Authorization Letter Template

When is an authorization letter used?

When you cannot go in person and someone else must collect something or act for you on one occasion: a passport, a degree, a parcel, a bank document, a form submitted at an office.

Signing and where it goes

Give the signed letter to the person you authorise, together with a copy of your identity document. They show it at the office with their own original identity document.

Points to get right

• Say exactly what the person may do, and for how long. An open-ended authority may be refused.
• Attach a copy of your identity document, signed if the office asks for that.
• Have the authorised person sign the letter too, so that the office can compare signatures.
• For banks, check first: many have their own authority form.

How to fill it in

1. Press Open in editor, or download the Word file to fill it in on your computer.
2. Replace every blank line with your own details, and delete the clauses and choices that do not apply.
3. Read it through once more as the other party would read it.
4. In the editor, press Print / PDF to make a PDF, or Word in the File tab to save a Word file.

Before you sign

These templates are general forms written to save time, not legal advice. The law differs from country to country and changes, and a paper about property, money or employment has legal effect. Fill in every blank, delete what does not apply, check the result against the law where you are, and have an important document reviewed by a lawyer before it is signed.