What Powers Do a Power of Attorney Have in Egypt?

If you're signing a power of attorney (tawkeel) in Egypt — or someone is asking you to accept one — the answer depends entirely on how the document is drafted. There is no single "power of attorney" with a fixed menu of rights. What powers do a power of attorney have? Exactly whatever the agency contract says, and nothing more.

The quick answer

A power of attorney (POA) in Egypt is governed by the Civil Code articles on agency (Wakala), Arts. 699–717 ^[1]. The agent (wakeel) can only do what the document explicitly authorizes. A general POA covers routine administrative acts — managing property, paying bills, collecting rent, representing you before government offices. A special POA is required for anything that disposes of your rights: selling real estate, mortgaging, gifting, divorcing, settling lawsuits, or acknowledging debts (Civil Code Art. 702). The POA must usually be notarized at the Shahr Aqari (Real Estate Publicity Office / notary) to be accepted by Egyptian banks, courts, and the land registry.

General vs. special powers — this is where people slip up

The Civil Code splits agency into two buckets, and the split matters more than most signers realize.

General POA (tawkeel 'aam) authorizes acts of administration only. The agent can collect money owed to you, pay taxes, hire a lawyer for defensive litigation, manage a rental, renew a license, pick up documents from a ministry. That's the ceiling. Even a POA that says "full and absolute authority" won't let the agent sell your apartment if the document doesn't name the act of sale specifically. Art. 702 of the Civil Code is explicit: acts beyond mere administration require a special mandate.

Special POA (tawkeel khas) names the exact act. Selling a specific plot. Mortgaging a named property. Filing for divorce. Accepting an inheritance. Settling a specific lawsuit. Egyptian notaries will often insist the special POA identify the asset by its registry number and the counterparty by name — a vague "sell any property I own" clause gets rejected at the registry.

The practical consequence: a general POA you signed years ago for your brother to "handle your affairs" does not let him sell your flat. The buyer's lawyer will catch it, and the Shahr Aqari will refuse registration.

Watch out: Powers that look routine but legally aren't — acknowledging a debt, waiving a right, accepting a gift with conditions, arbitration agreements — all need special authorization under Art. 702. If in doubt, name the act in the POA.

What a POA cannot do, even with special wording

Some acts are personal and cannot be delegated at all, no matter how the document is drafted.

Testifying as a witness. Taking an oath on your behalf in court (the decisory oath under the Evidence Law is personal). Marrying — the groom can delegate acceptance through a wakeel bil-zawaj, but only within the Personal Status framework and with a specific tawkeel. Voting in elections. Signing a will.

An agent also cannot contract with themselves on your behalf (self-dealing) without your explicit permission in the POA — Civil Code Art. 108. So if your agent uses your POA to sell your car to themselves at a bargain price, the transaction is voidable.

And a POA automatically terminates on the principal's death (Art. 714). Heirs sometimes don't realize this and keep using a deceased parent's POA — any act after the death date is void, and banks that process transactions on a dead person's POA face claims from the heirs.

Form requirements — notarization is not optional for most acts

For a POA to actually work in Egypt, form matters as much as content.

Routine POAs can be signed before the notary at any Shahr Aqari office. Current fees run roughly EGP 50–200 depending on the office and the type of act, plus stamp duties. You'll need your national ID (or passport for foreigners), and the agent's full details.

For POAs executed abroad by Egyptians or foreigners wanting to act in Egypt: the document must be notarized locally, then authenticated through the apostille chain or, for non-Hague countries, legalized by the Egyptian consulate, then translated into Arabic by a sworn translator, and finally stamped by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Skip any step and the Shahr Aqari rejects it.

For acts affecting registered real estate — sale, mortgage, gift — the POA itself must be in official notarized form, not a private signed document. This is firm. A lawyer's drafted POA on letterhead is not enough; it has to go through the notary.

How to revoke, and when it ends automatically

You can revoke a POA at any time (Civil Code Art. 715). Practically, you do this by signing a revocation (ilgha' al-tawkeel) at the same notary office that issued it, and — this is the part people forget — notifying the agent and any third parties who were relying on the POA. Until the agent knows of the revocation, their acts can still bind you toward good-faith third parties.

The POA ends automatically on: completion of the task, expiry of any term stated in the document, death or legal incapacity of either party, or bankruptcy of the principal in commercial matters.

One blunt point: an "irrevocable" POA is enforceable in Egypt only in narrow cases where the agency was granted in the interest of the agent or a third party (for example, as security in a sale-and-buyback). A general "I waive my right to revoke" clause in an ordinary POA won't hold up — Art. 715 gives you the right to withdraw, and courts protect it.

For related civil matters, see our overview of civil law questions.

So what powers does your POA actually grant?

Read the document. Line by line. If the act you want the agent to perform isn't named — either specifically or clearly within "administrative acts" — the POA doesn't cover it. When drafting, err on the side of being specific: name the property, the counterparty, the price range, the court case number. A tight POA protects you from an agent overreaching, and it protects the agent from third parties refusing the document.

What powers do a power of attorney have in Egypt? Only the ones written down, interpreted strictly, within the limits the Civil Code sets for personal acts.

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