How to make a Spanish power of attorney from abroad

To make a power of attorney that is valid in Spain while living abroad you have three routes: sign it at the Spanish Consulate in your country (the consul acts as a notary and the document needs no apostille or translation), sign it before a local notary and then have it apostilled and translated by a sworn translator, or sign it by video call with a Spanish notary through the Portal Notarial del Ciudadano, which has been possible since November 2023 under Ley 11/2023 for powers covering specific acts. The consular route usually takes 2 to 8 weeks because of the appointment wait; the local notary route, 1 to 3 weeks; the video call can be done in 24 to 72 hours if you already have a digital certificate.

The three routes in a table

All three produce a power of attorney that is fully valid in Spain. The difference lies in time, cost and what you need beforehand. Let us go through them one by one.

Route 1: signing the power at the Spanish Consulate

Spanish consuls carry out notarial functions abroad. A power signed before the Spanish Consulate is a Spanish public document: it needs no Hague apostille or sworn translation, and the notary or registry in Spain accepts it directly.

1. Book an appointment on the website of the consulate that covers your place of residence. At busy consulates (Buenos Aires, Mexico City, London, Miami) the wait can be several weeks.
2. Prepare the draft power. The consulate usually asks you to send the draft with the specific powers in advance. If a lawyer or agent in Spain will use the power, ask them to draft it.
3. Attend on the day with your valid passport or DNI and pay the consular fee (roughly between 25 and 60 euros depending on the consulate).
4. Collect the authorised copy and send the paper document to Spain, because whoever uses it there will normally need the original.

The weak point is the appointment. In 2024 and 2025 several consulates in Latin America had waits of more than a month just for notarial procedures. If your transaction has a date (a sale with a signed deposit agreement, a court deadline), allow for that or consider another route.

Route 2: local notary, apostille and sworn translation

You can sign the power before a notary in the country where you live. For that foreign document to have effect in Spain it needs two things: a Hague apostille, which certifies the notary's signature under the Convention of 5 October 1961, and a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if the power is not drafted in Spanish.

1. Ask whoever will use the power in Spain to draft it in Spanish. In many countries (Mexico, Argentina, Colombia) the notary can authorise it directly in Spanish; in others it is signed in two columns.
2. Sign before the local notary with your identity document.
3. Have the document apostilled by the competent authority in that country: in Mexico, the Secretaría de Gobernación or the state governments; in Argentina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the notarial associations; in the United States, the Secretary of State of the state; in the United Kingdom, the FCDO Legalisation Office.
4. If the power is in another language, order a sworn translation. The official list of sworn translators is at exteriores.gob.es.
5. Send the apostilled original (with its translation) to Spain.

There is an important caveat with common-law countries. A notary public in the United States or the United Kingdom does not have the same role as a civil-law notary: they only certify signatures, without checking the legality of the act or the signer's capacity. The Spanish notary who receives the power has to carry out an equivalence check, and powers signed before a notary public have been rejected. If you sign in a common-law country, the document should include wording on identification, capacity and execution, not just a signature certification. This point needs professional review case by case.

If the apostille sounds like a maze, our Hague apostille online page explains how we handle it.

Route 3: video call with a Spanish notary (Ley 11/2023)

Since 9 November 2023, Ley 11/2023 has allowed certain notarial documents to be signed by video call with a Spanish notary, without setting foot in Spain or going through the consulate. It is done through the Portal Notarial del Ciudadano, the official platform of the Consejo General del Notariado. Few firms or websites mention this route, and for many people living abroad it is the fastest.

Article 17 ter of the Ley del Notariado (Notaries Act) allows, among others, powers of attorney for litigation, powers to act before public authorities and powers for specific acts to be signed by video call: selling a particular flat, accepting an identified inheritance, setting up a company. General and lasting powers of attorney are excluded and still require physical presence or the consulate.

