What Is a Power of Attorney, What Can It Cover, and What to Watch Out For

Granting authority, and the document that records it

Granting authority means one person, the grantor, appoints another, the attorney, to act in their place — and whatever the attorney does within that authority binds the grantor as if the grantor had done it personally. Filing documents, registering something, or dealing with an office on your behalf are all typical examples. In Thai legal language the grantor is the principal (ตัวการ) and the person acting is the agent (ตัวแทน).

The power of attorney itself is the document evidencing that arrangement: who authorised whom, to do what, and for how long. It is the first thing the receiving office will ask to see, to confirm that the person in front of them genuinely has authority to act.

The two types of authority

The first is general authority — broad authorisation to handle ordinary matters without listing them one by one. The law carves out six significant matters that general authority does not cover:

1. Selling or mortgaging immovable property such as a house, land, or a condominium unit
2. Leasing out immovable property for more than three years
3. Making a gift — handing property to someone else without anything in return
4. Entering a compromise settlement to bring a dispute to an end
5. Filing a lawsuit in court
6. Referring a dispute to arbitration

The second is specific authority — the matters delegated are spelled out one at a time, and the attorney may act only on what is listed. Any of the six matters above has to be delegated this way, stating clearly what is to be done and over which property or matter. Broad, general wording will not do.

If the attorney acts beyond the stated scope, as a rule the excess does not bind the grantor — unless the grantor ratifies it afterwards. That is exactly why the scope is worth writing precisely from the start: it protects the grantor, and it tells the attorney how far they may go.

One more thing worth knowing: some acts must be done in person and cannot be delegated to anyone at all. The clearest example is making a will.

When the authority itself has to be in writing

The rule is that if the matter being delegated is one the law requires to be in writing, the authority to handle it must be in writing too. The sale of immovable property such as a house or land is the everyday example.

In practice, put it in writing every time, whether the matter is large or small. It removes any ambiguity about what was actually delegated, and most offices will not proceed without a written power of attorney in front of them anyway.

What a watertight power of attorney contains

A power of attorney that works in practice, and heads off arguments later, should carry all of the following:

1. Both parties' details: full name, national ID number, and address. For a juristic person, use the company registration number together with the name of the authorised signatory.
2. The matters delegated, stated specifically, one by one.
3. Substitution rights: state clearly whether the attorney may pass the task on to somebody else.
4. The period it runs for: the date it takes effect and the date it ends.

Can it be done online? And what about stamp duty?

A power of attorney can be made as an electronic document, and electronic signatures are legally effective in Thailand. There are two things to watch, though.

First, if you produce a paper original to submit to a government office or a third party, it needs the correct stamp duty: 10 baht where the authority is to act once, 30 baht where it covers more than one occasion. An unstamped document can cause trouble when you need to rely on it as evidence.

Second, some agencies insist on their own form — land registration work in particular has to use the Land Department's Form Tor Dor 21 (ท.ด.21). Check with the office you are dealing with before you travel, to find out whether it will take an ordinary power of attorney or requires its own form.

Making a power of attorney on Kontrax

Kontrax has a ready-made specific-authority power of attorney. Fill in the form, list delegated matters, choose whether substitution is allowed, set the start and end dates, and record who pays the stamp duty if a paper original is needed. Both sides can sign online, and the system sends reminders 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before the document expires.

Frequently asked questions