Power of Attorney Tanzania: Registration, Stamp Duty, Signing Abroad and Revocation

This is Zatra's guide to a power of attorney in Tanzania for foreign investors and companies: when one is needed, how to sign it abroad, which registry takes it, what it costs, how to revoke it, and how Zanzibar differs.

What the law says about powers of attorney

A power of attorney is a written instrument by which a donor authorises an attorney, or donee, to act for them. No single statute governs it. Several Mainland Acts and one Court of Appeal ruling set the rules.

The Revised Edition 2023 of Cap. 117, issued by the Government Printer on 1 July 2025, creates a registry of documents at Dar es Salaam under section 3. The Minister responsible for lands appoints the Registrar of Documents by Gazette notice. The Registrar therefore sits in the Ministry of Lands, not at RITA or BRELA.

Cap. 117 does not list a power of attorney among the documents that must be registered. Section 8 makes registration compulsory for documents dealing with interests in land. Section 11 lets the holder of any other document register it at their option. A power of attorney is registered under that optional route, and the fee is set by GN 486 of 2010, which names "power of attorney" as item 1.

Registered land follows a different Act. Under section 95 of the Land Registration Act, Cap. 334 R.E. 2023, the Registrar of Titles will not accept a deed or application signed by an agent unless the agent holds a power of attorney executed and attested in the manner prescribed for deeds. Section 96 lets the donor and the donee jointly apply to file that power with the Registrar.

Who should read this

• Foreign shareholders and directors who cannot be in Tanzania for every signing.
• Parent companies abroad that appoint a local manager to act for a branch or a subsidiary.
• Investors buying or leasing land, or taking a sublease in a TISEZA zone, through a local attorney.
• Tanzanians in the diaspora who manage property or a business at home.

It does not cover court-appointed guardians or estates. When a donor dies, the power ends and an administrator takes over, as explained in wills and inheritance in Tanzania.

When does a foreign investor need a power of attorney in Tanzania?

A power is needed whenever the holder of a right will not sign in person. Each receiving office applies its own rule, so first ask who will rely on the document.

Banks open accounts on their own know-your-customer file, driven by the board resolution and the mandate form. See corporate bank account KYC in Tanzania for the full list. For company filings, the officers named in the constitution sign, and an attorney rarely replaces them. The foreign company registration guide covers the parent documents a branch needs.

For land, the question is sharper. Foreigners do not own land on the Mainland. They hold derivative rights, usually through TISEZA, and every transaction over registered land runs through the Registrar of Titles. Our land due diligence guide sets out the searches to complete before an attorney signs anything.

General or specific power: which one should you sign?

A general power authorises the attorney to act in all of the donor's affairs, or in a broad class of them. A specific power authorises named acts only: sign this lease, over this plot, with this landlord, before this date. The law allows both. Practice favours the specific form.

• Receivers read powers narrowly. A registrar or a bank will ask whether the act in front of it is inside the words. A specific power answers that question on its face.
• Land needs express words. Section 96(1) of Cap. 334 files only a power that includes authority to make applications under the Act or to deal with registered land.
• Delegation needs express words. FB Attorneys noted in a May 2021 note that an attorney probably cannot pass the authority to someone else unless the power says so.
• A general power carries more risk. It can be used for acts the donor never had in mind.

A sound approach is two documents. One is a specific power for each land transaction, filed with the Registrar of Titles. The other is a limited business power for routine matters, registered under Cap. 117 and kept current. Both should state the attorney's full name and identity document, the acts permitted, any monetary limit, and an end date.

Can a company grant a power of attorney?

Yes. A company acts through its board, and the board decides who may act for it. Under the Companies Act, Cap. 212 R.E. 2023, section 40 lets a company contract through a person acting under its authority. Section 41 lets it execute a document by seal, or by the signatures of a director and the secretary or two directors. Section 44 lets a company, by writing under its common seal, empower an attorney to execute deeds on its behalf abroad.

