California Real Estate Power of Attorney Apostille

Selling, buying, leasing, mortgaging, or managing property abroad through an agent; closing a foreign real-estate transaction while the owner is in California; and authorizing an agent before a foreign land registry or notary. Common destinations: India, the Philippines, Mexico, the UK, and EU states.

Your documents stay yours. We handle your documents and personal information only to complete your apostille — never sold, shared, or used for marketing by third parties.

Quick facts

Category: Power of Attorney / Authorization
Apostilled by the California Secretary of State (Sacramento or Los Angeles)
Fee: $20 per document (mail) or $26 (walk-in) at the California Secretary of State
Free document review before you pay any government fee
Tracked outbound and return shipping included

What to know

Self-prepared — no issuing office. 1. Draft the real-estate POA. Describe the property and enumerate the powers (sell, buy, manage, mortgage). Add durable language only if intended (#229). 2. Sign and acknowledge before a California notary. The principal personally appears with satisfactory ID and acknowledges the signature; the notary completes the acknowledgment. 3. Confirm the notary’s seal, signature, commission number, and expiration are present and legible. Record with the County Recorder where required (recording fees county-set). (For a copy, the notary can certify a copy of the POA, §4307.) Who can create it. The property owner (principal). Cost + timeline for THIS step (verified June 2026): notary $15 for the acknowledgment (Gov. Code §8211(a)); recording (if needed) is county-set; usually same-day notarization. Drafting is free. What the SOS needs to see: a California.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to record it?

If it conveys/encumbers property, recording with the County Recorder is common (and required for certain effects on California property). For foreign property, the foreign land registry’s rules govern.

Acknowledgment or jurat?

Acknowledgment — a POA is acknowledged, not sworn.

Can I apostille a copy?

Yes — a California notary can certify a copy of a POA ($15, §4307); a recorded copy would instead be certified by the County Recorder (certified route).

How specific must the powers be?

Very — describe the property and enumerate the powers; registries scrutinize scope.

Common destinations

Countries this document is most often sent to (pulled from this page's own guidance). Every destination has its own rulebook — apostille (Hague) or full legalization (non-Hague).

Compliant with the rules that actually get documents accepted