Guide

A power of attorney for your purchase in Morocco

If you are not travelling to Morocco, someone signs for you. That requires a special power of attorney (procuration spéciale) in the right form. This guide describes the practical path from countries where many Asladi users live — especially the Netherlands, Belgium and France — and links to the official pages. What your consulate asks for can differ from the next post.

Which type of power of attorney you need

A general mandate is not enough for a property deal. You need a special power of attorney, with express powers to buy, to sign the compromis and the final deed, to transfer funds and to have the transfer registered. Since Law No. 69-16 (14 September 2017) the land registry no longer accepts a private real-estate mandate merely legalised at a municipality or consulate: it must come from a notary, adouls or a lawyer at the Court of Cassation. Law No. 41-24 (22 August 2024) confirms that a mandate to transfer real rights must be authentic or date-certain, on pain of nullity.

What a Moroccan consulate will and will not do

The official consular service states it plainly: procurations relatives aux transactions immobilières can only be drawn up before adouls, notaries or lawyers. Consulates may legalise signatures on private deeds of Moroccans in their district, with mandatory attendance. That legalisation is useful for other formalities, but not enough for buying or selling a home. Anyone hoping to ‘do the power of attorney at the consulate’ therefore ends up with: have the deed made authentic elsewhere, and use the consulate only if your notary asks for it on a side document.

The path, step by step

The sequence below is the usual track from an Apostille country (the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Italy). Your Moroccan notary may add or change steps.

  1. Ask the Moroccan notary for a draft first

    Have the notary on the home send a draft mandate, in French or Arabic, with the right powers and the property details (often the titre foncier number). That stops a local notary passing an instrument that Morocco later refuses.

  2. Keep the mandate special and specific

    Name the attorney-in-fact with first name, surname, identity-document number and address — the consular note requires that too. Limit the powers to this deal and this property. A vague ‘general power of attorney’ does not cover a transfer of real rights.

  3. Have the deed drawn up by a notary where you live

    In the Netherlands, Belgium and France this is the usual route: a local notary draws up an authentic power of attorney. That is a public instrument, not a private paper. Bring identity documents, the attorney-in-fact’s details and the Moroccan draft. The notary may want a sworn translation before passing the deed.

  4. Add an apostille, not a consular legalisation

    Morocco has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 August 2016. A public document from another contracting state therefore does not need Moroccan consular legalisation: the apostille of the country of origin is enough. How you obtain that apostille differs by country — see the official links below.

  5. Translate if the Moroccan notary asks for it

    Many Moroccan notaries want the instrument in French or Arabic. A sworn translation may be needed; whether that translation itself needs an apostille is for the receiving notary to say. Ask before you send the papers.

  6. Send the original to the notary in Morocco

    The land registry and the notary work with originals, not a scan alone. Courier the apostilled deed (and any translation) to the notary or the attorney-in-fact. Keep a copy.

  7. Or: sign in Morocco yourself

    If you can travel to Morocco, you can have the power of attorney passed there by a notary, two adouls or a cassation lawyer. That avoids apostille and shipping. It remains a special, authentic mandate — not a private paper at the commune.

Papers you typically bring

This is an orientation list, not a universal checklist. The notary where you live, the consulate (if you legalise a signature there) and the Moroccan notary can ask for extra documents.

  • Your passport or CNIE as grantor; for Moroccans abroad often also consular registration if you go to the consulate.
  • Full identity of the attorney-in-fact: name, identity-document number and address.
  • Details of the home, preferably the title number and the Moroccan notary’s draft.
  • The draft power of attorney itself, so the local notary is not passing blindly.
  • If you do go to the consulate for another legalisation: the original document, identity paper, and personal attendance to sign. Real-estate mandates do not belong there according to the official page.

Indicative turnaround

There is no statutory deadline for ‘a power of attorney from abroad’. The ranges below come from apostille desks and consular appointments; your post may be slower or faster.

  • Local notary: often a few days to two weeks, depending on diary, translation and whether the Moroccan draft is ready.
  • Apostille: in the Netherlands often the same day at the court desk if you arrive in time; in Belgium the notary files the e-apostille (electronic only since 2018); in France, since 1 May 2025, via the notaries’ apostille centres.
  • Consular appointment: waiting time varies sharply by city. Some posts have a slot within days, others weeks. Check rdv.consulat.ma for your district.
  • Shipping to Morocco: allow a few extra working days. Arrange the mandate well before the planned compromis or deed date.

Apostille in the Netherlands, Belgium and France

The competent authority is set nationally and has changed. Use the official page, not an outdated consulate or agent note.

Official consulate pages

Morocco has several consulates-general per country. Which office covers your town, which papers they ask for that week and whether you need an appointment is on their own page or in the official finder — not in this guide.

Addresses, phone numbers and desk hours differ by post and are sometimes updated later than secondary lists. Open your consulate’s page or the official finder instead of relying on a summary here.

Start here: procedures and finder

Consulates-general (official fiche)

These are the public consulat.ma fiches for posts in the countries where most Asladi users live. France, Germany, Spain and Italy have more offices; use the finder for your city.

Sources

This guide rests on primary government and treaty texts. Where practice differs by country or post, we link to the competent authority instead of quoting one number.

  1. Consulat.ma, ‘Procuration pour transactions immobilières’: Law No. 69-16 since 14 September 2017; private legalised real-estate mandates are refused by the land registry; only notary, adoul or lawyer. Open source
  2. Consulat.ma, ‘Au niveau des missions diplomatiques et des postes consulaires’: consulates legalise signatures on private deeds; attendance required; real-estate procurations only before adouls, notaries or lawyers. Open source
  3. Law No. 41-24 (dahir No. 1-24-39 of 7 August 2024, Official Gazette No. 7328 of 22 August 2024): both the compromis and a mandate to transfer real rights must be authentic or date-certain, on pain of nullity. Open source
  4. Hague Conference (HCCH): Apostille Convention in force for Morocco on 14 August 2016. Open source
  5. Consulat.ma, Apostille: foreign public documents intended for the Moroccan administration follow the same simplified apostille route; without the treaty, classic legalisation remains. Open source
  6. Rechtspraak.nl: in the Netherlands the court affixes the apostille on a public document; a notarial deed first needs legalisation in the name of the president. Open source
  7. FPS Foreign Affairs: Belgian apostilles have been electronic only since 1 May 2018; the notary files the request via eLegalization. Open source
  8. Service-Public.fr: since 1 May 2025 French notaries issue the apostille (no longer the parquets généraux of the cours d’appel). Open source

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