Power of Attorney: How to Sign One Electronically in the UK

A power of attorney is a legal document in which one person, the donor, gives someone else, the attorney, the authority to act and make decisions on their behalf. For example, an attorney might pay bills, sell a house or sign contracts on your behalf or, under some types, make decisions about your health and care.

It matters because nobody has an automatic right to manage another adult's money or care, not even a spouse or close relative. If you lose mental capacity without a valid POA in place, your relatives will need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy. That route involves a court application fee, and usually a yearly supervision fee and an annual report to the OPG, as the deputyship fees published on GOV.UK show, so it is generally longer and more expensive than planning ahead. Doing this in advance means you pick who you trust while you are still able to make that decision.

In business, companies use a POA to let a named individual sign documents on their behalf or complete a transaction when directors are not available.

GOV.UK sets out the types of power of attorney recognised in England and Wales.

An ordinary power of attorney, also called a general POA, is executed as a deed under section 1 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. It suits temporary situations, for example a stay in hospital. Under common law it only works while you still have mental capacity, so it lapses if you lose it.

A lasting power of attorney was introduced by section 9 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It continues to work when you are no longer able to make your own decisions, which is why most people planning ahead choose it for their finances, their health or both. An enduring power of attorney made before 1 October 2007 remains valid under Schedule 4 to that Act, but it must be registered as soon as mental capacity starts to fail, and no new enduring powers can be made.

The position turns on the type of POA and on who will need to rely on it later.

You can fill in an LPA online through the GOV.UK service, but you cannot sign it there. Official information on making a lasting power of attorney is explicit: everyone must sign the same original document, and they cannot sign copies or use digital signatures. The completed paperwork is printed, signed by hand in a set order and posted to the Office of the Public Guardian.

The process has built-in safeguards: your signature and each attorney's must be witnessed, and a certificate provider has to confirm that you understand it and are signing by choice.

A general POA must be executed as a deed. Under section 1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, that brings two requirements: the document must make clear on its face that it is intended to be a deed, and it must be signed in the presence of a witness who then attests the signature.

In its report on the electronic execution of documents, the Law Commission confirmed that an electronic signature can be used to execute a deed. The witness must still be physically present at the signing: watching by video call is not enough under the current law. Our article on whether electronic signatures are legally valid for solicitors looks at how a solicitor can help clients with this.

A company granting a POA has an easier route. Under section 44 of the Companies Act 2006, a deed is validly executed when two authorised signatories sign it, for example two directors, with no witness needed. Both can sign electronically from different locations.

To make an LPA you must be 18 or over and have mental capacity at the time.

An attorney must be 18 or over and have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. It can be a family member, a friend, your partner or a professional such as a solicitor. For a property and financial affairs LPA, you cannot choose someone who is bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order.

A witness must be 18 or over. As the OPG explains in its guide to making and registering an LPA, attorneys can witness each other's signatures, but they cannot witness yours or act as the certificate provider. The certificate provider is either someone who has known you well for at least two years or a professional such as a doctor or solicitor.

A property and financial affairs LPA lets your attorney make decisions about your money and home, and can be used as soon as it is registered if you give permission. A health and welfare LPA covers decisions about your health, care, medical treatment and where you live. It can only be used when you are not able to make the decision yourself, and it sits alongside any advance decision to refuse treatment that you have made.

Where a general or commercial POA is suitable, signing it electronically is straightforward if you plan for the witness in advance. The short statutory form in section 10 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 is a useful starting point for the drafting.

For higher-value transactions, an advanced or qualified electronic signature adds formal identity verification of the signatory, which makes the deed harder to challenge in future.

A POA places a lot of trust in one person, so the law builds in safeguards on both sides.

An attorney acting under an LPA must follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They must assume you can make a decision unless it is shown otherwise, help you to make your own decisions where possible and always act in your best interests.

The Office of the Public Guardian can investigate concerns about an attorney, and the Court of Protection can remove one who abuses the role or acts against your best interests. Free information and help are available from the OPG and Citizens Advice.

Attorneys are protected too. Under section 5 of the 1971 Act, an attorney who acts without knowing that the power has been revoked is not liable for doing so.

If you still have mental capacity, you can end an LPA at any time by sending the Office of the Public Guardian the original LPA and a written statement called a deed of revocation.

An LPA can also end in several other cases: when the donor dies; when a sole attorney dies, loses mental capacity or can no longer act and there is no replacement; when a property and financial affairs attorney becomes bankrupt or is subject to a Debt Relief Order; when the Court of Protection removes an attorney; or when an attorney who is the donor's spouse or civil partner divorces them. That last rule comes from section 13 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and does not apply if the LPA says otherwise.

A general POA can be revoked at any time, ideally by deed and with written notice to the attorney. If you made an EPA and still have mental capacity, you can cancel it and make an LPA instead.

Yes, although not yet. The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 allows an LPA to be made and registered through a fully digital channel, with identity checks to reduce fraud and a faster process for objections. The latest OPG annual report says the service design and legislative changes are still in progress ahead of live testing. No launch date has been published, so print and sign remains the only option for the time being.

Setting up a power of attorney is one of the most useful steps an individual, a family or a business can take for the future, but the signing rules are strict. An LPA still needs pen and paper. A general or commercial POA can be signed electronically, provided the witness is in the room or the company signs through two authorised signatories.

For the types that can be signed online, Youtrust offers a secure signing process with identity checks and a time-stamped audit trail, so the deed stands up when someone relies on it.