Guides · 6 min read · May 16, 2026
Both are legal, both are notarised — but they give very different levels of authority. Here is when to use each.
The single most common mistake we see is people executing a General POA when a Special POA would have protected them better. A General POA gives the agent sweeping authority across most legal matters, while a Special POA limits the agent strictly to defined acts.
Long absences from the UAE, trusted family members, or wide-ranging affairs where listing every possible act would be impractical.
One-off transactions — selling a specific property, attending a specific court date, opening a specific bank account, signing a single contract. Special POAs are safer because they cannot be misused beyond their stated scope.
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