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A power of attorney (POA, in Thai หนังสือมอบอำนาจ) lets you authorise someone else to act for you: sign papers, file applications, collect documents. You may need one at the Land Office when a buyer or owner cannot attend in person to register a condo or land deal. The Department of Lands has its own form for this, and your signature must be witnessed by two people.
Where you meet a POA
A POA comes up well beyond property deals. At a condominium co-owners' meeting, one proxy can vote for at most three units (Condominium Act, s. 47). At a company's shareholders' meeting, a shareholder votes through a written power of attorney (Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1187). The Revenue Department's regional checklists also allow an application for a tax residence certificate through an authorised representative.
A POA cannot cover everything, though. An estate administrator can act through an agent only if the will allows it, a court orders it, or the estate's own interest requires it (Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1723) — a POA on its own is not enough.
Land Office form vs a general POA
For land with a title deed, the Department of Lands publishes form Tor Dor 21; for a condominium unit, it is Or Chor 21. Both need two witnesses. A general, free-form power of attorney may not be accepted — check the right form with the Land Office before you sign anything.
If you sign abroad, the signature usually has to travel through a chain: a notary, then your own country's foreign affairs authority, then the Royal Thai Embassy. In the UK that is a notary public and the FCDO — the same chain used for other documents until Thailand's apostille rules apply. Ask the embassy and the Land Office for the current order and the documents they require, because missions differ.
The Apostille Convention enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027 and will apply between Thailand and the Contracting States that have not objected to its accession. Until then, legalisation is the only route, and no official guidance has been published on how Land Offices will treat an apostilled POA once that date arrives.
What to check before signing
We would check a few things before signing. State the power clearly: which property or matter, and which specific action — a vague POA risks being turned down by the office that receives it. Make sure the form matches the office you are sending it to, and that the names on it match your passport exactly. Stamp duty is small but still due: for a POA used at the Land Office, the Revenue Department's schedule sets THB 10 for one act and THB 30 for more than one, and THB 30 per agent where several agents can each act independently and repeatedly.
If you already have a draft, send it to us. Our lawyers will check whether the Land Office is likely to accept it and can prepare the text in Thai and English. For notarisation and POA work on the ground in Phuket, see our page on notary and POA services in Phuket. For the legalisation chain itself, see Thailand apostille: what works now and from February 2027.
