Special Power of Attorney (Philippines) — Free Sample and Generator

In short

What it is: A notarised document authorising a named person to do specific acts for you.
Notarised?: Yes. An SPA for a sale of land must be a public instrument, and every office in practice requires notarisation.
Typical cost: About ₱200–₱500 to notarise; more if it covers a real property sale.
Validity: Until you revoke it, until the act is done, or until the period stated in the document expires. It ends automatically on your death.
Signing abroad?: Notarise at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate, or notarise locally and have it apostillised.

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Full special power of attorney sample

This example authorises a sale of land — the most common use. Replace everything in [brackets].

SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

That I, [JUAN M. DELA CRUZ], of legal age, Filipino, married, and a resident of [123 Mabini Street, Barangay Santo Niño, Quezon City], hereinafter referred to as the PRINCIPAL,

do hereby NAME, CONSTITUTE and APPOINT [MARIA D. SANTOS], of legal age, Filipino, single, and a resident of [45 Rizal Avenue, Barangay Poblacion, Antipolo City], hereinafter referred to as my ATTORNEY-IN-FACT, to be my true and lawful attorney, for me and in my name, place and stead, to do and perform the following acts:

1. To SELL, TRANSFER and CONVEY, on such terms and conditions and for such consideration as my attorney-in-fact may deem reasonable but in no case less than [TWO MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P2,500,000.00)], that parcel of land situated in [Barangay San Roque, Antipolo City], containing an area of [TWO HUNDRED FIFTY (250) SQUARE METERS], covered by [Transfer Certificate of Title No. 123456] of the Registry of Deeds for [Rizal], together with all the improvements thereon;

2. To sign, execute and deliver the corresponding Deed of Absolute Sale and any and all documents necessary to carry out the said sale;

3. To receive and collect the purchase price and to issue the corresponding receipts and acquittances therefor;

4. To secure, sign and file all documents and returns required by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in connection with the said sale, including the capital gains tax return or, where the property is an ordinary asset, the creditable withholding tax return, and the documentary stamp tax return, to pay the taxes due thereon, and to obtain the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration;

5. To pay all taxes, transfer fees and registration expenses relating to the said sale, and to secure the transfer of the title to the buyer with the Registry of Deeds of [Rizal] and the corresponding tax declaration with the Office of the City Assessor of [Antipolo City];

6. To represent me before the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Registry of Deeds, the Office of the City Assessor, the City Treasurer, and any other government office or agency in connection with the foregoing.

HEREBY GIVING AND GRANTING unto my said attorney-in-fact full power and authority to do and perform every act and thing whatsoever requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as I might or could lawfully do if personally present, and HEREBY RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING all that my said attorney-in-fact shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue of these presents.

This Special Power of Attorney shall remain in full force and effect [until revoked by me in writing] and shall not extend to any act not expressly stated above.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Quezon City], Philippines.

______________________________
[JUAN M. DELA CRUZ]
Principal

CONFORME:

______________________________
[MARIA D. SANTOS]
Attorney-in-Fact

SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF:

______________________________ ______________________________
Witness Witness

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
CITY OF [QUEZON CITY] ) S.S.
x----------------------------------------x

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

BEFORE ME, a Notary Public for and in [Quezon City], this ____ day of __________, 20____, personally appeared [JUAN M. DELA CRUZ], exhibiting to me [his Philippine Passport No. P1234567A], known to me and to me known to be the same person who executed the foregoing Special Power of Attorney, and he acknowledged to me that the same is his free and voluntary act and deed.

WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL on the date and at the place first above written.

______________________________
Notary Public

Doc. No. ______;
Page No. ______;
Book No. ______;
Series of 20____.

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What an SPA is, and why the wording is everything

A special power of attorney is an agency document: you (the principal) authorise a named person (the attorney-in-fact) to do specific acts in your name. The single most important thing to understand is that an SPA is strictly construed. Whatever you did not write down, your representative cannot do. Courts and registries read these narrowly on purpose, because an SPA lets someone else dispose of your property.

This is why the vague SPAs people download and sign — 'to transact on my behalf regarding my property' — get rejected at the Register of Deeds and the BIR. The counter is looking for the specific act: sell, mortgage, receive the price, sign the deed, file the return, claim the title. Name each one.

Which acts legally require a special power

Article 1878 of the Civil Code lists the acts an agent cannot do under a general authority. For these, a special power naming the act is required:

To make such payments as are not usually considered acts of administration.
To effect novations that put an end to obligations already in existence at the time the agency was constituted.
To compromise, to submit questions to arbitration, to renounce the right to appeal from a judgment, to waive objections to the venue of an action, or to abandon a prescription already acquired.
To waive any obligation gratuitously.
To enter into any contract by which the ownership of an immovable is transmitted or acquired either gratuitously or for a valuable consideration.
To make gifts, except customary ones for charity or those made to employees in the business managed by the agent.
To loan or borrow money, unless the latter act be urgent and indispensable for the preservation of the things under administration.
To lease any real property to another person for more than one year.
To bind the principal to render some service without compensation.
To bind the principal in a contract of partnership.
To obligate the principal as a guarantor or surety.
To create or convey real rights over immovable property.
To accept or repudiate an inheritance.
To ratify or recognise obligations contracted before the agency.
Any other act of strict dominion.

