Power of Attorney From Abroad for Bangladesh: Embassy Attestation, DC Stamping & Registration

In this guide: General or special? Revocable or irrevocable? · Step by step · What the attorney can and cannot do · Protecting yourself · Cancelling a power of attorney · Apostille: a newer option · If you are visiting Bangladesh

The short answer

A power of attorney signed abroad for use in Bangladesh should be executed before, or attested by, the Bangladesh embassy or consulate, then sent home, authenticated through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and stamped by the Deputy Commissioner (Collector) within three months of its first arrival in Bangladesh. If it is irrevocable or deals with selling or transferring land, it must also be registered. Skip a step and the sub-registrar, bank or court can refuse it.

General or special? Revocable or irrevocable?

• General power of attorney: wide authority, for example to manage property, collect rent and deal with offices. Convenient but risky.
• Special power of attorney: limited to a specific task, for example selling one scheduled plot, or conducting one case. Safer.
• Irrevocable power of attorney: given for consideration, often in land sale or developer deals. It must be registered, and it cannot simply be cancelled during its term.

Give the narrowest power that does the job. For land, schedule the property exactly: district, upazila, mouza, khatian and dag numbers, and area.

Step by step

1. Draft in Bangladesh format. Use the prescribed form under the Power of Attorney Rules (the Department of Registration publishes a sample). A local lawyer should draft it, because vague wording is the most common reason for rejection.
2. Attach photos and IDs. Passport-size photos of the principal and the attorney, and copies of passport and/or NID for both.
3. Sign at the Bangladesh mission. Book an appointment, sign in front of the consular officer (or follow the mission’s procedure for locally notarised documents), and pay the consular fee.
4. Send the original home by courier. Keep scanned copies and tracking.
5. Authenticate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka, where required, which confirms the consular officer’s attestation.
6. Stamp at the DC office within three months of the document first being received in Bangladesh. Section 18 of the Stamp Act allows instruments executed abroad to be stamped within that window; late stamping creates problems.
7. Register if required. An irrevocable POA, or one for sale or transfer of immovable property, must be registered. The Collector’s office also sends a copy for recording at the sub-registry.

What the attorney can and cannot do

An attorney acts only within the written powers. A POA to “look after” land does not authorise selling it. Courts and sub-registrars read powers strictly, so if you want your attorney to sign a sale deed, receive the price, apply for mutation, or file and defend cases, say so expressly.

Protecting yourself

• Choose the attorney carefully, and prefer a special POA for a single transaction.
• Require the sale price to be paid into your own bank account, not to the attorney.
• Set an expiry date.
• Ask for copies of every deed signed and every receipt.
• Check the land records online periodically for unexpected transfers.

Cancelling a power of attorney

A revocable POA ends by written revocation. Send notice to the attorney and to the offices where it has been or may be used (sub-registry, bank, land office), and for a registered POA, register the revocation. A POA also ends on completion of the task, expiry, or the principal’s death or insolvency. An irrevocable POA cannot be revoked during its term except on breach, after notice and the dispute process the Act provides. If a relative has already misused a POA, take advice immediately about cancelling any deed and a fraud case.

Apostille: a newer option

Bangladesh joined the Hague Apostille Convention, which took effect for Bangladesh in March 2025. Some documents issued abroad can now be apostilled instead of going through embassy legalisation. For powers of attorney used before a sub-registrar or the DC office, confirm the current practice before you sign, because offices may still ask for Bangladesh mission attestation.

If you are visiting Bangladesh

If you will be in Bangladesh, it is often simpler to execute the POA here and register it before the sub-registrar in person, avoiding the embassy and stamping steps.