This page is for foreign nationals and Colombians abroad who need a lawyer to act for them in Colombia: in a lawsuit, a debt collection, a family or property matter, or a trademark filing. It explains which power of attorney Colombian law requires, when a data message is enough for court proceedings, and what a power signed in another country needs.
Colombian statutes have no official English version. Provisions on this page, including Andean Community Decision 486, are quoted in Spanish from the official text; the bracketed English is an unofficial translation.
General or special power of attorney: Article 74 of the CGP
Under Article 73 of the General Code of Procedure (Código General del Proceso, CGP), parties appear in court through a legally authorized lawyer, except where the law allows direct intervention.
Article 74 of the CGP distinguishes two kinds. «Los poderes generales para toda clase de procesos solo podrán conferirse por escritura pública» [General powers for all kinds of proceedings may only be granted by public deed]. «El poder especial para uno o varios procesos podrá conferirse por documento privado» [A special power for one or several proceedings may be granted by private document]. A special power must identify the matter: «En los poderes especiales los asuntos deberán estar determinados y claramente identificados» [In special powers the matters must be specified and clearly identified].
Under the same article, a special power may also be granted orally at a hearing or by a written submission to the judge hearing the case; a special power for court purposes must be presented in person by the grantor before a judge, a court support office or a notary; and «Se podrá conferir poder especial por mensaje de datos con firma digital» [A special power may be granted by data message with a digital signature]. Law 2213 of 2022 adds another route.
Power of attorney by data message for court proceedings: Law 2213 of 2022
Under Article 1, Law 2213 of 2022 makes Decree-Law 806 of 2020 permanent legislation for the civil, labour and family specialties of the ordinary jurisdiction, the contentious-administrative, constitutional and disciplinary jurisdictions, administrative authorities exercising judicial functions, and arbitration; its paragraph 2 makes the law complementary to the procedural codes. Its Article 5 reads: «Los poderes especiales para cualquier actuación judicial se podrán conferir mediante mensaje de datos, sin firma manuscrita o digital, con la sola antefirma, se presumirán auténticos y no requerirán de ninguna presentación personal o reconocimiento» [Special powers for any judicial action may be granted by data message, without a handwritten or digital signature, with only the signer’s name line (antefirma); they shall be presumed authentic and shall not require any personal presentation or acknowledgment].
Article 5 adds two requirements. First: «En el poder se indicará expresamente la dirección de correo electrónico del apoderado que deberá coincidir con la inscrita en el Registro Nacional de Abogados» [The power shall expressly state the email address of the attorney, which must match the one registered in the National Registry of Lawyers]. Second, for companies and other persons in the commercial registry: «Los poderes otorgados por personas inscritas en el registro mercantil, deberán ser remitidos desde la dirección de correo electrónico inscrita para recibir notificaciones judiciales» [Powers granted by persons registered in the commercial registry must be sent from the email address registered to receive judicial notices].
Article 5 covers special powers for judicial actions. It does not cover general powers for all kinds of proceedings, which Article 74 of the CGP reserves to public deeds, nor acts outside a judicial proceeding, such as signing a deed to sell real estate. As Law 2213 complements the CGP, the power must still identify the matter (Article 74).
Signing a power of attorney outside Colombia: consul, local official and apostille
Article 74 of the CGP allows a power to be signed abroad: «Los poderes podrán extenderse en el exterior, ante cónsul colombiano o el funcionario que la ley local autorice para ello; en ese último caso, su autenticación se hará en la forma establecida en el artículo 251» [Powers may be executed abroad, before a Colombian consul or the official authorized by local law; in the latter case, their authentication shall be made as established in Article 251].
Article 251 of the CGP sets that form: «Los documentos públicos otorgados en país extranjero por funcionario de este o con su intervención, se aportarán apostillados de conformidad con lo establecido en los tratados internacionales ratificados por Colombia» [Public documents executed in a foreign country by an official of that country or with that official’s participation shall be submitted with an apostille in accordance with the international treaties ratified by Colombia]. If the country is not a party, they must be authenticated by the Colombian consul or diplomatic agent in that country or, failing that, by that of a friendly nation. The consul’s or diplomatic agent’s signature is then certified by Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; where a friendly country’s consular agents act, their signature is first authenticated by that country’s competent official, and that official’s by the Colombian consul. Documents meeting these requirements are deemed executed under the law of the respective country.
