The below is a short summary of how you can get Power of Attorney from USA for completing legal formalities in India. For example, you might want to provide a Power of Attorney to your relatives back in India for real estate dealings like sale / purchase etc. I have summarized the below details based on my experience in getting POA from Indian Embassy for easy reference. If you do find any issues / corrections to be made, please let me know

Documents needed (checklist)

Here is the entire list of documents needed for POA:

1. Power of Attorney letter with photograph – notarized (see section below)
2. Photocopy of Passport First and Last page – notarized
3. Photocopy of US address proof – notarized (see list below)
4. Photocopy of US visa page from passport / Green Card – notarized (see list below)
5. Photocopy of ID proof of Witness 1 and Witness 2 – notarized
6. Indian Embassy POA application form (see section below)
7. Indian Embassy POA application payment receipt (see section below)
8. Trackable pre-paid self-addressed return envelope @ USPS (see Final Step section for sending the documents)

Power of Attorney letter

I have attached a sample POA letter template with this post that I had prepared for my POA attestations earlier. Feel free to download and modify as required. As long as the letter contains required nominee and your details along with official names and passport number etc., the template is good. There is no official format for a POA and the embassy does not verify the contents.

Once you print the POA letter with all details, get two witness signatures (these can be your friends, just ensure you capture their full name and address). Power of Attorney needs to be signed and witnessed by two individuals (other than immediate family members) with their names and addresses clearly mentioned. Submit duly notarized copy of a valid ID proof of each Witness. Mention Witness 1 and Witness 2 on top of each ID proof.

Ensure that you use a passport size photograph with a white background for the POA. The photograph should be pasted in the POA letter in the box provided.

Documents for Address Proof

The following documents are considered for address proof – you need to get a notarized copy of one of these documents:

• US Driving License OR
• Utility Bill OR
• Lease Agreement OR
• State Identity Card OR
• Mortgage Deed

Documents for Visa Proof

The following documents are considered as visa proof – you need to get a notarized copy of one of these documents:

• Visa page of Passport (i.e. H1B, H4, L1, L2 etc.) OR
• Green Card OR
• Employment Authorization Document (Work Permit) OR
• I-797, I-140 or I-20

Getting documents Notarized

Take a print of all documents that need to be notarized to either a bank (like BOA, Chase Bank etc.) or even UPS along with an ID proof like Passport / Driving license etc. Call them ahead of time to see what time the notary will be available. The process usually does not take more than 5 minutes. Banks usually do not charge any money; UPS etc. charges around 7 to 10 USD per document

If you do not have any friends close by willing to provide Witness signatures, UPS can provide Witness Signature. If so you cannot get the documents notarized at the same UPS location and need to get the documents notarized in a different UPS or a bank.

Indian embassy POA application form & Payment receipt

You need to login to the Indian embassy website whichever is closest to you. For example, NY Indian Embassy (link here) . The link I have provided will take you directly to the Miscellaneous application forms page. Click the button that says “Click here to Apply for Misc. Service” on that page (image shown below)

In the next page, select the appropriate values in the drop down and click Submit. For example, I have selected “Indian Passport Holder”, “Attestation of Power of Attorney” and “By Mail / Post”

You can select “In person”, book appointment and then go in-person to the Embassy but I have found it easy to send documents by post and get them mailed back within 5 to 10 business days. If you need the documents urgently, then you can go in-person (pending appointment availability) and then collect the documents the same day evening in-person (image shown below)

Fill the application form using the link provided. (image shown below)

After you finish the application, you will be provided the choice to pay online. As of Nov 2023, the charges for POA attestation is around 22 USD. Once you finish the payment, download the final Misc. Services filled Application form PDF and the payment receipt (you’ll get this in email after payment).

Final Step – sending the documents by mail/post

Put all the documents mentioned in the checklist section provided earlier in a big envelope (you can get this in USPS). Ensure that you fold and put the self-addressed return envelope as well inside the big envelope (the self-addressed envelope will be used by the Embassy to return the attested POA letter back to you. Send the package to the Indian embassy address provided here. For example, NY address is given below:

Consular Wing

Consulate General of India

3 East 64 Street, New York, NY 10065

Once you send the documents by USPS, you will get the documents back to your address within 7 to 10 business days usually.

Good Luck – I hope this blog post was useful.