The usual corporate file has three parts:

1. A board resolution approving the grant, naming the attorney and defining the scope. Our board resolutions guide sets out the drafting and minute requirements.
2. The power itself, executed in the form the company's constitution and the receiving registry require.
3. A certificate of the resolution signed by the secretary or a director, so the receiver can see the authority chain.

A foreign parent executes under its home law. Its resolution, the power and proof of the signatories' authority then follow the same notarisation and legalisation route as an individual's power.

Do you have to register a power of attorney in Tanzania?

It depends on what the attorney will do. For dealings in registered land, the power must be filed with the Registrar of Titles under section 96 of Cap. 334, and section 95 makes the Registrar reject an agent's deed without it. For other purposes, registration under Cap. 117 is optional in law but expected in practice by many receivers.

The choice of registry is not a formality. In Abdul Rahim Jamal Mohamed v Watumishi Housing Company Limited, Civil Appeal No. 54 of 2021, decided on 5 March 2024, the Court of Appeal considered a power over registered land that had been registered under Cap. 117 instead of filed under section 96(1) of Cap. 334. The Court held that this made the power invalid to the extent it involved disposing of the registered land.

The same ruling settled a second point. Order III rule 2(a) of the Civil Procedure Code allows a holder of a power of attorney to appear as a recognised agent. The Court held that the rule is limited to donors outside the court's jurisdiction. Because the donor and the attorney lived at the same Dar es Salaam address, the attorney's conduct of the suit was irregular, and the High Court proceedings were nullified. Litigation through an attorney belongs with an advocate from the first step.

Stamping comes before registration. Section 47 of the Stamp Duty Act bars any registrar or court from acting on an unstamped chargeable instrument. A power that reaches the Registrar unstamped is turned back until duty and any penalty are paid.

How much does a power of attorney cost in Tanzania?

The figures below come from the Zatra government fee register at 26 September 2026, except the Cap. 117 fee, which was read from GN 486 of 2010 for this guide.

The TRA stamp duty page lists "power of attorney" at TSHS 2,000, matching F0267. Our stamp duty guide covers the other instruments a transaction may carry. The notary figures are the official tariff in the First Schedule to Cap. 12. Notaries abroad, foreign ministries and Tanzanian missions charge their own fees, which this guide does not quote.

Two cost buckets stay separate. Government charges are paid to the authority at the official rate against its control number. Zatra's professional fee for drafting coordination, stamping and filing is quoted on its own line and never mixed with them.

How do you sign a power of attorney abroad for use in Tanzania?

A power signed abroad needs proof that the signature is genuine and that the person who witnessed it had authority. Tanzania does not appear in the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention, read on 17 October 2026. An apostille alone is therefore not the end of the chain. The document needs legalisation through Tanzania's diplomatic mission.

There are two routes.

• Sign before a Tanzanian foreign service officer. Section 11 of the Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths Act, Cap. 12 R.E. 2023 lets officers at a Tanzanian embassy or high commission perform notarial acts as validly as a notary in Tanzania. Their seal is admitted in evidence without further proof.
• Sign before a local notary, then legalise. The notary attests the signature. The foreign ministry of that country authenticates the notary. The Tanzanian mission then legalises the foreign ministry's seal.

Mission practice confirms the second chain. The Tanzanian Embassy in Ankara states that documents from Turkey for use in Tanzania are legalised first by the Turkish foreign ministry and then by the embassy, at EUR 20 per document. That figure is the Ankara mission's own and does not apply elsewhere. In the United Kingdom, Vanner Perez Notaries describes an apostille from the Foreign Office followed by attestation at the Tanzanian High Commission. Rive & Co describes the same sequence.

Inside Tanzania, the attestation is by an advocate holding a current notary certificate. Under section 3 of Cap. 12, advocates practise as notaries on the Mainland, and section 4 makes each certificate expire on 31 December unless renewed. Our notarisation guide explains how to build the pack so it is notarised once.

