A poder (power of attorney) is a mandato (mandate): you (the mandante or poderdante, the principal) entrust another person (the mandatario or apoderado, the attorney-in-fact) with carrying out one or more transactions on your behalf (article 1.684 of the Código Civil, the Civil Code). Whether it is enough to sell, rent out or go to court depends on how it is worded. This is what the law says as of October 27, 2026.
General and special power of attorney: the comparison
The mandate is either special or general (article 1.687), but the wording decides: in general terms it covers only acts of administration, and to settle, transfer, mortgage or perform any act that exceeds ordinary administration, the mandate must be express (article 1.688).
| Type of power of attorney | What it is | What it can do | What it cannot do | Articles |
|---|
| General, in general terms | Covers all your affairs without listing powers of disposal | Acts of administration (the code gives no list) | Sell, mortgage, settle or any other act that exceeds ordinary administration | CC 1.687 and 1.688 |
| General with express powers | Covers all your affairs and lists powers such as selling or mortgaging | What it lists expressly | What it does not list; the power to settle does not include the power to submit to arbitration | CC 1.688 and 1.689 |
| Special | For one transaction or certain transactions, for example selling an identified property | That transaction, with the powers it lists | Anything outside that transaction or its limits | CC 1.687 and 1.689 |
| For court | A power of attorney granted in public or authenticated form to act in a lawsuit | All acts of the proceedings not reserved to the party, at every instance | Agree to the claim, withdraw, settle, receive money or dispose of the right in dispute without express authority; exercising it without being a lawyer | CPC 151, 153, 154 and 166 |
In all of them, the attorney-in-fact cannot exceed the limits of the mandate (article 1.689), and you are not bound by whatever exceeds them unless you ratify it (article 1.698).
Selling, buying, mortgaging or renting out: what each act requires
Selling or mortgaging. Article 1.688 requires express authority; a general power of attorney that does not mention it does not work. A special power of attorney that identifies the property with its registry details avoids doubts, although the Código Civil does not require it. See selling from abroad.
Buying. Article 1.688 does not name it. Whether it exceeds ordinary administration is a matter of interpretation; the prudent course is for the power of attorney to state it, along with the authority to pay the price. See buying from abroad.
Renting out. Whoever has simple administration cannot lease for more than two years, except under special provisions (article 1.582). The code does not say whether that rule reaches an attorney-in-fact with a general power of attorney; applying it is a matter of interpretation. If the lease may run longer than two years, the power of attorney should say so. The 2026 residential lease law requires the contract to state the capacity in which the parties act (article 8), for example, as the owner's attorney-in-fact. See renting out from abroad.
Limits of any power of attorney. The attorney-in-fact cannot buy what they are tasked with selling (article 1.482, numeral 3) or contract with themselves without your authorization (article 1.171).
If you are married. Transferring or encumbering a ganancial (marital community) property requires the consent of both spouses (article 168): either both grant the power of attorney or the other spouse consents.Substitution: when the attorney-in-fact passes the power of attorney to someone else
The Código Civil regulates who is liable for the substitute (article 1.695):
If the power of attorney did not authorize substitution, the attorney-in-fact is liable for the person they appointed as substitute.
If it authorized substitution without naming the person, they are liable only for fault in the choice and in the instructions they should have given.In both cases you can act directly against the substitute. For court, if the power of attorney authorizes substitution, it is made in the person you designate or in a lawyer; if it says nothing, only in a lawyer when the attorney-in-fact does not want to or cannot continue; if it prohibits it, they cannot substitute (article 159 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil, the Code of Civil Procedure). Substitution requires the same formalities as the granting (article 162).
Revocation and its effect on third parties
When it ends. On revocation, resignation, or the death, interdiction, bankruptcy or assignment of assets of either of the two, among other causes (article 1.704). Revocation and death, interdiction, bankruptcy or assignment of assets do not end it if it was granted in performance of an obligation of the principal toward the attorney-in-fact (article 1.705).
Revoking. You can revoke it whenever you want and demand the return of the power of attorney document (article 1.706). Appointing another attorney-in-fact for the same transaction revokes the previous one from the moment the new appointment is made known (article 1.708).
Third parties in good faith. A revocation notified only to the attorney-in-fact does not prejudice third parties who, unaware of it, contracted with them in good faith; you keep your recourse against the attorney-in-fact (article 1.707). Nor can you assert it against third parties who did not know of it when the act was concluded (article 1.170). What is done unaware of the principal's death or another cause of termination is valid if the third parties acted in good faith (article 1.710).The Código Civil does not say how to notify third parties. Our reading, not a written rule: revoking before a notary, recording the revocation where the power of attorney was recorded and notifying the attorney-in-fact and those who deal with them leaves proof that they knew of it.
Lawyer. Every document presented before registries and notarías (notary offices) must be drafted and signed off by a lawyer registered with the Instituto de Previsión Social del Abogado (lawyers' social welfare institute), under article 23 of the Ley de Registros y Notarías (Registries and Notaries Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.668 Extraordinario).
Notaría or consulate. The notary attests to powers of attorney, substitutions, resignations and revocations (article 75, numeral 2). What is granted before a consular official acting as a notary is also a notarial document (article 79). For a court power of attorney granted abroad, the Código de Procedimiento Civil requires it to be legalized and, if it is in another language, translated by an intérprete público (official sworn translator) in Venezuela (article 157); Venezuela has been a party to the Convenio de la Apostilla (Hague Apostille Convention) since March 16, 1999 (HCCH), which replaces legalization between countries that are parties to it.
Registro (public registry). A power of attorney for an act that the law requires to be executed before a registrar must be made in that same form (article 1.169 of the Código Civil). In practice, according to Banca y Negocios (October 2024), the power of attorney of the seller's attorney-in-fact must first be recorded at the registry where the sale will take place. Confirm it at the office.| Procedure | Cap set by the law | Amount set by SAREN (the national registries and notaries service) |
|---|
| Granting a power of attorney at a notaría | Up to 2 PTR (art. 86, num. 5) | 0.02 PTR (Prov. 004, art. 5, num. 5) |
| Revoking, resigning or substituting a power of attorney at a notaría | No line of its own in the law | 0.02 PTR (Prov. 004, art. 5, num. 5) |
| Processing fee at a notaría | Up to 1 PTR (art. 86, num. 1) | 0.10 PTR (Prov. 004, art. 5, num. 1) |
| Recording a general or special power of attorney, or its substitution, revocation or resignation | Up to 2 PTR (art. 83, num. 14) | 0.40 PTR (Prov. 001, art. 5, num. 12) |
The SAREN amounts come from the providencias (administrative orders) in Gaceta Oficial No. 42.301 (January 20, 2022), which SAREN confirmed as in force in 2023. They are paid in bolívares at the petro's value on the date of the application; as of October 27, 2026 there is no published unit replacing it. The lawyer charges separately.
Going to court: what the Código de Procedimiento Civil requires
For a lawsuit, for example an eviction or a debt collection, the power of attorney must comply with the Código de Procedimiento Civil:
It is granted in public or authenticated form. A power of attorney that is merely acknowledged does not qualify, even if it is recorded later (article 151).
Agreeing to the claim, withdrawing, settling, submitting to arbitration, receiving sums of money and disposing of the right in dispute require express authority (article 154).
Only practicing lawyers can exercise powers of attorney in court (article 166). If your attorney-in-fact is not a lawyer, it is advisable to authorize them to substitute a lawyer.To draft the power of attorney, consult a Venezuelan lawyer.
