Signing a power of attorney in the U.S. for use in Chile

Almost everything an owner living in the United States needs to do in Chile can be done by someone in Chile acting under a power of attorney: obtaining a Chilean tax ID, forming a company, buying or selling a property, collecting rent or handling an inheritance. The power is signed in the U.S., and the way it is signed decides what it can be used for. A document that works perfectly for one purpose can be turned away for another, and finding that out after it has crossed the continent means starting over. This guide explains the two ways to sign a power of attorney in the U.S. for use in Chile, and which one to choose for each purpose.

Short answer: there are two routes. You can sign the power at a Chilean consulate in the U.S., where it is drawn up in Spanish by a Chilean official, or before a notary public in your state, with an apostille from that state's designated authority, generally its Secretary of State, and a Spanish translation. Both are used for matters such as a tax ID or forming a company. To buy, sell or mortgage property, the deed in Chile must be a public deed, and the Chilean notary and the Real Estate Registrar review the power closely, so it is worth confirming beforehand which route they will accept.

What a power of attorney can do for you in Chile

A power of attorney (poder) lets a person in Chile, the attorney in fact (apoderado or mandatario), act in your name. Among other things, it can be used for:

• Applying for your Chilean tax ID (RUT) with the SII, which a foreign investor can only do through an attorney in fact domiciled or resident in Chile.
• Forming a company and signing its documents, or acting as a shareholder in its decisions.
• Buying, selling or mortgaging a property, and signing the related documents with the Real Estate Registrar.
• Managing a property: signing leases, collecting rent, paying property tax and requesting certificates.
• Handling an inheritance or a court case in Chile.

Why the way you sign it matters

Chilean law requires certain acts to be done by public deed. The sale of real estate is the clearest example: it is not complete until it is executed as a public deed. And Article 18 of the Civil Code provides that where Chilean law requires public instruments as evidence to take effect in Chile, private documents executed abroad do not qualify, whatever their value in the country where they were signed. No statute expressly requires a power to sell to be a public deed, but Chilean notaries and Registrars ask for one in practice.

A U.S. notarization, in the usual form of an acknowledgment, confirms who signed the document and that they signed it. It does not turn the document into a public deed in the Chilean sense. The apostille does not change that either: it certifies the signature and capacity of the notary who notarized the document, not its content. Article 345 bis of the Code of Civil Procedure says so expressly: the apostille only proves that the certification is authentic, without making the document a public instrument. That is why, when a power will be used to buy or sell property, the Chilean notary who authorizes the deed and the Registrar who records it look carefully at the power, and why we confirm with them which route they will accept before you sign.

Route 1: signing at a Chilean consulate

Chilean consulates can authorize documents that are to be used in Chile. A power signed at a consulate is drawn up in Spanish, following Chilean formats, before a Chilean official, so it avoids both the translation step and the question of whether a foreign notarial form meets Chilean requirements.

There are practical points to check before booking. Consulates work by appointment, and their requirements are not identical: the Consular Regulations allow consuls to act at the request of Chileans or foreigners, but each consulate sets its own requirements: San Francisco accepts a foreign principal's passport, while Los Angeles asks for a Chilean ID card. If you are Chilean, you can go with your ID card, and our page on powers of attorney from abroad explains this route in more detail. If you are not Chilean, confirm with your consulate that it will serve you before planning around this route. We send you the text of the power in advance, so that the consulate only has to authorize it.

Once signed, the original is sent to Chile, where the consul's signature is legalized, on the original and in person, at the Apostille and Legalization Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago, or through the Presidential Delegation in the regions. It is free of charge. A consular power cannot be apostilled, because the Apostille Convention excludes documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents. If it will be used to sign a deed or form a company, it is then protocolized at a Chilean notary, that is, added to the notary's records, and from then on certified copies can be issued for each institution that needs one. For a RUT, a scanned copy uploaded to the SII is enough.

Route 2: a notary in your state, with an apostille

Chile has been part of the Hague Apostille Convention since August 30, 2016, so a U.S. notarized document does not need to go through a Chilean consulate to be used in Chile. It needs an apostille. The steps are these:

• We draft the power of attorney with exactly the powers your matter needs.
• You sign it before a notary public in your state.
• You request the apostille from the authority designated by the state where the notary is commissioned, which is generally its Secretary of State; Georgia and New Jersey, for example, differ. The U.S. Department of State only apostilles federal documents, so it is not the office to go to for a notarized power.
• You send us the original with its apostille.
• No legalization is needed in Chile: the apostille is enough. It is translated into Spanish and, if it will be used in a deed or to form a company, protocolized at a Chilean notary. For a RUT, a scanned copy is uploaded to the SII and you keep the original.