The clock starts on arrival. Section 26 of the Stamp Duty Act requires an instrument executed outside Mainland Tanzania to be stamped within thirty days of its first arrival there.

Does a power of attorney need a Swahili or English translation?

A power written in a language other than English or Kiswahili needs a translation before a Tanzanian registry or bank will read it. The receiver decides whether that translation must be certified, and by whom. Many will ask for a translation certified in Tanzania. Others accept one certified abroad and legalised with the original.

Translate the final text, attach the translation to the original and keep the two together through stamping and registration. Our BAKITA translation guide covers when the National Kiswahili Council's certified channel is the one a receiver will accept.

How do you revoke a power of attorney?

A donor can end a revocable power at any time. Revocation only protects the donor once the people relying on the power know about it. The steps differ by registry.

• Registrar of Titles. Section 96(2) of Cap. 334 lets the donor give notice of revocation in the prescribed form. The Registrar files it and endorses the power. The fee is TZS 10,000 (NEW-05-13). Under section 96(3), any interested person may notify the Registrar that the power ended on the death, bankruptcy or disability of the donor, or the death or disability of the attorney.
• Registrar of Documents. Cap. 117 has no section on revocation. In practice a deed of revocation is stamped and registered against the original entry. The fee line is not confirmed: GN 486 of 2010 charges TZS 10,000 for "other documents", and the registry assesses the item on filing.
• Everyone else. Write to every bank and counterparty holding a copy, and ask for the original back.

Two limits apply. Section 96(4) excludes a power granted for value and expressed to be irrevocable, for example one given to a lender as security. Section 96(5) treats a filed power with no revocation notice as still in force. A disposition made under it is not defeated by an unfiled revocation, unless the person claiming under it had actual notice. Filing the revocation promptly is the donor's only protection against a sale already signed.

How does Zanzibar handle powers of attorney?

Zanzibar is a separate registry jurisdiction. Cap. 117 and Cap. 334 are Mainland laws, and a power registered in Dar es Salaam does not register itself in Zanzibar.

In Zanzibar, documents are registered by the Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency (BPRA). BPRA was set up by Act No. 13 of 2012 to take over the functions of the former Registrar General's Office. Its document registration page lists powers of attorney and affidavits as miscellaneous registrable documents. Its list of laws names the Registration of Documents law, Cap. 99 of 1919, which the download file calls a Decree.

For a power used on both sides of the Union, register it on each side.

Worked example: a parent company appoints a Dar es Salaam attorney

A company in London owns a Tanzanian subsidiary that is taking a ten-year lease of a registered warehouse plot in Dar es Salaam at TZS 3,000,000 a month. The London board appoints the subsidiary's country manager as attorney. It grants two documents: a specific power for the lease and a limited business power for routine matters.

1. London. After a board resolution, a director signs both powers before a notary; the Foreign Office apostilles them and the Tanzania High Commission attests them. Those foreign charges sit outside this example.
2. Arrival in Dar es Salaam. Both powers are stamped within 30 days of arrival: 2 x TZS 2,000 = TZS 4,000 (F0267).
3. Land power. Donor and donee jointly apply to file the lease power with the Registrar of Titles: TZS 15,000 (F0466).
4. Business power. The business power is registered with the Registrar of Documents: TZS 15,000 (GN 486 of 2010 item 1).
5. Certified copies. A Dar es Salaam notary certifies three copies for the bank and the landlord, each under 100 words of certificate text: 3 x TZS 20,000 = TZS 60,000 (F0153).

Total government and notarial charges in Tanzania for the powers: 4,000 + 15,000 + 15,000 + 60,000 = TZS 94,000.

The lease itself then carries its own charges. Stamp duty is 1% of the annual rent (F0265): 1% x 36,000,000 = TZS 360,000. Registration of the lease at the Registrar of Titles is 50% of the monthly rent (F0466): 50% x 3,000,000 = TZS 1,500,000. That brings the transaction to TZS 1,954,000 in government charges, before Zatra's separate professional fee.

