Power of attorney for a car purchase: when do you need one and what has to be in it?

When a power of attorney is needed for a car purchase — and when it is not enough

A power of attorney (Vollmacht) is needed wherever the person standing in front of the car is not the person the deal legally binds. On the buyer's side the most common reason is distance: the right vehicle is several hundred kilometres away, you are tied up at work, and someone you know locally is to view it, buy it and drive it home. On the seller's side it is usually an inability to attend — illness, a care home, a longer stay abroad — or simply that a family member takes over the viewing appointments. Registration is a case of its own: anyone who cannot register, re-register or deregister a vehicle in person sends another person or a commercial registration service (Zulassungsdienst).

Not every third party acts as a representative in this sense. If the seller has already signed the sales contract themselves and a third party merely delivers it, hands over the car and the keys and leaves again, that person is not making a declaration of intent of their own — they are passing on someone else's. That is the role of a messenger, and formally it needs no power of attorney. The line is crossed wherever something is negotiated or changed: anyone who renegotiates the price, adds a side agreement or makes a promise about the vehicle's condition is deciding for themselves and needs authority to represent. So at the very least, have the messenger confirm in writing on whose behalf they are there.

A widespread misconception is that within a family this sorts itself out. Marriage does not create authority to act in vehicle matters: one spouse may not simply sell a car registered to the other, and adult children may not dispose of their parents' car just because they drive it day to day. If the principal dies, a power of attorney already granted does not automatically lapse — whether it continues depends on the underlying relationship, and the heirs can revoke it. In practice, for a vehicle sale after a death, buyers and the Zulassungsstelle (vehicle registration office) will want to see who the heirs are anyway, for example via a certificate of inheritance (Erbschein).

The most important point is the one most often overlooked: a power of attorney can never transfer more than the principal is entitled to do themselves. If the vehicle still runs on finance with a security transfer of title (Sicherungsübereignung), on a leasing contract, or is subject to retention of title, the registered keeper is not the owner — and then even a formally flawless power of attorney does not help, because it passes on an entitlement that does not exist in that form. In these constellations you need a release from the bank or leasing company, as a rule together with a settlement confirmation (Ablösebestätigung). Keeper and owner also come apart with company cars that are registered to an employee.

What goes into a power of attorney for a car purchase

A power of attorney has to answer three questions beyond doubt: who allows whom to do what exactly — and for which vehicle. If one of them is left open, the document will in case of doubt not be accepted, neither by a cautious buyer nor by the Zulassungsstelle.

The value of the document is decided by its scope, and that is exactly where template forms are weakest. Write the permitted actions as a list in the first person of the principal, for example: “I authorise Ms/Mr … to conclude and sign the sales contract for the vehicle designated above in my name, to hand over the vehicle together with Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II (registration certificate parts I and II), all keys and the accessories, and to give a receipt for the handover.” Whatever is meant to be excluded belongs in the text as a sentence of its own and not in the silence of the document — an express exclusion is proof against interpretation, a gap gets interpreted in a dispute.

Two additions are missing from almost every template. The first is the sub-authority: the sentence stating whether the representative may pass the task on to a third person is often necessary with a commercial registration service and usually unwanted in a private sale — in both cases it should be settled. The second is an end date, and as a calendar day: “valid up to and including 14 March” is unambiguous, “until the end of the month” or “until revoked” is not. It also makes sense to have a second, likewise signed copy that the principal keeps — so that it stays traceable later what they actually allowed.

Buying, selling and registration mandates: what each of them has to cover

The three common types of power of attorney do not differ in structure but in what they have to cover in substance. Anyone who presents a selling mandate at the counter of the Zulassungsstelle is holding a document that says nothing about the procedure taking place there.

