Power of attorney in Morocco: buying property remotely

When you buy a property in Morocco while living abroad, you sometimes need to give a power of attorney (procuration): to a relative, to a notary, to someone you trust who handles the paperwork and signs on your behalf. It is what makes buying remotely possible. But a property power of attorney in Morocco must meet strict requirements: one that does not can be refused, and a file can stall at the worst moment, just before the signing.

This article sets out, without jargon, what the law requires, why it concerns you directly and what you need to do. It also covers how to give a valid power of attorney from abroad, and why these rules protect you more than they constrain you.

In short

• A power of attorney concerning the ownership of a property or a real right must be received by a notary or an adoul (authentic form) and entered in a national electronic register.
• In practice: a simple private power of attorney, or a mandate written “at home”, is not enough to sell, buy or mortgage a property.
• It also covers financing: the power of attorney given to sign a loan and the mortgage that secures it is concerned.
• The register is taking time to bed in: on the ground, some files were delayed while it was being set up. Allow for this delay.
• Properly understood, the rule is a protection: it makes it much harder to use a forged power of attorney against an absent owner.

What the law requires for property powers of attorney in Morocco

A power of attorney concerning a real right over a property in Morocco (selling, buying or mortgaging it) must be received by a notary or an adoul and entered in a national electronic register. The register comes from Law no. 31.18, completed by its implementing texts. A power of attorney drawn up any other way cannot, in principle, be used for the transaction.

The register covers powers of attorney to sell, to buy and over a real right, such as a mortgage (Law 31.18, article 889-1 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts). Rental management, or legal action against a tenant, falls outside its scope.

The register is kept by the registries (greffes) of the courts of first instance, under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. The idea is simple: centralise every power of attorney used in a property transaction and make it verifiable, so that nobody can produce a forged or expired one. Without a central register, nothing made it easy to verify that a power of attorney was genuine, still valid, or had not been revoked. It is exactly this grey area that fed cases of property fraud and scams targeting MRE (Marocains résidant à l’étranger, Moroccans living abroad), where a property belonging to an absent owner ended up sold or mortgaged on the strength of a questionable document.

Why the power of attorney is at the heart of buying remotely

If you are buying from abroad, the power of attorney is not an administrative detail: it is often the keystone of the whole transaction. You cannot be physically present at every step, so you appoint someone to sign for you, at the notary’s or the adoul’s office, sometimes at the bank.

In other words, if your power of attorney is not valid, it is not a box left unticked: the whole transaction stops. Hence the importance of understanding what the law requires before you start your purchase, rather than finding out the day before the signing.

The two requirements, in detail

First, the authentic form. The power of attorney must be drawn up exclusively by a notary or an adoul: Law 41.25 removed this option from lawyers admitted to the Court of Cassation, who could draw up a deed of certain date (acte à date certaine). A document drafted and signed between individuals is not enough for a property deed, on pain of nullity.

Second, registration. The power of attorney must be entered in the national electronic register before it can be used for the transaction. The professional who prepares the deed of sale or the loan is required to check its existence and validity in that register.

And if you are buying with a mortgage, a point many people miss. The rule does not only cover the power of attorney for the sale. A home loan creates a mortgage on the property, and a mortgage is a real right: the power of attorney you give to sign the loan and create that security therefore also falls under the rule. If you are financing your purchase, you may need one compliant power of attorney for the sale and another for the loan.

What has been getting stuck on the ground. A legal reform built on a technical platform takes time to bed in. In the market, the start was difficult: financing professionals report files being slowed down while the new channels were being set up, and individuals whose power of attorney took several weeks to be registered. The rule is in place and it is sound; it is the mechanics that are still being calibrated. The practical lesson is simple: allow for this delay and do not leave it to the last minute.

Giving a valid power of attorney from abroad

This is the real question when you live abroad: how do you give a compliant power of attorney without being in Morocco?

Before the routes, the distinction that decides everything. What you need to obtain is an authentic deed (acte authentique), not a legalised signature. A legalised signature certifies that it really was you who signed; it does not turn a private document into an authentic deed. It is precisely this confusion that gets a power of attorney refused at the signing, after the trip and after the costs.

1. The safest route from abroad: a notary in your country of residence, then an apostille (or legalisation, depending on whether your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention) so that the deed is recognised in Morocco.
2. The second: prepare it during a stay in Morocco, with a notary or an adoul, before you leave. It is the simplest if a trip is already planned.
3. The third, for Moroccan nationals, to check before you travel: the Moroccan consulate in your country of residence. Consulates do not all offer the same service. Some have an adoul and notarial service, others only legalise signatures, and the information is poorly shared, including in online guides. The precaution that will save you a wasted trip: call your consulate and ask explicitly whether it draws up an adoul deed (acte adoulaire), not whether it “does powers of attorney”. If the answer is a legalised signature, this route is not suitable for a property deed.

In every case, two precautions, and the second is the one that settles it: start early, because registration takes time, especially while the register beds in; and have the exact form validated, in advance, by the notary or adoul who will receive the final deed in Morocco. They are the one who will accept or refuse your document on the day, so it is their opinion that counts, not that of the professional who draws it up where you live. A phone call before you start is better than a trip for nothing. For a purchase with a mortgage, the power of attorney must expressly name the loan agreements and the final deed: that is what decides how many trips you will need, as explained in getting a mortgage in Morocco from abroad.

A protection, not just a constraint

It would be easy to see these rules as one more layer of paperwork. That would miss the point. By making every power of attorney authentic and verifiable in a single register, the law closes the door on one of the most feared risks of buying property in Morocco: a third party using a forged or expired power of attorney to dispose of your property without your knowledge. Keeping control of your powers of attorney is, incidentally, only one of the habits that protect a property held from abroad; another is the free alert service offered by the ANCFCC, the national land registry agency.

For anyone who buys and holds property from abroad, this is real progress. The price is a demand for rigour and a little anticipation. In other words, exactly what a well-run remote purchase requires anyway.

Conclusion

The rules on powers of attorney are not an obstacle to buying remotely: they make it safer. An authentic, registered power of attorney, prepared early enough and set up with the right professional, and your file moves forward without a hitch. When it comes to a property power of attorney in Morocco, the real risk is not the rule: it is discovering it too late. To see where the power of attorney fits in a purchase I organise from abroad, read how it works.

Buying in Morocco without being there and want your power of attorney right the first time? Book a free 20-minute call on Calendly, or message me on WhatsApp.

Sources: Law no. 31.18 (dahir no. 1.19.114 of 9 August 2019, Official Bulletin no. 6807 of 26 August 2019), articles 889-1 and 889-2 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts, and its implementing texts; article 4 of Law no. 39.08 on the Real Rights Code; Ministry of Justice communication; Moroccan business and legal press (coverage of the register’s entry into force); Law no. 41.25 (dahir no. 1.26.30 of 3 July 2026, Official Bulletin no. 7526 of 16 July 2026), which removed the route of the deed of certain date drawn up by an authorised lawyer. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice: the exact form of your power of attorney must be confirmed by a notary or an adoul.