Power of attorney in Peru: carta poder, poder fuera de registro or escritura pública — which one do you need?

The rule that decides everything: administering or disposing

The Civil Code separates two kinds of acts. Article 155 says a general power only covers acts of administration, and a special power covers the acts it was granted for. Article 156 adds that, to dispose of the represented person’s property or encumber their assets, the authority must be set out unambiguously and in an escritura pública (a public deed recorded by a notary), or the act is void.

In practice:

• Administering: collecting a document, handling an errand with an agency, representing you at a meeting, collecting a payment. A lesser power can be enough.
• Disposing or encumbering: selling, donating, mortgaging or placing any charge on property. Only a power by public deed works. Any other form makes the act void.

The forms of power

Article 117 of the Notaries Law (D.L. 1049) lists three forms before a notary. On top of those there is the simple carta poder, which does not go through a notary.

What the law says and what the procedure pages say. D.L. 1049 says the form is determined by the amount involved (art. 122), but in the text we read it sets only one figure: half a UIT and three months for a carta poder used to collect labor, health and pension payments. The tiers from half a UIT to three UIT, the one-year validity of a poder fuera de registro and the open-ended validity of a public deed come from the Foreign Ministry’s procedure pages on gob.pe. The Foreign Ministry also tells you to check first with the office where you will use the power whether that form is valid there.

This site’s simple power of attorney

We sell a simple power of attorney template for a specific errand. It covers acts of administration only: collecting a package or document, representing you at a meeting, handling a specific errand. It cannot be used to sell, mortgage, encumber or donate property, because article 156 requires a public deed for that. It is also not one of the notarial forms in D.L. 1049: ask first whether the office will accept it. If you need a notarized signature, what the notary does is explained in Notarized signatures and certified copies.

Registering the power with Sunarp

Article 2036 of the Civil Code sends the instruments of a power, and their substitution, modification and termination, to the Registry of Mandates and Powers (Registro de Mandatos y Poderes) at Sunarp, the public registry. Article 2037 says it is registered where the representation will be exercised on a permanent basis. Article 2038 protects a third party who, in good faith and for value, contracted on the basis of a power registered where the contract was signed.

Only a power by public deed is registered. The Foreign Ministry’s page states that a poder fuera de registro cannot be registered, because it is an instrument kept outside the protocol book.

Powers granted outside Peru

• At a Peruvian consulate. The consul offers all three forms: a carta poder with a certified signature, a poder fuera de registro and a public deed. According to Sunarp, only the person the consul authorized can file the consular copy at the registry office.
• Before a foreign notary. Sunarp asks for the document in Spanish or translated by a sworn public translator. If the country is party to the Hague Convention, it needs an apostille; if not, it goes through the chain of legalizations: the Peruvian consulate in that country and then the Foreign Ministry in Peru. Anyone can file a foreign notary’s copy. See Apostille in Peru.

A Sunarp page updated in January 2023 gives a fee of S/ 20.00 to register a power granted abroad. It may be out of date: confirm the amount with Sunarp.

Vigencia de poder: proving the power is still alive

The vigencia de poder is a Sunarp certificate showing that a registered power exists and is in effect. Sunarp explains that it is used to show that representatives are still authorized to act for the people they represent. According to that Sunarp press release, you request it at a Sunarp office, giving the registry file number. Sunarp’s 2026 fee schedule sets 0.60% of the UIT for vigencia certificates (S/ 33.00). We found no norm that sets how long a certificate stays “valid”. More detail in Sunarp copia literal and registry certificates.

Revoking a power

Article 149 of the Civil Code says a power can be revoked at any time. Article 152 requires notice of the revocation to everyone involved or interested in the transaction, not just the representative. If the power was granted before another notary, D.L. 1049 (art. 118) requires the notary who records the revocation to inform the notary where the power was granted. If the power was registered, register the revocation too.

To watch for anyone registering a fake power in your name, Alerta Registral tells you, in the Registry of Mandates and Powers, when a filing linked to the grantor’s name is submitted. The other tools against registry fraud are in Protecting your property from registry fraud.