Quick Answer: A power of attorney in Israel (, yipui koach) is a legal document authorizing another person to act on your behalf in Israeli legal and financial matters. Foreign nationals can grant a valid Israeli power of attorney from anywhere in the world. The document must be signed before a notary and, in most countries, bear an apostille. Once properly authenticated, the same POA can be used for property purchases, inheritance proceedings, bank transactions, and more.

If you own property in Israel, are in the process of inheriting an Israeli estate, or need to manage any legal matter in Israel while living abroad, a power of attorney is almost certainly the first document you will need. Without one, every signature, bank visit, court filing, and Land Registry submission requires your physical presence in Israel — an expensive and often impractical requirement.

Israeli power of attorney law is governed primarily by the Agency Law 1965 ( , "–1965). This law defines who can act as an agent, what powers can be delegated, and the circumstances under which an agency relationship ends. Understanding how this framework works — and how to prepare a document that Israeli banks, courts, and registries will actually accept — can save you significant time and money.

1. What Is a Power of Attorney in Israel?

A power of attorney is a written authorization given by one person (the principal) to another (the agent or attorney-in-fact) to perform specific legal acts on the principal's behalf. The agent's acts bind the principal as if the principal had performed them personally.

In Israel, POAs are used routinely in:

  • Real estate transactions — signing purchase or sale agreements, submitting Land Registry applications
  • Inheritance proceedings — filing for a succession order , collecting assets, managing an estate
  • Banking — opening or managing Israeli bank accounts, transferring funds
  • Tax matters — filing returns, dealing with the Israeli Tax Authority
  • Corporate matters — signing on behalf of a company, registering with the Companies Registrar
  • Court proceedings — authorizing an attorney to represent you in litigation

For foreign nationals, the POA is the mechanism that bridges the gap between living abroad and managing Israeli affairs. Rather than flying to Israel every time a document needs a signature, you authorize a trusted local representative — typically your Israeli attorney — to act in your place.

2. Types of Israeli Power of Attorney

Not all POAs are created equal. The scope and duration of the authority you grant matters enormously, both practically and legally.

General Power of Attorney

A general POA grants broad authority to the agent to handle all of the principal's legal and financial affairs in Israel. This type is useful when a foreign national needs a trusted representative to manage multiple ongoing matters — property, inheritance, tax, and banking — over an extended period. However, Israeli courts and registries sometimes scrutinize overly broad instruments, so careful drafting is essential.

Limited (Specific) Power of Attorney

A limited POA restricts the agent's authority to a specific transaction or category of acts. For example: "to sign the purchase agreement and all related documents for the apartment at [address], and to submit the registration application at the Land Registry." This is the most common type for foreign property buyers and is preferred by Israeli registries because the scope is clear and defined.

Enduring (Durable) Power of Attorney

Under an amendment to the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law 1962, Israel introduced the enduring power of attorney in 2017. This is a special instrument designed for future incapacity: the principal grants authority that will continue — or come into effect — if they later lose mental capacity. It is widely used by elderly individuals and their adult children to avoid the need for a court-appointed guardian.

An lasting POA must be drafted with the assistance of a licensed Israeli attorney and the principal must receive independent guidance from that attorney before signing. It is then registered with the General Guardian's Office .

Irrevocable Power of Attorney

In certain commercial and real estate contexts, a POA may be declared irrevocable to protect the agent's or a third party's interests. Under the Agency Law 1965, an irrevocable POA requires that the agent or a third party has a genuine legal interest in the subject matter of the authority. These instruments require careful drafting and should only be used when genuinely necessary.

3. How to Draft a Valid Israeli Power of Attorney

A power of attorney used in Israel must meet certain formal requirements to be accepted by Israeli institutions. Even if valid under your home country's law, a document that does not meet Israeli standards may be rejected by a bank, the Land Registry (, Tabu), or a court.

Key elements every Israeli POA should include:

  • Identity of the principal: Full legal name exactly as it appears on your passport, passport number, date of birth, and address
  • Identity of the agent: Full name and Israeli ID number of the person being authorized, or passport details if the agent is also a foreign national
  • Scope of authority: The specific acts the agent is authorized to perform — the more precise, the better
  • Duration: Whether the POA is valid indefinitely or expires on a specific date
  • Governing law: For cross-border use, specifying that the document is to be used under Israeli law helps clarify which jurisdiction governs the relationship
  • Signature: Signed by the principal in the presence of a notary public

The document should be drafted — or at minimum reviewed — by an Israeli attorney before you sign it. Israeli institutions, particularly banks and the Land Registry, have specific expectations about the language used to grant particular powers (such as the authority to sign a mortgage, transfer title, or open a bank account). A document that omits the right language will simply be refused, causing costly delays.

If the POA will be used in multiple contexts, it is sometimes worth having your Israeli attorney draft separate, purpose-specific instruments. A single comprehensive POA is convenient, but multiple targeted documents are often more readily accepted by individual institutions.

4. Notarization and the Apostille Requirement

For a power of attorney signed abroad to be valid in Israel, the signature must be properly authenticated. The requirements depend on whether your country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention (which covers most countries in the world).

If your country is a Hague Convention member

  1. Sign before a local notary public — The notary witnesses your signature and certifies your identity.
  2. Obtain an apostille — The competent authority in your country (varies by jurisdiction — often a regional court, ministry of foreign affairs, or secretary of state) affixes an apostille certificate to the notarized document. The apostille confirms the notary's signature is genuine without requiring further legalization.
  3. Certified Hebrew translation — If the POA is not in Hebrew, a certified translation by a sworn translator is required before use at Israeli institutions.

