Attestation of Power of Attorney at Indian Consulate – USA
Attestation of Power of Attorney at Indian Embassy. Original passport, address proof, US legal status, 2 photo. US citizen need Apostile. Notary vs Attest.
Attestation of Power of Attorney at the Indian Embassy in the USA can be done by post or in-person.
SFO embassy (San Francisco) requires Apostille by US state before attestation while New York, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago may or may not require Apostille.
- Attestation of power of attorney is NOT the same as registration of power of attorney.
- Attestation is a pre-requisite to registration if you are outside India – NRI (non-resident Indian).
Create Indian Power of Attorney Online >
Documents Required
- Miscellaneous services form. Each Indian embassy their own Misc Services form format – New York, Washington DC, Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago.
- Original Passport + Copies of all non-blank pages including first and last page.
- Copy of Address proof in USA – 1 address proof is required – US bank statement, driving license, utility bill, Home lease agreement, etc.
- Valid Visa copy – Valid H1B, H4, L1, etc. Remember that B1/B2 is not considered valid for creating POA.
- Original Visa petition – approval notice i797 or USCIS issues receipt number for extension filing.
- Original i94 + Copies – In the case of electronic i94, just take the print-out with you.
- Two (2) passport-size photographs to be affixed against your name on POA.
NOTE: It is advised to carry the original version of the documents with you for verification, in case the consulate asks for it.
The process of registering the POA does NOT require ‘attestation‘ if you are still in India and planning to leave soon. i.e. you are about to leave and want to give power of attorney to someone in your family or a friend.
#1 Notarize Power of Attorney
2 witness signatures are required for attestation of Power of attorney.
A witness can be anyone holding a valid US ID proof with an address and photo.
Witnesses should preferably be other than immediate family members.
- Witnesses CAN go to Indian Consulate with you? There is NO need to get the notarization.
- Witnesses CANNOT go to Indian Consulate with you? Take signatures of 2 witnesses on this POA in the presence of Notary.
A Free notary is available in most towns’ libraries, banks like Bank of America (Free if you have an account with them), and your own office would have one.
Paid notaries are available at USPS offices/shops too.
Online notaries are also available in the USA now:
You should NOT sign the POA yet. It is to be done in front of the Indian consulate.
If the notary insists on your sign, then you can sign. You will be required to sign once again in Indian Embassy.
#2 Apostille PoA
You may or may not need Apostile based on your current Passport and the Indian Embassy you are applying at.
If you need Apostille, check the US secretary of state office website for the process. Supporting documents do not need Apostille.
#3 Attestation at Indian Embassy
An in-person visit to Embassy
You should either have 2 witnesses travel with you to the embassy or have the notarized POA.
Each embassy office has a time window normally between 9 AM to 11 AM to accept in-person attestation requests.
If both you and your spouse have been named as executant in POA, then both of you need to be present in Embassy physically with your original passports.
Documents required here:
- Your original POA,
- a photocopy of this POA and
- Original passport
You would be asked to sign in front of the officer on the POA to verify your signature.
Deposit the fees and you will most probably be asked to come back after 12 PM (afternoon) to collect the attested PoA.
Show the receipt and collect the attested POA and your passport. You are all set.
Create Indian Power of Attorney Online >
By Postal Mail
You need to get all the signatures (2 witnesses + your own) notarized.
Get the fees cashier check or money order.
The return shipping check has to be made separately. The amount differs by each embassy. No need to send the return shipping envelope. They take care of it with the return shipping fees that you send.
Send the documentary proof (only photocopies) with an exception of the original passport to the Indian consulate.
Documents required to be sent by mail:
- Your original POA,
- A photocopy of this POA and
- Original passport
The consulate will attest and return the documents back to you within a week.
Registration in India
Registration of ‘attested POA’ can only be done in India.
Send PoA to India and then follow the steps to register this POA.
FAQ
The attestation fees are charged per page or per document varies by each Indian Embassy.
Call and check before making any money orders.
New York Indian Embassy charged us fees per document instead of per page (2 executants with 1 page of POA): fees $23.
People have reported that the Indian Embassy at Washington charges the fees per signature and per page attestation.
We do not think any blank space on top of the POA page is required.
The builder will require a special power of attorney for the property purchase in India.
You can confirm with the developer beforehand. To be on the safer side, create a special power of attorney.
The NRI Home loans from government banks like SBI, PNB, or private banks like ICICI, HDFC require only general power of attorney.
But, there is no harm in using the special power of attorney for both purposes.
You can use the same special power of attorney for both bank loans and the registration of real estate in India.
Embossing is part of the Notarization process in the USA creating raised relief images and designs in the paper to make the original copy tamper-proof.
Embossing is not required for power of attorney.
It depends on the third party like a bank or builder who needs this POA to make a decision on what level of attestation is needed.
Indian banks like SBI, ICICI, HDFC accept notarized POA in the USA to get a home loan without Indian Embassy attestation.
So, the best option is to ask the end-user of the POA about the requirements.
Suman_Sarkar
Hi Anil,
CGI Houston mentioned: If the applicant presents himself/herself in person at the Consulate, the Original and a photocopy of the Power of Attorney must be submitted. It is reiterated that no notarization is necessary in such cases. The applicant can self attest.
That’s point. 6 at CGI Houston Miscellaneous Services > Attestation of Power of Attorney, under Required Documents
Does that mean 2 witnesses no longer needed for POA attestation? Please clarify.
anil_am22
Witness is required for POA by Indian law. If you do not get witness now, you will be asked to get 2 witness in India at the time of registration of POA.
Saikat_Banerjee
Hi Anil, Thanks a lot for your post. It’s really helpful.
I have few additional questions. Kindly take some time to answer them:
It is mentioned in the New York CGI site as below Welcome to Consulate General of India, New York (USA) ,
It is not mandatory that the apostilled documents should be attested by the Consulate officials before presenting it to authorities in India .
Does that mean I can either get the POA documents apostilled or attested to be later registered in India? Or is it required to apostile POA document before sending by post for attestation in New York CGI
a. Will the New York CGI attest the POA without the signature of 2 witnesses ?
b. Do I need to be physically present in India, If my parents get signature of 2 witnesses while registration of POA in INDIA ?
Thanks in advance!
anil_am22
Hi @Saikat_Banerjee
I have answered these questions earlier here on truvisa.com.
anil_am22
NY embassy should attest POA without witness signature.
You don’t need to be present but the POA holder will be required for witness signature in India.