A poder (power of attorney) is a mandato (mandate), and the Código Civil (Civil Code) allows you, as a general rule, to cancel it whenever you wish. The delicate part is making sure the revocation reaches whoever might buy from or rent from the apoderado (attorney-in-fact).
What the Código Civil says: articles 1.704 to 1.710
What follows is from the Código Civil (Gaceta Oficial No. 2.990 Extraordinario, July 26, 1982).
When the power of attorney ends. By revocation, by resignation of the attorney-in-fact, by the death, interdiction, bankruptcy or cesión de bienes (assignment of assets to creditors) of either of the two and, in certain cases, by inhabilitación (partial legal incapacity) (article 1.704).
Revoking whenever you wish. "El mandante puede revocar el mandato siempre que quiera" (the principal may revoke the mandate whenever they wish), and can compel the attorney-in-fact to return the document that proves the mandate (article 1.706). The article does not require a cause; the exceptions are further below.
Two ways to revoke. The Sala de Casación Civil (civil cassation chamber) has said that revocation can be express or tacit (judgment of November 14, 2006). The express one is the document in which you declare the power of attorney revoked. The code also provides that appointing a new attorney-in-fact for the same transaction revokes the previous one "desde el día en que se hace saber el nuevo nombramiento" (from the day the new appointment is made known) (article 1.708). The article does not say to whom; the prudent course is to notify the previous attorney-in-fact.
Third parties who did not know. A revocation notified only to the attorney-in-fact "no puede perjudicar a terceros" (cannot harm third parties) who, unaware of it, contracted with the attorney-in-fact in good faith; you keep your recourse against the attorney-in-fact (article 1.707). What the attorney-in-fact does while unaware that the mandate has ended is valid toward third parties in good faith (article 1.710), and you cannot raise the revocation against someone who did not know of it when the act was entered into (article 1.170).
Resignation. The attorney-in-fact may resign by notifying you (article 1.709).If the power of attorney says "irrevocable"
The Código Civil does not use the word "irrevocable" for the mandate. Article 1.705 says that revocation, and also death, interdiction, bankruptcy or cesión de bienes, do not extinguish the mandate "cuando haya sido conferido en ejecución de una obligación del mandante para con el mandatario" (when it was granted in performance of an obligation of the principal toward the attorney-in-fact). An example from legal scholarship: the power of attorney a debtor gives a creditor so the creditor can collect payment.
Outside that case, the clause is not a dead letter. According to the civil law scholar José Luis Aguilar Gorrondona, cited by a civil court in Lara in 2012, the parties can agree that the mandate will not be revoked, although it can always be revoked because of the attorney-in-fact's fault or if it is a general mandate for an indefinite term. That court concluded that agreeing to irrevocability is not illegal; it is not a judgment of the TSJ (the Supreme Court). Our reading: do not take for granted that you can revoke that power of attorney without consequences; consult a lawyer first.
Step by step to revoke the power of attorney
Locate the power of attorney. Have its granting and registration details, so the revocatoria (revocation document) identifies which power of attorney it revokes.
Have the revocation drafted. Every document submitted to registries and notary offices must be drafted and approved (visado) by a lawyer registered with the Instituto de Previsión Social del Abogado (lawyers' social welfare institute) (article 23 of the Ley de Registros y Notarías, the Registries and Notaries Law, Gaceta Oficial No. 6.668 Extraordinario, 2021).
Execute it before a notaría (notary office) or a consulate. The notary attests to powers of attorney, substitutions, resignations and revocations (article 75, numeral 2). What is executed before a consular officer acting as a notary is a notarial document (article 79).
Register it where the power of attorney was registered. In practice, the power of attorney of the seller's attorney-in-fact must be registered at the registry office where the sale will take place (Banca y Negocios, October 2024): that is the office that matters. When an instrument that extinguishes a right or modifies an act is registered, a marginal note is placed on the original instrument (article 1.926 of the Código Civil). Applying this to the revocation of a power of attorney is our reading: ask them to stamp that note on the power of attorney. If the power of attorney is at another office, the registrar, at your request, sends an official letter asking that office to place the note (same article).
