled through the Ministry of Justice route in one to three business days (or legalized through the consular chain for non-Hague countries), then translated into the destination's language by a notarized translation, which we make with the same bilingual text so that the two versions match; where the destination requires its own sworn translator, our partner there re-certifies the text. We draft powers for abroad in the form the destination expects - Turkish land registries, Italian and Spanish notaries, German Grundbuchämter, Russian and Kazakh registries, foreign banks - and we tell you plainly where a Georgian power will not be accepted at all, such as Belarusian real estate transactions since 2023. In the other direction, a power made abroad before a foreign notary or at a Georgian consulate is used in Georgia after apostille and notarized translation, and we review foreign drafts before they are signed so that they cover the act the Georgian institution will require.

Corporate powers, refusal grounds and practical points

A company grants a power of attorney through its authorized representative, and the notary checks the representative's authority in the Public Registry extract and, where the charter requires, the shareholders' or board resolution; we translate and notarize the foreign parent's extract and resolution beforehand where a foreign company grants a power in Tbilisi. The notary refuses to certify a power where the principal cannot be identified, appears not to understand or not to consent, is a minor or lacks capacity without a guardian's involvement, where the power would authorize an unlawful act, or where an act must be performed personally by law (a will, a marriage, certain declarations); we tell you in advance where a power will not work. Fees follow the official tariff per act, with a general and a special power charged differently, and the translation of your passport, the bilingual drafting and the interpreter are quoted separately and in advance. A power certified in the morning is registered and usable the same day, and a scan is sent the moment the notary signs.

Frequently asked questions

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