The LRA publishes its own sample form for this

The Land Registration Authority makes sample forms available on its website, including a deed of absolute sale, a donation inter vivos, an extrajudicial settlement of estate, an extrajudicial settlement with absolute sale, a special power of attorney and an affidavit of discrepancy. The sample and generator here are drafted to reflect the same statutory requirements, and in places carry more than the LRA sample does — the Rule 74 publication undertaking and the two-year liability clause, for example, are not in the LRA's settlement form. Neither this page nor the document it produces is an official LRA form, and none is prescribed by law for these instruments. If the registry that will receive your deed asks for its own form, use theirs.

Legal basis: Civil Code of the Philippines, art. 1878 (acts requiring a special power of attorney); art. 1874 (when the sale of a piece of land is made through an agent, the authority must be in writing, otherwise the sale is void); arts. 1919–1921 (modes of extinguishing an agency and the effect of revocation).

Three different requirements people run together

Most confusion about SPAs comes from treating one question as three, or three as one. Written authority, public-document form and institutional acceptance are separate hurdles with separate sources, and a document can clear one and fail another.

Requirement	Where it comes from	What happens if it is missing
Written authority for the agent	Civil Code art. 1874 for a sale of land or an interest in land; art. 1878 for the acts of strict dominion, which require a special power naming the act	For a land sale, the sale is void. For the other art. 1878 acts, the agent simply has no authority and the act does not bind the principal unless ratified
Public-document form (notarisation, consularisation or apostille)	Not article 1874 itself. It comes from the registration and evidentiary rules — PD 1529 and the Property Registration Decree for registrable instruments, and Rule 132 of the Rules of Court on public documents	The instrument may still be valid between the parties, but it cannot be registered and it loses the presumptions a public document carries
The receiving institution's own acceptance requirements	Each agency's, registry's or bank's internal issuances and practice — not the Civil Code	The transaction stalls at the counter even though the SPA is legally sufficient. This is the hurdle that varies most, and the only reliable way to clear it is to ask the specific office in advance

The practical consequence: a properly worded, notarised SPA is legally effective, but a particular bank or agency may still insist on its own form or additional documents. That is an institutional requirement, not a rule of law, and it changes from office to office.

Paper and electronic notarisation now run side by side

A paper instrument signed by hand is still notarised under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, and that route is unchanged: you appear before the notary in person. Alongside it, the Supreme Court's Rules on Electronic Notarization (A.M. No. 24-10-14-SC) let an eligible electronic document in PDF or PDF/A — including a paper document that has been scanned to PDF — be notarised by an Electronic Notary Public. The electronic notarial acts are acknowledgment, oath or affirmation, jurat, and signature witnessing. They may be performed as in-person electronic notarization, as Remote Electronic Notarization, or as a combination of the two: under Remote Electronic Notarization the principal and any witnesses appear by videoconferencing through an accredited electronic notarization facility, and an Electronic Notary Public may serve principals located anywhere in the Philippines. Appearing from abroad is narrower — the Rules tie it to the premises of a Philippine Embassy, Consulate or Honorary Consul, on that post's own terms. Notarial wills and depositions are excluded from electronic notarization altogether. The Court opened Electronic Notary Public applications and the eNotarization Portal on 10 August 2026, so coverage is still building out: do not assume an Electronic Notary Public is available in a given place, and confirm that the office which will act on your document accepts an electronically notarised one before you choose that route.

The most common SPAs, and what each must say

Purpose	The clause that must appear	Also needed
Sell land or a house and lot	To sell, transfer and convey, describing the property and title number, plus authority to sign the deed and receive the price	Spouse's consent if conjugal; certified true copy of the title
Mortgage a property	To mortgage and to sign the real estate mortgage, stating the maximum amount	Lender's own SPA form is often required
Buy property	To buy, to sign the deed of sale, and to pay the price	Proof of funds source for the BIR
Claim a title, cheque, or document	To claim and receive, naming the document and the office	IDs of both parties
Sell or transfer a vehicle	To sell and to sign the deed of sale, giving the plate, engine and chassis numbers	Original OR/CR, HPG clearance
Bank transactions	To open, close, deposit, withdraw, naming the bank and account	Most banks also apply their own authorisation form and intake rules — ask the branch first
Process SSS, GSIS, Pag-IBIG or PhilHealth claims	To file, follow up and receive proceeds, naming the agency and the claim	Agency's own authorisation form
Represent you in court or before an agency	To appear, to compromise, to accept service	A compromise needs an express special power under art. 1878
Accept or repudiate an inheritance	To accept or repudiate the inheritance and to sign the extrajudicial settlement	PSA documents proving heirship