1. Check that your power fits: it has to be for a specific act, for litigation or for administrative procedures. A "general power for everything" cannot be signed by video call.
2. Get one of the forms of electronic identification listed in article 9 of Ley 39/2015: electronic DNI, a qualified digital certificate (FNMT) or Cl@ve. If you live abroad, you can get the FNMT certificate by proving your identity at the consulate, or use a qualified European certificate.
3. Register on the Portal Notarial del Ciudadano and choose a notary. You can choose freely across Spain.
4. Send the documents and the draft. The notary reviews them before the appointment.
5. Join the video call on the agreed day. The notary identifies you, checks your capacity and reads the power with you.
6. Sign electronically. If you do not have a qualified electronic signature, the notarial electronic office lets you get one free of charge on the spot.
7. Receive the electronic authorised copy, which moves between notaries, registries and public bodies without paper.

With a digital certificate already issued, the power can be signed in 24 to 72 hours. That is the difference between waiting six weeks for a consular appointment and signing this week. In international powers of attorney online we describe the service we use to coordinate this with registered notaries.

Documents you need

They vary by route, but the basics are the same:

1. A valid passport or Spanish DNI.
2. An NIE, if you are a foreign national and the power will be used for acts with tax consequences in Spain (buying, selling, inheriting). If you do not have one yet, see how to get your NIE online.
3. The draft power with the specific powers and the attorney's full details (name, DNI or NIE, address).
4. For the video call route: digital certificate, electronic DNI or Cl@ve.
5. For the local notary route: apostille and, where needed, sworn translation.

Mistakes that invalidate the process

1. Generic powers. A power "for whatever may be needed" is usually rejected when the Spanish notary or registrar checks whether it is sufficient. The powers must describe the act: "sell registered property X", "accept the inheritance of Ms...".
2. A power before a notary public without equivalence wording. A plain common-law signature certification may not pass the equivalence check in Spain.
3. No apostille, or an apostille from the wrong body. Each country designates specific authorities; an apostille issued by a body without authority is not valid.
4. A translation that is not sworn. An ordinary translation, however perfect, will not do. It must be signed by a sworn translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
5. Trying to sign a general power by video call. Ley 11/2023 expressly excludes it. The notary will refuse to authorise it.
6. Incomplete or wrong details for the attorney. An ID number with two digits swapped means correcting the power, with the delay that brings.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a power of attorney from abroad cost?

At the consulate, the fee is around 25 to 60 euros. Before a local notary, add the local notary's fees, the apostille and the sworn translation: the total is usually between 150 and 400 euros depending on the country. By video call you pay the Spanish notary's regulated fees for the power, similar to an in-person power in Spain.

Does a consular power need an apostille?

No. The Spanish consul acts as a notary and the document is a Spanish public document from the outset. It does not need a translation either, because it is drafted in Spanish.

Can I sign any power of attorney by video call?

No. Article 17 ter of the Ley del Notariado allows powers for litigation, for dealing with public authorities and for specific acts. It excludes general and lasting powers of attorney.

How long does each route take?

Consulate: as long as the appointment takes, 2 to 8 weeks at the busiest consulates. Local notary with apostille and translation: 1 to 3 weeks. Video call: 24 to 72 hours if you already have a digital certificate; if you need to get one first, add a few days.

Does a power made abroad expire?

Powers of attorney do not expire by law unless they set a term, but banks and registries look closely at old powers. If yours is more than a year old, whoever receives it may ask for a recent one.

Can the same power be used for several procedures?

Only if its powers cover all of them. A power to sell a flat cannot be used to accept an inheritance. If you expect several specific acts, include them all in the draft from the start.

Sign your power of attorney this week, wherever you are

Notaría Online coordinates powers of attorney with registered Spanish notaries, including by video call under Ley 11/2023. We draft the power, check that the powers will be accepted as sufficient and help you get a digital certificate if you do not have one. Tell us what you need to sign on our international powers of attorney online page and we will tell you which route suits you and how long it will take.

This content is for guidance only and does not constitute legal advice.