A late-stamped power costs TZS 2,000 plus a 25% penalty of TZS 500 (NEW-02-25). A land power registered only under Cap. 117 exposes the lease and forces a second signing round from London. When the manager leaves, the revocation is filed with the Registrar of Titles for TZS 10,000 (NEW-05-13).

What to do now

1. Name the receiver. List every office, bank and counterparty that will rely on the power and ask each for its form requirements in writing.
2. Choose the form. Use a specific power for each land dealing and a limited business power for the rest, each with an end date.
3. Pass the authority. For a company, adopt a board resolution and prepare a certified extract.
4. Execute correctly. Sign before a Tanzanian mission officer, or before a local notary followed by foreign ministry and mission legalisation.
5. Translate if needed. Attach a certified English or Kiswahili translation of the final text.
6. Stamp within 30 days. Pay TZS 2,000 per power to TRA within 30 days of signing in Tanzania or of first arrival.
7. Register in the right place. File land powers with the Registrar of Titles and register other powers with the Registrar of Documents, or with BPRA in Zanzibar.
8. Diary the end. Record the expiry date and file a revocation as soon as the job ends or the attorney changes.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Zatra prepares the authority chain and coordinates each step. Our corporate secretarial team drafts board resolutions and certified extracts, arranges stamping with TRA and lodges registrations. Our foreign investor setup service builds powers into the incorporation, banking and TISEZA files so nothing has to be signed twice.

Some work belongs with an advocate, and Zatra routes it to one. That covers drafting powers over land, conveyancing and registration of land instruments, notarisation, litigation, and any legal opinion a bank or registry will rely on. Zatra prepares the file and does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. Government charges are paid at the official rate and shown separately from Zatra's professional fee.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 17 October 2026. Fees are from the Zatra fee register at 26 September 2026, except the Cap. 117 fee, read from GN 486 of 2010; legal text is from the versions listed below.

• The Registration of Documents Act, Cap. 117 R.E. 2023: Government Printer for the Attorney General, issued 1 Jul 2025. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• The Registration of Documents Act, Cap. 117: Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, uploaded 21 Apr 2023. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Registration of Documents (Amendment) Rules, 2010, GN No. 486 of 2010: Gazette text, published 10 Dec 2010, TanzLII. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• The Land Registration Act, Cap. 334 R.E. 2023: Office of the Attorney General, revised edition 2023. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Abdul Rahim Jamal Mohamed v Watumishi Housing Company Limited, Civil Appeal No. 54 of 2021: Court of Appeal of Tanzania, ruling of 5 Mar 2024, TanzLII. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• The Stamp Duty Act, Cap. 189 R.E. 2019: Tax Revenue Appeals Board, 2019 edition. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Stamp duty: Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• The Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths Act, Cap. 12 R.E. 2023: National Prosecutions Service copy, uploaded 1 Jul 2025. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• The Companies Act, Cap. 212 R.E. 2023: BRELA copy of the revised edition 2023. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Apostille Convention status table: Hague Conference on Private International Law, latest entry dated 16 Mar 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Legalisation of documents: Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ankara, published 19 Nov 2020. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Document registration: Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency, 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• BPRA Acts: Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency, 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Power of attorney registration in Tanzania: Rive & Co, published 12 Dec 2024. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Legalisation requirements: Tanzania: Vanner Perez Notaries, London, last modified 10 Feb 2026. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.
• Assigning power of attorney: FB Attorneys, published 10 May 2021. Accessed 17 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• The Registrar of Documents fee of TZS 15,000 under GN 486 of 2010; the R.E. 2023 print of Cap. 117 still shows the older shilling schedule, so confirm the amount on the control number.
• The fee for registering a revocation under Cap. 117, which the registry assesses on filing.
• Zanzibar stamp duty and the BPRA registration fee for a power of attorney.
• Legalisation fees at the Tanzanian mission and the foreign ministry in the country of signature.
• Whether BRELA, TRA, TISEZA or the bank will accept an attorney's signature on the specific form in question.

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.