The status table of the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961, published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and updated on 30 June 2026, shows the Convention in force for Colombia since 30 January 2001, for the United States since 15 October 1981, for Spain since 25 September 1978 and for Canada since 11 January 2024. Under Articles 3 and 6 of the Convention, the apostille is issued by the competent authority designated by the State from which the document emanates. Under Article 1 it covers, among others, notarial acts and official certificates placed on private documents, such as authentications of signatures, and does not apply to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents.
Documents in a foreign language: translation under Article 251
Article 251 of the CGP also provides: «Para que los documentos extendidos en idioma distinto del castellano puedan apreciarse como prueba se requiere que obren en el proceso con su correspondiente traducción efectuada por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, por un intérprete oficial o por traductor designado por el juez» [For documents drawn up in a language other than Spanish to be assessed as evidence, they must be in the case file with their translation made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by an official interpreter or by a translator appointed by the judge].
In the first two cases the translation and the original may be submitted directly; if the translation is disputed, the judge appoints a translator.
What your lawyer can do with the power, and what needs express authority
Article 77 of the CGP lists what a power to litigate covers unless otherwise agreed, from preparatory acts through appeals, post-judgment actions in the same file and enforcement of the judgment. It also sets a limit: «El apoderado no podrá realizar actos reservados por la ley a la parte misma; tampoco recibir, allanarse, ni disponer del derecho en litigio, salvo que el poderdante lo haya autorizado de manera expresa» [The attorney may not perform acts reserved by law to the party itself, nor receive, acquiesce in the claims, or dispose of the right in dispute, unless the grantor has expressly authorized it]. If you want your lawyer to receive payment from a debtor in the proceeding, the power must say so.
Under Article 2158 of the Civil Code, a mandate naturally confers only acts of administration, such as paying the principal’s debts and collecting its credits in the ordinary course, and «Para todos los actos que salgan de estos límites, necesitará de poder especial» [For all acts beyond these limits, a special power is required]. For real estate, Article 1857 provides that «La venta de los bienes raíces y servidumbres y la de una sucesión hereditaria, no se reputan perfectas ante la ley, mientras no se ha otorgado escritura pública» [The sale of real estate and easements, and that of an inheritance, are not deemed perfected at law until a public deed has been executed].
Powers for trademark, patent and design filings at the SIC
Under Andean Community Decision 486, Article 138 requires a trademark application to be filed with the competent national office and lists, in literal c), «los poderes que fuesen necesarios» [the powers that may be necessary]. Article 26, literal f), says the same for patents, and Article 117, literal c), for industrial designs. Those articles require the power when needed but do not regulate its form.
How ADALET LEGAL works on your power of attorney
We start with the matter, the authority and whether you act personally or through a company, and tell you which power applies and whether a data message is enough or it must be signed before a consul or local official. We draft it in Spanish, with the matter identified and the express powers you choose, and review the signed document before using it. Our fees are agreed in writing before we begin.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send a power of attorney to Colombia by email?
For judicial proceedings within the scope of Law 2213 of 2022, a special power can be sent as a data message under its Article 5, without signature or personal presentation. It must state the attorney’s email address registered in the National Registry of Lawyers; companies in the commercial registry must send it from their address registered for judicial notices.
Does a power of attorney for Colombia need an apostille?
If you sign before the official authorized by local law, yes: Article 74 of the CGP refers to Article 251, which requires an apostille, or consular authentication where the country is not a party. Article 74 makes no such reference for a power signed before a Colombian consul.
Are the United States, Spain and Canada part of the Apostille Convention?
Yes. Per the HCCH status table (updated 30 June 2026): the United States since 15 October 1981, Spain since 25 September 1978 and Canada since 11 January 2024.
Can I use a general power of attorney for a lawsuit in Colombia?
Article 74 of the CGP allows general powers for all kinds of proceedings only by public deed. Under Article 75, a special power for a proceeding prevails over a general one granted by the same party.
Does the power of attorney have to be in Spanish?
Article 251 of the CGP requires documents in other languages, to be assessed as evidence, to be translated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an official interpreter or a translator appointed by the judge. We draft powers in Spanish.
Can my Colombian lawyer receive the money a debtor pays?
In a court proceeding, only if the power expressly authorizes it (Article 77 of the CGP). Outside court, Article 2158 of the Civil Code counts collecting the principal’s credits in the ordinary course among acts of administration.
Contact us
Tell us by WhatsApp what you need done and where you live. We will tell you which power applies and how to sign it.
Related pages
Colombian lawyer for clients abroad · Debt recovery in Colombia · Trademark registration in Colombia · Abogado colombiano para quienes viven en el exterior · Derecho de familia · Derecho inmobiliario See also divorce in Colombia. See also buying property in Colombia as a foreigner and inheritance in Colombia.