A Special Power of Attorney is signed by a principal in favour of another person (an agent) and will grant the agent the power to perform a special duty or task in favour of and on behalf of the principal. This duty or task must be specified. An example of a Special Power of Attorney would be where the seller authorizes a person to sell a specific property on his behalf. A General Power of Attorney is signed by a principal in favour of another person (an agent) and will grant the agent the power to perform a variety of duties or tasks in favour and on behalf of the principal. The General Power of Attorney must be registered in the Deeds Office since it may be usefully applied to a series of transactions. A general power of attorney will for example be granted to an agent, if the principal thereof has emigrated and needs someone to take care of their business in SA. It is preferable that any power of attorney be signed by the principal while they are resident in the RSA. If such a document is executed outside of the RSA, stringent authentication procedures must be followed in order for the power of attorney to be validly used in the RSA.
