If your cédula (national ID card) has expired, you most likely cannot sign yourself at a notaría (notary office) or a Registro (registry) in Venezuela. The rule that sets the requirements asks for a valid identity document, and we found no official extension for expired cédulas. From abroad, the usual route is a poder (power of attorney) granted at a Venezuelan consulate: according to their pages, the Venezuelan embassies in France and Poland accept an expired cédula in their procedures.
What the rules require to identify the signer
The Ley de Registros y Notarías (Registries and Notaries Law), in Gaceta Oficial (Official Gazette) No. 6.668 Extraordinario of December 16, 2021, requires identifying the person who signs, but does not say with which document:
The document is specified by lower-ranking rules:
| Rule | What it says about identification |
|---|---|
| Resolución No. 019 of the Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz (Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace), Gaceta Oficial No. 40.332, January 13, 2014, art. 2, num. 1 | Every interested person, "sea presentante u otorgante" (whether presenter or grantor), at Registros Principales, Mercantiles, Públicos and Notarías must present a "Documento de identificación vigente" (valid identification document) |
| Resolución No. 008 of the same ministry, Gaceta Oficial No. 41.581, February 7, 2019, art. 29 | Identification with a "cédula de identidad laminada" (laminated identity card) for residents and a passport with a visa for foreigners |
| Providencia No. 525 (administrative ruling) of SAREN (the national registries and notaries service), Gaceta Oficial No. 42.987, October 17, 2024, arts. 10 and 11 | Besides checking the cédula or the passport, fingerprint matching against the database of SAIME (the identification and migration service) |
| Ley Orgánica de Identificación (Organic Identification Law), Decreto No. 1.412, Gaceta Oficial No. 6.155 Extraordinario, November 19, 2014, arts. 13 and 18 | The cédula is the "documento principal de identificación" (main identification document) for civil, commercial, administrative and judicial acts, and is valid for ten years from its issue |
Resolución 019 was issued under the Ley de Registro Público y del Notariado (Public Registry and Notary Law) of 2006, now repealed, and we found no act that repeals the resolution itself. Its article 47, in the chapter on notarías, says that for the poder of a natural person "deberán presentarse únicamente, los requisitos obligatorios" (only the mandatory requirements must be presented) of article 2, plus "los timbres fiscales correspondientes al lugar del otorgamiento" (the revenue stamps that correspond to the place of signing). Thus the requirement of a valid document also covers a poder signed at a Venezuelan notaría.
Providencia 525 is applied progressively, starting with the notarías of the capital region, according to its first transitional provision. If you want to know what each office does, see notaría or Registro: differences.
Is there an official extension for expired cédulas?
As of October 28, 2026 we found no Gaceta Oficial or SAIME notice that extends the validity of expired cédulas for procedures before notarías or Registros. The SAIME identification page says nothing about expired cédulas either.
The closest thing is a clarification by SAIME on its social media, reported by Globovisión on May 11, 2025, about domestic flights: to board, "no importa si el documento está vigente o vencido" (it does not matter whether the document is valid or expired). That clarification concerns only flights within the country, and we did not find it published as an official act. It does not change what Resolución 019 requires.
In practice, a guide by the real estate agency Invierte en Margarita, reviewed by a lawyer and updated in August 2026, states that "con la cédula vencida no puedes firmar en el registro" (with an expired cédula you cannot sign at the registry). It is a private source, not a rule. Some offices may act differently, so ask before you go.
Does a passport work instead of the cédula?
For a Venezuelan, the rules give no clear answer:
We found no rule that expressly allows a Venezuelan with an expired cédula to sign at a notaría or a Registro in Venezuela with a valid passport. Ask at the office before the appointment. For foreigners, Resolución 019 (art. 3, num. 4) also requires a passport with a business transient, investor or entrepreneur visa for acts that transfer property.
Signing a poder at a consulate with an expired cédula
The Ley de Registros y Notarías (art. 79) recognizes as a notarial document one executed before a consular officer exercising notarial functions. A poder signed at a Venezuelan consulate does not need an apostille, because the Apostille Convention (art. 1) excludes documents of consular agents.
The pages of two Venezuelan embassies say they accept an expired cédula:
Those are the rules of those two embassies. Each consulate sets its own procedure, so check your consulate's page. Not every country has active consular service: in the United States, El Nacional reported on September 14, 2026 that the opening of the offices to the public had not yet been confirmed.
The poder solves your signature, not that of your apoderado (attorney-in-fact): whoever signs for you in Venezuela must bring their own valid document, because Resolución 019 applies to every grantor. To choose the type of poder, see general or special power of attorney, and for the full process, selling a property from abroad. A lawyer should draft the poder with the exact powers that the transaction needs.
Renewing the cédula: only in Venezuela, at SAIME
According to the embassies in Poland and France, the cédula is not renewed at the consulate. Poland's says that to renew it "deberá viajar a Venezuela" (you must travel to Venezuela), and France's that "la cédula se tramita únicamente en Venezuela, ante el SAIME" (the cédula is processed only in Venezuela, before SAIME). The Ley Orgánica de Identificación (art. 19) provides for a new cédula because of expiry, loss or damage.
The SAIME page indicates:
The page does not mention fees for the cédula. On October 28, 2026, saime.gob.ve loaded in our check from outside Venezuela, but the appointment takes place at an office in the country.