The power of attorney is a very useful process when geographical distance takes us away from the location of an administrative procedure where our signature is required. This is even becoming essential for French citizens traveling or residing abroad. Be careful though, the steps are necessarily a little different to set up a power of attorney with the notary.
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Signature at the notary: how to establish a power of attorney abroad?
Contrary to what one may believe, a notarial power of attorney does not necessarily have to be established by a French notary. You can therefore contact a local notary if you live in a country in which a notary exists (there are nearly 90 in the world, mainly in Europe, South America, North Asia and West Africa). It is even possible to contact the legal structure closest to the notary in other countries, as long as your document respects the legal requirements for authenticity. Your power of attorney for a notarial deed in France must be written in French, and therefore be translated by an approved translator if the original document is in a foreign language. It must then be subjected to a validation by the embassy or the French consulate in your country of residence, and preferably by a competent authority in the country from which the power of attorney is issued.
A process simplified by videoconferencing for signing with the notary from abroad
Since decree of November 20, 2020, the process of obtaining a power of attorney issued from abroad has been greatly facilitated by the use of proxies with remote appearance by videoconference. This process aims to facilitate recourse to the usual notary for French expatriates. The power of attorney is then done in two stages. Firstly, the official documents of the file are sent on a secure digital platform to the notary’s office for examination. Then, a appointment is set by videoconference in the same context as a notarized signature, to obtain a remote signature.
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