The translation deserves a word of its own. Deeds and filings in Chile are in Spanish. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes translations made by other institutions, and the SII only requires the power to be in Spanish. The Organic Code of Courts, however, refers to the official interpreter or court-appointed experts for translations that are protocolized, so for a deed we recommend the Ministry's official translation, which is requested online. We do not recommend signing bilingual documents on the assumption that they will avoid a translation, because no official rule guarantees that.

Which route for which purpose

The table compares the two routes; the details for each purpose follow.

For a tax ID, the SII accepts powers granted abroad that are apostilled, or endorsed by the Chilean consul and legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translated into Spanish and with documents no more than one year old. It does not require them to be protocolized, because a scanned copy is uploaded. For forming a company through the Registry of Companies and Partnerships, Law 20,659 expressly allows signing through an attorney in fact under a power granted by public deed, by a private document with signatures authorized by a notary and protocolized, or with an advanced electronic signature; if it is granted abroad, it must also be apostilled or legalized. In both cases, the route through a notary in your state is usually the more convenient one, because it does not depend on an appointment at a consulate, although for a company the power will also have to be translated and protocolized in Chile. We explain both procedures in our guides to getting a Chilean RUT without traveling and to forming a company in Chile as a U.S. citizen.

To buy, sell or mortgage property, the question is the one explained above: the deed is a public deed, and the power will be examined by the notary and the Registrar. Since 2 April 2026, the law requires the Registrar to record foreign instruments that are legalized or apostilled. But an apostille does not make a power notarized in the U.S. a public instrument, and in practice Chilean notaries and Registrars ask for the power to sell or mortgage to be a public deed. That is why, for a property, we recommend the consular route. We cover the rest of a sale in our guide to selling property in Chile as a non-resident.

For an inheritance or a court case, the power must expressly include certain acts, such as settling or receiving money, because Chilean procedure does not presume them. We explain how an inheritance is handled from the U.S. in our guide to handling a Chilean inheritance from the United States.

What the power must say

Under the Chilean Civil Code, a power drafted in general terms only covers acts of administration. Selling, buying, mortgaging, settling and other acts beyond administration require a special power that names them. A vague power is therefore not just risky; it may simply not work.

Our approach is to draft each power with exactly the powers the matter needs: identifying the property when one is involved, naming the acts the attorney in fact can sign and, when it makes sense, setting limits such as a minimum sale price or a requirement for your written approval. A broad general power can seem convenient, but it gives someone else the ability to dispose of your assets.

Online notarization and other questions

Many U.S. states allow remote online notarization. There is no official Chilean guidance on accepting it, so for documents that will be used in Chile, and especially for property, we recommend signing in person before the notary.

Chilean law does not set an expiry date for a power of attorney. It ends when it is revoked, when the person who granted it dies, or for the other reasons the law provides. Some institutions do ask for recent documents, though: the SII, for example, requires documents no more than a year old to issue a foreign investor's RUT. If you later want to revoke a power, it is done with a new document, and it is important to inform the attorney in fact and anyone who deals with them.

The same kind of power is what a tourist needs so that an attorney in fact can obtain the RUT required to buy a car in Chile, and what lets your attorney in fact sign the promesa de compraventa and the deed on your behalf without you traveling, as we explain in our guide to closing a property purchase in Chile.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sign at a Chilean consulate if I am not Chilean?

It depends on the consulate. Some state that they serve foreigners as well as Chileans, and others ask for a Chilean ID card. Confirm with your consulate before booking an appointment.

Do I need an official translation?

The document must be in Spanish for use in Chile. For a RUT, the SII accepts any Spanish translation. For a deed or a company, where the power is protocolized, we recommend the official translation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Does the apostille make my U.S. document a public deed in Chile?

No. The apostille certifies the signature and capacity of the notary who notarized the document, not its content. That is why, for property deeds, we confirm in advance which route the Chilean notary and Registrar will accept.

Can I use one power for everything?

You can, but it is rarely a good idea. A power with exactly the powers each matter needs is safer for you, because it limits what can be done in your name.

How we can help

At Terreno en Regla we draft the power of attorney, with an English version so you know exactly what you are signing, tell you which route to use for your matter, confirm it in advance with the notary and the Registrar when property is involved, and once the original arrives in Chile we take care of the legalization, translation and protocolization. We can also act as your attorney in fact. You can see how we work with owners in the United States on our page for clients in the United States and, if your matter involves a Chilean company, on our page for property holding companies, and if your matter is checking a company you already have, in our guide to checking a Chilean company and its property. If the power is for an inheritance, our inheritance team handles the probate, and if it is for a purchase, we carry out the title study first.