The apostille is a standardized certificate introduced by the 1961 Hague Convention. Israeli institutions — banks, Land Registry offices, courts — are familiar with apostilles and accept them routinely. Your Israeli attorney will verify that the apostille is properly affixed before relying on the document.

If your country is NOT a Hague Convention member

The authentication chain is longer. You will need to have the document notarized locally, then legalized through a chain of official certifications culminating at the Israeli consulate or embassy in your country. Your Israeli attorney can advise on the exact chain required for your specific jurisdiction.

Signing at an Israeli consulate

An alternative available to many foreign nationals is to sign the POA directly at an Israeli consulate in your country. Consular staff can witness the signature in a way that is automatically recognized in Israel, bypassing the apostille requirement entirely. This is often the quickest route when the consulate is accessible. Contact your nearest Israeli consulate for current appointment availability and fees.

5. Using a POA for Property Transactions

Real estate is the context in which foreign nationals most frequently need a power of attorney in Israel. A non-resident buyer or seller who cannot travel to Israel for every signing milestone can authorize their Israeli attorney to act throughout the entire transaction.

A real estate POA for a purchase typically authorizes the agent to:

  • Sign the purchase agreement and any amendments
  • Transfer funds and receive receipts on the principal's behalf
  • Submit the purchase tax declaration and pay the tax to the Tax Authority
  • Sign and submit the registration application at the Land Registry
  • Sign mortgage documents and bank guarantees if financing is involved
  • Collect keys and sign the handover protocol

For a sale, the agent additionally needs authority to receive sale proceeds and sign the betterment tax declaration filed with the Tax Authority.

The Land Registry and the Israel Land Authority both require that any POA used for property registration be notarized and apostilled. The Land Registry will refuse to process a transfer signed under a POA that has not been properly authenticated. Your attorney will verify the document meets current registry requirements before using it.

An American buyer of a NIS 3,100,000 apartment in Jerusalem executed a general power of attorney before a New York notary, had it apostilled by the New York Department of State, and then discovered at a critical payment milestone that the Land Registry would not accept it because the scope clause omitted the specific Hebrew phrase authorizing registration of a mortgage charge. The POA had to be re-executed and re-apostilled — a process that took 18 days and nearly caused the buyer to miss a contractual payment deadline that would have triggered a daily penalty of NIS 600. Having the Israeli attorney review the POA draft before it is signed abroad, not after, is the step that prevents this type of delay.

6. Using a POA for Inheritance and Probate

When a foreign national inherits Israeli assets — real estate, bank accounts, investments, or personal property — they typically need to appoint a local representative to manage the probate process. This is one of the most common uses of an Israeli power of attorney.

An inheritance POA typically authorizes the agent to:

  • File a petition for a succession order or probate order at the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs
  • Represent the principal at hearings before the Family Court
  • Collect bank accounts, close deposits, and transfer funds belonging to the estate
  • Manage or sell inherited real estate
  • Sign tax declarations related to the estate
  • Distribute the estate to other beneficiaries

One practical note: Israeli banks are often cautious about releasing funds to an agent acting under a general POA. They may require a specific POA that explicitly names the account and authorizes its closure and transfer. Before relying on a POA for inheritance banking matters, have your Israeli attorney contact the specific bank in advance to confirm what document they will accept.

For a more comprehensive overview of Israeli inheritance proceedings, see our guide on the probate process in Israel and how to obtain a succession order.

7. Revoking a Power of Attorney

Under the Agency Law 1965, a principal can generally revoke a power of attorney at any time by notifying the agent. Revocation only protects the principal against the agent's future acts — third parties who relied in good faith on the POA before receiving notice of revocation remain protected by law.

To effectively revoke a POA used in Israel:

  • Notify the agent in writing — send a clear written revocation notice
  • Notify known third parties — if the agent has been dealing with specific banks, registries, or counterparties on your behalf, notify them directly
  • Cancel any registered POA — if the POA was registered (for example, with the Land Registry or the General Guardian's Office for an lasting POA), file a revocation notice with the same authority
  • Prepare a replacement POA if you need to transfer authority to a different agent

An lasting power of attorney can only be revoked while the principal still has mental capacity, and the revocation must be filed with the General Guardian's Office. Once the principal has lost capacity, revocation is no longer possible through the ordinary mechanism — the principal would need to regain capacity, or apply to a court for appropriate relief.

If you suspect an agent is misusing a POA, an Israeli court can issue an injunction suspending or terminating the authority on an urgent basis. Contact a licensed Israeli attorney immediately in such a situation.

In Practice: The lasting power of attorney (yefiuy koach mitkayem), introduced in Israel in 2017, must be executed while the principal has full mental capacity and registered with the General Guardian's Office to be valid. A regular POA lapses automatically if the principal loses capacity — exactly when you most need it to work. Plan ahead: if a parent or family member has Israeli assets and is approaching an age or health situation where capacity may become an issue, establish the lasting POA now, not when the issue has already arisen.
In Practice: The Land Registry scrutinizes POAs for property transactions closely and will reject documents that do not explicitly authorize each specific act: signing the purchase agreement, receiving sale proceeds, paying betterment tax (mas shevach), and registering the transfer. Generic "do anything on my behalf" language is routinely challenged. Have an Israeli attorney draft the POA specifically for its intended use — a POA drafted for a general bank transaction will not pass muster at Tabu.