Power of attorney for a specific act (France)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For asking someone to do one specific thing in your place when you cannot be there: collect a document, sign a lease or a contract, sell or buy a vehicle, represent you at an appointment. You describe the act, and the power covers that act only, until the date you choose (articles 1987 and 1989 of the French Civil Code). A voting proxy is made free on maprocuration.gouv.fr, and, for an act before a notary, the notary provides the power of attorney required. Signed by the principal, with a copy of their ID.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- You cannot go in person and want someone to sign a lease or a contract in your name in France.
- You are selling your car while away, so someone else has to hand it over and sign for you.
- Someone needs to collect a document for you or represent you at an appointment you cannot attend.
- You want to give someone power of attorney to act for you on one specific matter only.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Principal
- Principal's date of birth
- Principal's address
- Agent
- Agent's date of birth
- Agent's address
- Act entrusted, described precisely (in French)
- Conditions the agent must keep to (price, limits, optional)
- Valid until
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- For which acts is a French power of attorney on plain paper not enough?
- For a sale of real estate, a gift or a mortgage before a notary, ask the notary which power of attorney they require: the notary usually drafts it, it must be notarial in some cases, such as accepting a gift or granting a mortgage, and it can be signed remotely. A voting proxy is made on maprocuration.gouv.fr or at a police or gendarmerie station. La Poste and some banks require their own form. For the rest — collecting a document, signing a lease, selling a car — this private power is enough, as long as it describes the act precisely.
- How should the act be described in a French power of attorney?
- Precisely, because the agent can do nothing beyond it (article 1989 of the French Civil Code): the kind of act, its subject and the people involved. For example: “sign the lease of the flat at 12 rue des Lilas in Lyon with company X, for a rent of €750 a month including charges”, or “sell the vehicle registered AB-123-CD for at least €6,000 and sign the transfer certificate”. A price or a ceiling limits the power.
- Must the agent sign a French power of attorney for one act too?
- It is not compulsory: a mandate can be accepted tacitly, by carrying it out (article 1985 of the French Civil Code). So the principal alone signs the document and hands it to the agent, who shows it with their ID and a copy of the principal's. The principal stays bound by what the agent does within the power (article 1998), and may revoke it at any time before the act is done.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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