India-issued · for use abroad

Power of Attorney
Apostille in India

A power of attorney is worth getting right the first time, because the cost of a defective one is not the apostille fee — it is a property transaction that stalls or a bank that refuses to act. The route is notary, SDM, MEA. The part people underestimate is that the receiving party abroad, or the sub-registrar in India, may have specific requirements about how the PoA is executed and what it authorises.

All-in price

₹2,100per document

Processing

3–7 working days

plus courier transit

Govt fees shown at costSDM route · not 10–20 daysNo email gate on pricing

Check this first

An apostille only works for Hague Convention countries.

There are 130 Contracting Parties as of 30 June 2026. If your power of attorney is going to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Malaysia, Iraq or Iran, an apostille is not valid — you need embassy attestation instead, which is a different process. Check your destination before you order.

Check your destination country
The Correct Route

Who Issues an Indian Power of Attorney

Issuing Authority

Executed by the principal and attested by a Notary Public, or registered before a Sub-Registrar where the transaction requires registration

A power of attorney is a privately-made document, not a government record. That is why it must be attested by a Notary Public before the SDM will pre-authenticate it. Skipping that step is the most common reason a first attempt fails.

Step by Step

How the SDM Route Works for a Power of Attorney

1

Notary Public

Same day

The principal signs the power of attorney before a Notary Public, who attests the signature and records it in the notarial register. Some transactions require registration before a Sub-Registrar instead.

2

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM)

3–7 working days

The SDM verifies the notary's signature and register entry and attests the instrument.

3

Ministry of External Affairs

1–2 working days after deposit

The MEA verifies the SDM signature against its records and affixes the apostille sticker with its QR code. The MEA accepts no document directly from an individual, so we deposit through an MEA-authorised collection channel.

SDM or State Home Department?

Personal documents can be pre-authenticated by either the SDM or the State Home Department. We default to the SDM because it is materially faster, and because the slower route rarely buys the customer anything. The exception matters though: some destination countries and some receiving institutions specifically require Home Department attestation, and getting that wrong means running the whole process again.

Pre-authentication authorityTypical timeWhen it applies
SDM Our default3–7 daysThe standard route for personal documents
State Home Department10–20+ daysWhere a destination or institution specifically requires it

Tell us the destination country and the receiving institution when you order and we will confirm which route yours needs before anything is submitted. If it needs the Home Department, we will say so — quoted on request.

Power of Attorney Apostille by State

The SDM is a district-level officer, so the office that pre-authenticates your power of attorney follows the district where it was issued — not where you live now. The Home Department alternative is state-level. Both routes end at the same MEA counter, and our price is the same from every state.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Telangana

Issued by
GHMC or the relevant municipality / gram panchayat
Home Department route
General Administration Department, Government of Telangana (Hyderabad)

Hyderabad births are registered by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. A hospital-issued discharge slip is not a birth certificate and cannot be apostilled — the GHMC-issued certificate is the one that can.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Andhra Pradesh

Issued by
The municipal corporation, municipality or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
General Administration Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh (Amaravati)

Records for births before the 2014 bifurcation may sit with the authority in the district as it then stood. Tell us the district and year and we will confirm which office holds it.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Maharashtra

Issued by
BMC in Mumbai; the relevant municipal corporation or gram panchayat elsewhere
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Maharashtra (Mumbai)

Mumbai civil records are issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Documents registered in Pune, Nagpur or Nashik follow their own corporations, not BMC.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Karnataka

Issued by
BBMP in Bengaluru; the relevant municipal body elsewhere
Home Department route
Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of Karnataka (Bengaluru)

Bengaluru records come from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Degrees from Karnataka universities take the HRD route rather than the SDM route — that is a different service, quoted on request.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Tamil Nadu

Issued by
Greater Chennai Corporation, or the municipality / panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Public (Political) Department, Government of Tamil Nadu (Chennai)

Tamil Nadu civil records are commonly issued in Tamil. Where the receiving authority abroad requires English, a certified translation is needed — the apostille does not translate anything.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Kerala

Issued by
The local self-government body — corporation, municipality or panchayat
Home Department route
General Administration (Political) Department, Government of Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram)

Kerala has among the highest volumes of documents going abroad, much of it to Gulf states. Several of those — the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait — are not Hague parties, so an apostille has no effect there and embassy attestation is required instead.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Gujarat

Issued by
The municipal corporation or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Gujarat (Gandhinagar)

Documents issued in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara each come from their own municipal corporation. Confirm which body issued yours before ordering a fresh copy.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Punjab

Issued by
The municipal corporation, council or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Government of Punjab (Chandigarh)

Chandigarh is a Union Territory administered separately from Punjab and Haryana. If your document was issued in Chandigarh itself, the UT administration holds it, not the Punjab department.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Haryana

Issued by
The municipal corporation or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Haryana (Chandigarh)

Gurugram and Faridabad records come from their own municipal corporations. As with Punjab, documents issued in Chandigarh itself follow the UT administration.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Uttar Pradesh

Issued by
The Nagar Nigam, Nagar Palika or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow)

Late-registered births are common in UP and the certificate will say so. That does not prevent an apostille, but some receiving authorities ask for supporting evidence alongside it — tell us if yours is late-registered.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Rajasthan

Issued by
The municipal corporation, council or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Rajasthan (Jaipur)

Rajasthan issues many civil records in Hindi. Where the destination requires English, budget for a certified translation in addition to the apostille.

