How do I check that a power of attorney to sell a property is genuine and still valid?

Key facts#

To sell

an express special mandate to sell^[1], not a general POA

Identity details

full names, parents' names, date of birth and registry number^[8,9] (Detroit and Brussels missions)

Age limit for registration

An ordinary POA must be no more than 5 years old^[1,4]

Truly irrevocable POA

Exempt from the five-year limit, according to Kallas^[1,4]. Kallas also reports one Cassation case upholding the annulment of a sale made more than ten years^[4] after the POA was drawn up, a limitation that applies only if the seller invokes it

Revocation

An ordinary POA can be revoked at any time^[1,4]

On the owner's death

An ordinary POA ends. One given in the agent's or a third party's interest survives the principal's death^[1]

Signed abroad

Legalised, not apostilled: Lebanon is not a member of the Apostille Convention^[10]

Public register of POAs

None found, for POAs or for revocations

How to check a POA before you pay#

1. 1
   Get the whole POA, every page, before any money moves. Ask the agent for a full copy, not a photo of the first page. The Detroit consulate, for one, requires the signer's signature and the notary's seal on every page of a POA longer than one page^[8].
2. 2
   Order your own official Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh). Do not accept one from the seller or the agent. The official certificate is requested in person at the land registry office for the area where the property lies^[14,19]. Have these details ready: governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[13,14]. Legalmondo (June 2025) puts the fee at USD 5^[14]. We could not read the official fee table, and the fee may be collected in LBP, so confirm it with that office before you go. Kallas (October 2025) gives about two business days for a physical certificate^[20]. Copies from the website or OMT are unofficial and are not valid for a sale^{[13,14,20,21]}. If you are abroad, a lawyer you hire can request it, because Legalmondo says anyone may ask for one without showing a legal interest. Legalmondo also says no certificate is issued while a lien or a registration on the plot is still in process. If the office refuses to issue one, find out why before you go further. Here is how to get the extract and what it costs.
3. 3
   Match the owner and the property. The owner on the extract must be the person who signed the POA, with the same full identity. The property number, zone and section must be identical on both documents. The extract also shows mortgages, seizures and pending court actions^[14,20], and Kallas says these pass to the buyer unless they are cleared first^[3].
4. 4
   Read the powers clause. Look for an express power to sell this property. Kallas says a general POA is not enough^[1]. If the POA calls itself irrevocable, check whether its content supports that (price acknowledged, agent discharged, or a named beneficiary), and have a lawyer read the wording.
5. 5
   Check the date. For registration, an ordinary POA must be no more than 5 years old^[1,4]. If it is older, ask the notary whether the registrar will accept it before you sign anything.
6. 6
   Check how it was signed. It should show either signature at a Lebanese mission, or a local notary followed by local authentication and Lebanese legalisation^[9,11,12,18]. If a link in that chain is missing, stop.
7. 7
   Have your notary confirm it with the issuer. Ask the notary handling the sale to contact the notary office or mission that issued the POA, with three questions: did this office issue this POA on this date to this person, has it recorded any revocation, and can it confirm the identity documents used. Separately, reach the owner through contact details you did not get from the agent. An ordinary POA ends on the owner's death^[1], so make sure the owner is alive and still wants to sell.
8. 8
   Register as soon as the deed is signed. Until the sale is inscribed, the property stays in the seller's name and exposed to any sale or mortgage inscribed before yours^[3]. Priority goes by the date of entry in the registry's daily journal, not by the date the deed was signed^[2]. In a case the ISF reported in June 2026, a buyer learned that the deed was invalid only when he tried to register, after he had paid^[22].

It depends on#

• Ordinary or irrevocable. An ordinary POA can be revoked at any time and ends on the owner's death^[1,4]. According to Kallas, a truly irrevocable one escapes the five-year rule, but the right it gives can lapse after ten years if the seller invokes the limitation^[4]. Ask a lawyer to read which kind you have.
• Where and how it was signed. Mission procedures differ in detail. The embassy in Belgium legalises by registered mail only, after certification by the Belgian or Luxembourg foreign ministry^[9]. The Detroit consulate legalises by mail once the POA is notarised and authenticated by the Secretary of State^[8]. Ask your notary what the registrar will accept.
• Whether the owner is still alive. If the owner has died, an ordinary POA has ended^[1]. Ask a lawyer how the heirs can sell instead.
• Property in the occupied south. In the draft as LBCI reported it in September 2026, sale POAs, promises of sale and notarised sale contracts for property in occupied towns made since 8 October 2023^[23] could not be completed or registered without a committee's approval. Owners there would also be barred from selling until the occupation ends^[23,24]. The Cabinet approved the draft in September 2026, and it needs Parliament's approval, so ask a lawyer whether it has passed.
• If you suspect forgery. The ISF takes reports through the ISF Baligh service, the ISF app or the nearest police station^[25]. Kallas says fraud is prosecuted without the need for a victim's complaint^[26]. See where to report a property scam.

Common questions#