Notify the attorney-in-fact and ask for the original. Article 1.706 gives you the right to demand the return of the document. We did not find a rule that says how to notify the revocation. Our reading: use a method that leaves proof. The Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure) says that notifications of assignments of credits "y cualesquiera otras" (and any others) are made by any civil judge of the domicile of the person notified (article 935).
Notify the third parties you know of. For example, the tenant, an interested buyer or the agent advertising the property. We did not find a rule on this either: it is our reading of article 1.707, which protects whoever did not know of the revocation. A notice you can prove takes that argument away from the third party.How much it costs
| Procedure | SAREN (national registries and notaries service) amount | Rule |
|---|
| Revocation of a power of attorney at a notaría | 0.02 PTR (petros) | Providencia (administrative order) 004, art. 5, num. 5 |
| Document processing fee at the notaría | 0.10 PTR | Providencia 004, art. 5, num. 1 |
| Urgent processing at the notaría (sworn and proven urgency, under three days) | 1 additional PTR | Providencia 004, art. 4 |
| Registration of the revocation | 0.40 PTR | Providencia 001, art. 5, num. 12 |
| Urgent processing at the Registro (public registry) (same conditions) | 2 additional PTR | Providencia 001, art. 4 |
| Certificación de gravámenes (lien certificate), outside a sale | 0.30 PTR the first year and 0.02 PTR for each following year | Providencia 001, art. 5, num. 2 |
Amounts from the providencias published in Gaceta Oficial No. 42.301 (January 20, 2022), which the SAREN confirmed as in force in 2023. The law sets a cap of 2 PTR for registering powers of attorney and their revocations (article 83). They are paid in bolívares at the value of the petro on the date of the request (article 3 of the providencias); as of October 27, 2026, no published unit replaces it. The lawyer charges separately.
How to find out whether the attorney-in-fact already sold or rented
Certificación de gravámenes. The Registro certifies whether a property "ha sido o no hipotecada o gravada en cualquier otra forma o si ha sido enajenada" (has or has not been mortgaged or encumbered in any other way, or whether it has been transferred) (Providencia 001, art. 5, num. 2). Request it from the date of the power of attorney; see the guide on the certificación de gravámenes.
Marginal notes on your document. Under article 1.926, a registered sale leaves a marginal note on your title. A recent certified copy of your property document should show it. Registrars give copies to whoever requests them and allow the registry books to be inspected (article 1.928).
Rentals. The Código Civil requires registration of leases longer than six years (article 1.920, numeral 5), so an ordinary rental normally does not appear in the Registro. Ask whoever occupies the property.If the attorney-in-fact already signed, what they did within the limits of the power of attorney has effects for you (article 1.169); for whatever exceeded those limits, you are not bound unless you ratify it (article 1.698). To challenge a sale or bring a claim against the attorney-in-fact you will need a lawyer.
Revoking from abroad
| Venezuelan consulate | Notary in the country where you live |
|---|
| What it is | Venezuelan notarial document (Ley de Registros y Notarías, art. 79) | Foreign public document |
| Apostille | No: the Convenio de la Apostilla (Hague Apostille Convention) does not apply to documents executed by consular agents (art. 1) | Yes, from the competent authority of the country where it is signed, if that country is a party to the convention (art. 3) |
| Lawyer | The consular section in Paris requires it to be drafted by a Venezuelan lawyer | The law requires drafting and approval by a registered lawyer for every document submitted to the Registros (art. 23) |
As an example, the consular section in Paris charges 300 euros for the "otorgamiento o revocación" (granting or revocation) of a general power of attorney and 100 euros for that of a special power of attorney, and says those documents "no requieren apostilla" (do not require an apostille). If you sign before a foreign notary in another language, ask the Registro which translation it accepts.
In both cases the document must reach the Registro in Venezuela. The Código Civil requires legalizing acts executed in a foreign country (article 1.923); between countries that are party to the convention, the apostille replaces that legalization. More detail in the guide to apostilling documents. If you are going to appoint another attorney-in-fact, see general or special power of attorney.