Power of Attorney Apostille in Madhya Pradesh

Issued by
The Nagar Nigam, Nagar Palika or gram panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal)

Indore and Bhopal records come from their own municipal corporations. Documents from smaller districts follow the local body that registered them.

Power of Attorney Apostille in West Bengal

Issued by
Kolkata Municipal Corporation, or the municipality / panchayat of registration
Home Department route
Home and Hill Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal (Kolkata)

Kolkata civil records are issued by the KMC. Bengali-language certificates need a certified translation where the destination requires English.

We do not publish state office addresses here because they change and a stale address is worse than none — check the current one on your state portal, or just send the document to us and we will route it. Stamp-paper values and notary charges are set by the state and vary; we confirm those at order.

What about e-Sanad?

A notarised PoA has no onboarded issuing authority, so e-Sanad does not apply. A PoA registered before a Sub-Registrar is a registered instrument, but the practical route to an apostille is still physical.

e-Sanad is the government's own free platform for digitally verifying documents from onboarded issuing authorities. Where it covers your document and your destination accepts it, it is genuinely the better option and we will tell you so. It is not a replacement for a physical apostille sticker in most cases.

Pricing

What a Power of Attorney Apostille Costs

Government feesAt cost

MEA apostille ₹50 + authorised-channel collection ₹84 + scanning ₹3/page

₹143

Veritas service fee

SDM pre-authentication, authorised-channel deposit, handling and tracking

₹1,957
Total per document₹2,100

Courier

Quoted before payment, charged at what it actually costs

At cost

Notarisation

Required for this document before the SDM stage

Quoted at order

The same ₹2,100 applies to every personal document we handle, whatever its page count. Most sites in this market either publish no figure at all or put their calculator behind an email form — on searches where the whole intent is to find out what it costs. Government fees are reproduced from mea.gov.in and passed through at cost. See the full charges breakdown.

When It's Needed

Why People Apostille a Power of Attorney

Property transactions in India from abroad

The most common case — an NRI authorising a relative to sell, buy, let or manage property. The apostille is what makes the foreign-executed instrument usable, or the Indian-executed one usable abroad.

Banking and financial authority

Operating an account, closing a deposit or managing investments on someone else's behalf across borders.

Court and legal representation

Authorising an advocate or family member to act in proceedings when the principal cannot attend.

Business and company matters

Signing on behalf of a company or partnership in a jurisdiction where the signatory cannot be present.

Variants & Edge Cases

Which Power of Attorney Do You Actually Have?

This is where applications fail, and it is almost never the apostille itself. Find your case below before you courier anything — a rejected document costs a full second run, not a correction.

Special power of attorney

Authorises specific, named acts — sell this property, operate this account. Narrow by design, and generally the safer instrument. Most receiving parties prefer it.

General power of attorney

Broad authority across a class of matters. Some banks and sub-registrars are reluctant to accept a GPA for high-value property transactions, so confirm acceptance before you execute one.

Property PoA from IndiaOften rejected

Where the PoA will be used for a registrable property transaction, notarisation may not be enough — the sub-registrar may require the instrument itself to be registered. Check with the registering office before drafting.

PoA executed abroad for use in IndiaOften rejected

This is the reverse direction. A PoA signed before a notary outside India is apostilled in that country, not by the MEA, and then generally needs stamping in India within a prescribed period of arrival. We can advise, but the apostille itself happens abroad.

Attorney-holder details incompleteOften rejected

The instrument must identify the attorney-holder precisely — full name, address and ID as they appear on their own documents. Vague identification is a frequent reason a bank or registrar declines to act.

Power of Attorney Format for Apostille (free PDF)

Special and general PoA specimens, the notarised-vs-registered decision to settle before you draft, and the identification details that get a PoA refused months later.

Not sure which you have? Send photos on WhatsApp — we check before you courier anything, and we will tell you if the answer is that we cannot help.

Requirements

What to Send Us

1

The original notarised (or registered) power of attorney on appropriate stamp paper

2

Photocopies of the principal's and the attorney-holder's passports or government photo ID

3

Where the PoA concerns property, the property details as they will appear in the deed

4

Passport-size photographs of the principal, where the state or sub-registrar requires them

FAQ

Power of Attorney Apostille — Common Questions

How do I apostille a power of attorney in India?

Execute the PoA before a Notary Public on appropriate stamp paper, then send us the original. It goes to the SDM for pre-authentication (3–7 working days) and then to the MEA for the apostille sticker (1–2 working days). Total processing 3–7 working days, plus courier.

Does a power of attorney need to be registered or only notarised?

It depends on what it authorises. A notarised PoA is sufficient for many purposes, but a PoA for a registrable property transaction may need to be registered before a Sub-Registrar. Ask the receiving party — the bank, buyer or registering office — before executing it, because converting one to the other after the fact means starting again.

What is the difference between a special and a general power of attorney?

A special PoA authorises specific named acts; a general PoA grants broad authority over a class of matters. Special is narrower and more widely accepted, particularly for property. Some institutions decline a GPA for high-value transactions altogether.

Can I apostille a power of attorney while living abroad?

If the PoA was executed in India before an Indian notary, yes — a relative can send us the original with an authorisation letter. If you signed it abroad before a foreign notary, it must be apostilled in that country instead; the MEA cannot apostille a foreign document.

Hague Convention figures verified against theHCCH status tableon 30 June 2026. Government fees from mea.gov.in, same date.

Ready to Apostille Your
Power of Attorney?

₹2,100 per document, 3–7 working days processing. We check your document for free before you courier anything.

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