The power of attorney is an act with which another person is given the right to act in one’s stead and representation and to perform the actions necessary to achieve a certain purpose (e.g. sell, buy, administer, make a donation, accept a donation, set up or dissolve companies, request marriage banns, etc.).
Proxies are divided into two categories:
general powers of attorney: with these deeds, the interested party entrusts the representative with the management of all his affairs, both present and future. The general power of attorney is issued for an indefinite period;
special proxies: with these deeds the interested party entrusts the representative with the management of part of his affairs. The special power of attorney ceases to have effect when the special assignment for which it was issued ends.
As far as powers of attorney are concerned, it is strongly recommended to provide the Notarial Service of this Consulate General with a draft prepared by the Italian Notary (or Lawyer) in charge of finalizing the procedure: this is a greater guarantee that the power of attorney drawn up at the Consulate General responds in detail to the legal requirements and expectations of the notary office in Italy. The draft, together with the request, personal data and address of the interested party must be sent by fax or to the following email: notarile.houston@esteri.it
Foreign citizens
If you are NOT an Italian citizen, and you need a Power of Attorney to use in Italy, follow this procedure:
- Have a PoA (Power Of Attorney) drafted by an Italian Public Notary. Please keep in mind the PoA can be done only as “Scrittura Privata”.
- Have the PoA translated in English (see the link below for professional translators). https://conshouston.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/altri-servizi/traduzione-e-legalizzazione-dei-documenti/
- Have the English version of the PoA notarized by a U.S. public notary
- Have the English version of the PoA apostilled by the Secretary of State (Texas if the doc is made here)
- Have the Italian translation certified by this Consulate (we only certify that the translation is complete and correct, so we will need to receive both the English version and the Italian version, plus a USPS Priority pre-paid return envelope to mail the documents back to you).
The Apostille does NOT require translation.
Please see the fee for the certification service art. 72A (Extract from the Consular rights table) (amount in $ is per each original page front and back in English, it does not matter how many pages takes the translation). We accept money orders and cashier’s checks only.