How do I notarize a power of attorney for use in India?
Notarizing a power of attorney for use in India. What happens at the appointment, the thumbprint rule, and the apostille you file yourself.
Bring the printed document, unsigned, with your photo ID. You sign in front of the notary. California law also requires your right thumbprint in the notary journal for any power of attorney. Notarizing costs $10 for each document notarized and takes about 20 minutes. After that you file for an apostille yourself, then send the original to India.
Now booking. Call (925) 319-8855.
Read this before you sign anythingLink to this section
A power of attorney has more steps than any other document on this list, and most of those steps are not the notary's.
What happens here: we check your ID, watch you sign, take your thumbprint for the journal, and stamp the document.
What does not happen here:
- The apostille. Only the California Secretary of State issues one. A notary cannot. You file for it yourself. How to file
- The drafting. A notary is not allowed to write your power of attorney or tell you what it should say.
- Everything that happens in India. Depending on what the document is for and which state it goes to, there can be stamp duty, adjudication, or registration at the sub-registrar's office. Some states expect this within a set period after the document arrives.
A notarized and apostilled power of attorney is often not finished. For property matters especially, what happens in India decides whether it is accepted.
So talk to your lawyer in India, or to the bank or registrar who will act on it, before you sign here. Ask them two things: the exact wording they need, and what they will do with the document when it arrives. Then bring that wording.
A power of attorney that has to be redone costs weeks.
What people use a power of attorney forLink to this section
- Selling or buying property in India
- Managing a property, including rent, tenants and taxes
- Bank and demat accounts
- Inheritance and succession matters
- Company or business matters
- Court cases, where someone appears on your behalf
- General matters while you are abroad
Get the wording from India, not from a templateLink to this section
A California notary cannot draft your document. Notaries are not permitted to, and a power of attorney is too important to take from a website.
Ask for the exact text from one of these:
- Your lawyer in India.
- The bank, registrar or authority who will act on it.
Then print it and bring it.
What happens at the appointmentLink to this section
About 20 minutes.
- We check your photo ID. Which IDs work
- We make an entry in the notary journal.
- We take your right thumbprint. California law requires a thumbprint in the journal for a power of attorney and for documents affecting real property. Every notary in the state does this. The ink wipes off.
- You sign, in front of the notary.
- We complete and stamp the notarial certificate.
If more than one person is granting the power of attorney, for example a husband and wife who own a flat together, then everyone signs, everyone brings their own photo ID, and everyone gives a thumbprint.
WitnessesLink to this section
Some documents going to India ask for witnesses as well as a notary. These are not the same thing. A witness is an ordinary person who watches you sign and signs the document too.
Look at your document. If it has witness lines, bring your own witnesses. We notarize, but we do not supply witnesses. A witness should be an adult who is not named in the document and does not benefit from it.
Notaries and witnesses, explained
Then the apostille, which you file yourselfLink to this section
India and the United States both signed the Hague Apostille Convention. So a California document that has been notarized and then apostilled is normally recognised in India, without extra legalization from the consulate.
A notary cannot issue an apostille and does not charge for one. You apply to the California Secretary of State yourself, after the notarization.
- $20 per apostille, paid to the state.
- In person in Sacramento or Los Angeles, usually processed within about 30 minutes of handing it over.
- By mail, check current processing times.
- The state will not accept a photocopy. Send the notarized original.
Instructions and addresses · California Secretary of State, apostilles
Getting it to IndiaLink to this section
Once it has the apostille attached, the paper itself has to travel. Most people courier it. FedEx, DHL and USPS all carry it.
- Send the original. A scan is not accepted for property matters.
- Ask about the clock. Some Indian states expect a power of attorney signed abroad to be stamped or registered within a set time after it arrives. Ask your lawyer in India what that window is before you post it.
- Keep a certified copy. California law lets a notary certify a copy of a power of attorney. This is the one document type where that is allowed. The notary states that they compared the copy with the original and that it is true and correct. Useful, because the original is going overseas.
CostLink to this section
| Notarization | $10 for each document notarized |
| Travel to you | $75 flat |
| Apostille | $20 to the State of California, paid when you file |
QuestionsLink to this section
Can I email a scan to India instead? For property matters, no. The original with the apostille attached has to go.
Can I sign it in India instead? If you are travelling there anyway, that is often simpler. Ask your lawyer which route suits your case.
Can the notary also be my witness? No. Use separate witnesses.
My parents in India want to give me a power of attorney. That one is signed in India and apostilled there, by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Nothing in California can help with an Indian document.
How long does the whole thing take? Notarizing takes about 20 minutes. If you go to Sacramento or Los Angeles in person for the apostille, a couple of days end to end. By mail, longer.
Book nowLink to this section
Call (925) 319-8855.
OCI documents · Passport renewal · All India pages
General information, not legal advice. This is not a law firm and is not connected to the Government of India. Nobody here can draft your power of attorney or advise you on Indian law, stamp duty, or registration. Speak to a lawyer in India before you sign.