How do I protect my Lebanese property from a forged power of attorney while I live abroad?

Key facts#

How forgers worked

Forged deeds, ID cards and POAs were used to get notarised POAs signed before Lebanese notaries (ISF, July 2026)^[4]

What a property certificate shows

Owners and shares, mortgages, pledges, seizures and pending court actions^[1,2]

To request it, give

governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[1,6]

Official certificate

USD 5^[1], in person at the land registry office for the property's area^[1,7] (Legalmondo, June 2025)

Quick unofficial copy

At more than 1,000 OMT outlets^[6,8] (OMT, October 2020). Not valid for any transaction^[1,2,6,8]

Search under your name

Needs your full name, birth year and mother's name^[2,9]

POA age at registration

An ordinary POA must be no more than 5 years old^[10,11]. Truly irrevocable ones are exempt (Kallas)

Revoking at a mission

AED 276 per signature (Dubai)^[12,13]. In the Netherlands, by email

How to check and protect your property from abroad#

1. 1
   Collect your property's identifiers. Your title deed is the owners' copy of the property's real folio^[18]. Note the governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[1,6] from it, because every request asks for them. If you do not have them, see how to find your property number, zone and section.
2. 2
   Get a quick unofficial copy. Someone in Lebanon can take the identifiers to an OMT outlet. They receive an unofficial hard copy, a digital copy by SMS and, on request, a copy by email^[6,8]. OMT also asks for a mobile number and an email address^[1,6]. No fee is published, so ask at the outlet. Legalmondo (June 2025) says an unofficial information form can also be obtained through the land registry's website for USD 4^[1]. We could not check that this service still runs. If it does, you can do this check yourself from abroad.
3. 3
   Get an official certificate when it matters. Legalmondo (June 2025) says the official certificate (ifadeh aqariyeh) is issued only in person at the land registry office for the property's area^[1,7], for USD 5^[1]. In April 2026 the Finance Minister said the registry's database allows certificates to be issued electronically^[9]. No source says how the public can use this, so ask the registry office. Kallas Law Firm (October 2025) says a physical certificate takes about 2 business days^[2], and opening days vary. Legalmondo also says certificates are public, so anyone can request yours without showing a legal interest. A lawyer or another person can therefore collect it for you. In April 2025 several Mount Lebanon offices worked only on set days^[20], so have the person call the office before going. Costs and steps are in how to get a Land Registry extract.
4. 4
   Read every line yourself. Check the owner's name, your shares (out of 2,400^[1,19,21]), and any mortgages, pledges, seizures or pending court actions^[1,2]. Compare each line with your own deed and with the last certificate you saw. Legalmondo says no certificate is issued while a lien or a registration on the plot is still in process^[1]. If the office refuses for that reason, find out what is pending.
5. 5
   Run a search under your own name. Kallas Law Firm describes a general search by a person's full name, birth year and mother's name^[2,9]. It lists all the property registered to that person, with property number, district and shares. Kallas says it takes about 10 days^[2]. Older entries may lack the mother's name^[9]. No source says who may request this search or at which office, so ask a Lebanese lawyer.
6. 6
   List and clean up your old POAs. Write down every POA you have signed: where, when, for whom and for which property. Revoke the ordinary ones you no longer need at your mission^[12,13]. Keep the revocation papers and proof that you told the agent.
7. 7
   Report at once if anything is wrong. If a sale, mortgage or POA you did not sign appears, report it through the ISF Baligh service, the ISF app or the nearest police station^[22] (ISF, March 2026). Kallas Law Firm says fraud under Art. 655 of the Penal Code can concern property^[23] and is prosecuted without any need for a complaint from the victim. Then instruct a lawyer. See where to report property fraud.

It depends on#

• Whether you ever signed an irrevocable POA. According to Kallas Law Firm, you cannot withdraw it without the beneficiary's consent^[11], and it is exempt from the five-year registration limit^[10,11]. Kallas says a POA is irrevocable because of its substance, not its label, so have a lawyer read the wording. More in irrevocable powers of attorney.
• Whether the land is surveyed. Legalmondo says the certificate does not show the area if the plot has not been finally surveyed^[1,2]. The registry's automated database covers surveyed and numbered properties^[9]. The Monthly Magazine (2015) said land that was never surveyed is recorded only in booklets kept by mukhtars^[24]. Ask the mukhtar and a lawyer what record exists for your plot.
• Where the property is. In September 2026 Arab News reported fears that southern land could be sold through powers of attorney or intermediaries^[25]. As of April 2026 the Bint Jbeil and Ain Ebel registry offices could not be reached^[9]. Ask a lawyer which office can issue your certificate now.
• What is already on the register. If a forged sale or mortgage is already registered, you need a lawyer. Kallas Law Firm reads Decree 188/1926, Art. 29, as allowing a notice of a court action to be entered on the folio only by decision of the president of the competent civil court, and that decision can be appealed within eight days^[18] of notification.

Common questions#