Power of attorney

A power of attorney by which one person (the principal) authorises another (the attorney-in-fact) to act on their behalf, for example before an authority, a bank or the Commercial Register. The template is for specifically listed powers.

The template is for specifically listed acts before an authority or a bank. For the sale of property or shares, a banking transaction or a power of attorney signed abroad, we can draft one for the specific case and check what the institution requires. Request a consultation

A power of attorney gives the attorney-in-fact the authority to represent the principal. Acts done within that authority bind the principal directly (Art. 36 of the Obligations and Contracts Act). As regards third parties, the scope of the authority is what the principal has declared (Art. 39). The powers must therefore be listed specifically: authorities and banks often refuse a power of attorney in general terms such as “to perform any acts”.

What to include

• the details of the principal and of the attorney-in-fact: names, personal number or foreigner’s personal number, identity document details and address, and for a company its name, UIC, registered office and the person who represents it;
• each act you authorise and the authority or person before whom it will be performed, for example “to apply for and collect a certificate of heirs from the municipality of [name]”;
• a period of validity, if you do not want the power of attorney to run until it is revoked.

The template deliberately does not allow the attorney-in-fact to delegate the powers to others (Art. 43 of the Obligations and Contracts Act), nor give consent to their contracting on your behalf with themselves or with a person they also represent (Art. 38). Such clauses widen their authority considerably and make abuse easier; add them only after legal advice on the specific case.

Where several attorneys-in-fact are appointed, each may act alone unless the power of attorney provides otherwise (Art. 39). If they are to act only jointly, say so expressly.

When notarisation is needed

The law does not require every power of attorney to be notarised. Where the contract to be concluded must be in a particular form, the authority must be given in the same form. For transactions in notarial form, such as the sale of real estate, the power of attorney may be in writing with the signature and the content notarised at the same time (Art. 37). Many authorities and banks accept only a power of attorney with a notarised signature, so check the requirement in advance.

In court proceedings, a general authority covers all procedural steps, but a specific power of attorney is needed to settle, to reduce, withdraw or waive the claim, to accept the other side’s claims, to take part in mediation and to receive money (Art. 34 of the Civil Procedure Code).

Signing abroad

The signature can be certified at a Bulgarian embassy or consulate or by a local notary. A document certified by a foreign notary must as a rule bear an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention or be legalised, unless a treaty exempts it, and must be translated into Bulgarian. This page gives the English translation of the template; in Bulgaria the Bulgarian text, or a bilingual power of attorney, is presented.

Revocation and termination

The principal may revoke the power of attorney at any time, and the attorney-in-fact may renounce it; waiving this right is void (Art. 38). It also ends on the death, or the placing under guardianship, of the principal or the attorney-in-fact, and for a legal entity on its dissolution. The termination cannot be relied on against third parties who dealt with the attorney-in-fact in good faith (Art. 41). When revoking, therefore, notify the attorney-in-fact and those they deal with in writing, and ask for the original back.

All templates