How to fill it in, clause by clause

1
Identify both parties completely
Full name, age, citizenship, civil status and complete residence for both principal and attorney-in-fact. Use the names exactly as they appear on the IDs and on the title.
2
Write one numbered clause per act
Do not bundle. 'To sell and do everything necessary' invites a counter clerk to say the specific act is not covered. Separate: sell; sign the deed; receive the price; file with the BIR; register with the Register of Deeds; claim the new title.
3
Describe the property or subject precisely
Title number and registry, area, location. For a vehicle, the plate, engine and chassis numbers. For a bank, the bank name and account number. For a document, its name and reference number.
4
Set a floor price if you are selling
'…for such consideration as my attorney-in-fact may deem reasonable but in no case less than ______' protects you against an undervalued sale. It is optional but strongly advisable.
5
Add the ratification clause
The 'HEREBY GIVING AND GRANTING… RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING' paragraph is standard and is what third parties rely on. Keep it.
6
State the validity
'Until revoked in writing', or a fixed date, or 'until the completion of the transaction described above'. An SPA with no stated period stays valid until revoked or until the agency is otherwise extinguished.
7
Have the attorney-in-fact sign the conforme
Not legally required, but banks, registries and the BIR increasingly want the representative's specimen signature on the same document.

If the property is conjugal or community property, the disposition needs the consent of both spouses. An SPA signed by one spouse alone to sell such property will not carry the transaction: the Register of Deeds will look for the other spouse's written consent or their own authority. That much is a rule of law under the Family Code.

How the consent is documented is not. Where both spouses are together and available, one joint SPA signed by both is ordinary and sufficient. Where they are in different places — the common OFW situation — separate SPAs are simply easier to execute, because each spouse appears wherever they are. Either can work, and so can a spousal marital-consent clause signed on the deed itself. What decides it is where each spouse can appear, how the document will be authenticated, and what the receiving office will accept. Settle that before you market the property, not after a buyer is waiting.

How to revoke an SPA

1
Execute a notarised deed of revocation
Identify the original SPA by its date and the notary's Doc./Page/Book/Series entries, and state that it is revoked.
2
Serve it on the attorney-in-fact
In writing, with proof of receipt — registered mail with a return card, or personal service with a signed acknowledgement.
3
Notify everyone who might rely on it
The bank, the Register of Deeds, the buyer, the agency. Third parties who deal in good faith with an agent whose authority they were never told had ended can still be protected, so notice is what actually cuts off the authority.
4
If it was annotated on a title, have it cancelled
An SPA annotated on a certificate of title should have the revocation annotated too, or the annotation continues to speak.

Frequently asked questions

+Does a special power of attorney need to be notarised?

Article 1874 of the Civil Code requires the agent's authority to sell land to be in writing — that is a validity requirement, and it is about writing, not notarisation. Notarisation is what turns the SPA into a public document so it can support a registrable conveyance and carry the presumptions of a public document, which is why registries and the BIR work from a notarised original. Banks and other institutions set their own intake requirements and many also insist on their own form. Notarise it, and ask the specific office what else it wants.

+How long is a special power of attorney valid in the Philippines?

For as long as it says. If it states no period, it remains effective until you revoke it, until the specific act is accomplished, or until the agency is extinguished — including by your death, which ends it automatically.

+Can an SPA be revoked?

Yes, at any time, unless it was made an essential part of a bilateral contract or was constituted in the common interest of the principal and a third person. Execute a notarised revocation, serve it on the attorney-in-fact, and notify every office and person who might rely on the SPA.

+What is the difference between an SPA and an authorization letter?

An authorization letter is a simple signed letter suitable for routine errands — claiming a document, a card or a parcel. An SPA is a notarised instrument required for acts of ownership and the other acts listed in article 1878, such as selling, mortgaging, or accepting an inheritance. Using a letter where an SPA is required means the transaction will not push through.

+I am an OFW. How do I execute an SPA from abroad?

Sign it before a consular officer at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over where you live, or have it notarised by a local notary and then apostillised by that country's competent authority. Both routes produce a document Philippine offices will accept.

+Can one SPA cover more than one transaction?

Yes, provided each act is expressly stated. What you cannot do is write a broad catch-all and expect it to cover an act of ownership — those must be named.

+Does the attorney-in-fact have to be a lawyer or a relative?

No. Any person of legal age with capacity to act can be your attorney-in-fact. Choose someone you trust completely — an SPA to sell property is an enormous amount of power to hand over.

The law behind this

SPA or authorization letter? Article 1878 explained

Read →How to use it

Notarising, consularising and apostillising an SPA

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