When is Life Certificate needed?
A property owner issues power of attorney to a friend or relative from outside India. This is either for registering a new property or selling an existing property in India. If the POA document is older than 30 days, the Life certificate is generally insisted by the officers.
What is Life Certificate?
Power of Attorney (POA) holder should submit proof to the sub-Registrar that the Principal is alive and well. For this purpose, a Registered Medical Practitioner can attest and issue a Certificate. This attested certificate is known as Life Certificate. It is valid for 30 days.
How to prepare a Power of Attorney Document for Selling or registering a property?
When a property is sold or bought in India by Non resident Indians (NRI) or Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) – they can give power of attorney to any adult known to them for transacting on behalf of them. The OCI / NRI should first prepare a standard power of attorney document and get it attested by a local Notary Public. The Notary Public checks the identity of the person issuing the Power of Attorney (POA). The notary also verifies the signature. The issuer will then send the send the notarized POA document to the person who will act as Power of Attorney (POA). It is normally sent by International Courier services. It is advised to save the proof of sending /delivery of the courier. Some officers may want to verify that the document was sent from abroad from the issuer.
Why is Life Certificate required?
In the past there were lot of misuse of power of attorney documents by the person who has the POA. Many complaints of cheating were filed. Some holders of POA even sold the property without the knowledge of the property owner.
How long is the POA valid?
The Power of Attorney document (POA) is generally valid for six months. The registrar office to avoid any legal issues have started insisting on Life certificate. However, in some cases if the registration happens within 30 days of the signed POA document, the officers may or may not insist on Life certificate.
A sample of Life Certificate for the purpose of Registration of Documents based on the power of attorney is shared below.
