Power of attorney for Indian property from abroad

By Parish Rao · 26 August 2026 · 6 minute read

Almost every overseas owner who sells Indian property ends up giving somebody a power of attorney. It is also the step where things most often go wrong, usually because the wrong kind was signed or it was attested the wrong way.

Special, not general

A general power of attorney hands broad authority to another person. A special power of attorney is limited to a defined task, naming the specific property and the specific acts permitted.

For a property sale you want the special version. It should identify the property precisely and say exactly what the holder may do. Narrow is safer, and family disputes over broadly drafted powers are not rare.

Apostille or embassy attestation

Which one you need depends entirely on where you live.

Hague Convention countries, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Germany, use an apostille. You have the document notarised locally, then obtain the apostille from the designated authority in that country.

Non Convention countries, including the UAE, need attestation through the Indian embassy or consulate instead.

Getting this wrong means the document is refused in India after you have already spent time and money on it.

The three month rule people miss

A power of attorney executed outside India generally has to be stamped in India within three months of first arriving in the country.

That clock starts when the document lands, not when you signed it. Couriering it early and letting it sit with a relative for months is exactly how people lose the benefit of the work they already did.

Where valuation fits in the sequence

Earlier than most people expect. A realistic overseas sale timeline runs something like this:

1. Weeks one to fourValuation and legal engagement. The valuation is an input to everything after it, including any tax certificate application.
2. Weeks two to sixPower of attorney drafted, executed abroad, apostilled or attested, couriered to India.
3. Weeks six to nineStamping and registration in India, then the transaction itself.

So a delay at the valuation step delays the whole chain. If you are even considering selling, start there rather than leaving it until a buyer is waiting.

Practical points that save trouble

• Send the original by tracked courier. Scans are not enough for registration.
• Choose the holder carefully. Someone trustworthy, reachable, and ideally not a party to any family disagreement about the property.
• Check the buyer's bank is comfortable. Some lenders are cautious about sales executed under a power of attorney, and it is better to know at the start.
• Keep it current. If the sale drags on, confirm the document is still valid for what you need.

What you do not need it for

A valuation. We do not need a power of attorney to inspect and value your property. We need somebody able to open the door and, ideally, copies of the title papers. That is all.

So the valuation can proceed in parallel while the power of attorney is being executed abroad, which is usually the fastest way to run the whole thing.

See our NRI section, or tell us where the property is and where you live.