The buying mandate (Kaufvollmacht) authorises someone to acquire a vehicle in the buyer's name. Here the car is often not yet finally settled because a viewing still has to happen — even so, the power of attorney should stay as narrow as possible: name the vehicle and the seller from the listing, plus an upper price limit. What has to be covered expressly is the signing of the sales contract, taking receipt of the vehicle together with its papers, and payment of the purchase price. If you give your representative cash to take along, the amount does not belong in the power of attorney — that has external effect and is none of the seller's business — but in a receipt between the two of you.

The selling mandate (Verkaufsvollmacht) disposes of an asset and is therefore the more delicate variant. It has to identify the vehicle unambiguously by VIN, permit the sale and the transfer of ownership, cover the handing over of Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II, and settle separately whether the representative may accept the purchase price. This authority to receive money (Geldempfangsvollmacht) decides whether a payment discharges the debt: if the buyer pays someone who is not entitled to receive it, the owner can in principle demand the amount a second time. Either the authority to receive is stated expressly in the text — or the money goes to an account held in the principal's name.

The registration mandate (Zulassungsvollmacht) does not concern a purchase but a trip to the authorities: registration, re-registration, change of keeper, change of address or deregistration. It should name the specific procedure, because a power of attorney “for registration” is no use for a deregistration. One thing it cannot replace: the SEPA direct debit mandate for vehicle tax (Kfz-Steuer) has to be signed by the account holder in person.

Which documents the other side and the Zulassungsstelle ask for

When buying from an authorised private individual, the package consists of four parts: the power of attorney in the original, a copy of the principal's Personalausweis, the representative's ID for comparison, and the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II. Without the ID copy, the signature on the power of attorney cannot be compared and there is nothing to cross-check the principal's details against. The Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II identifies the keeper and is not proof of ownership — but a name entered there that neither matches the principal nor is explained by a traceable chain is a reason to break off the appointment.

With a company vehicle, the signature of just any employee is not enough. For registered companies, a current commercial register extract (Handelsregisterauszug) shows who is authorised to represent them; for sole traders without a register entry or for a GbR (civil-law partnership) you need other proof of the authority to represent, for example a power of attorney from the proprietor or from all partners. If a dealer sells “im Kundenauftrag” (on behalf of a customer), they are acting as an intermediary for a private owner — before you sign, have them show you who becomes your contractual partner under the contract, because the statutory warranty position depends on it too.

At the Zulassungsstelle there is a basic list that stays the same for every procedure: the power of attorney in the original, a copy of the keeper's ID and the ID of the person appearing. Everything else depends on the procedure. For registration, re-registration or a change of keeper, add Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II, valid proof of the Hauptuntersuchung (the German periodic roadworthiness test), the electronic insurance confirmation (eVB) and the SEPA mandate signed by the account holder. For a deregistration, by contrast, Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and the number plates are enough — eVB, HU certificate and SEPA mandate are not needed for that.

The details differ from one Zulassungsstelle to the next: some authorities accept informal powers of attorney, others insist on their own form, others again require additional proof for a change of keeper. A phone call or a look at the website of the office responsible saves an entire second appointment — especially because many registration offices now work by appointment only, and one missing sheet of paper pushes the whole thing back by weeks.

Why the power of attorney should be in writing — and how you get it out of the world again

A power of attorney is in principle subject to no formal requirement. Under Section 167(2) BGB (German Civil Code) it does not have to take the form that applies to the transaction itself; in theory verbal consent is enough. In practice that is worthless, because neither a sensible buyer nor an authority will rely on a mere assertion, and in a dispute it is one person's word against another's. For a car purchase that means, without exception: in writing, dated, with an original handwritten signature. The text itself may be typed, the signature may not.

Certification is regularly not required for a private vehicle purchase. With a signature certification (Unterschriftsbeglaubigung), a notary — for documents to be submitted to authorities, depending on state law also the municipal or city administration — confirms that the signature comes from the person named; the content of the power of attorney is not examined in the process. It makes sense in four constellations: with very high purchase prices, when buyer and principal do not know each other, when an authority or a foreign office expressly asks for it, and when the principal lives abroad and signs at a German diplomatic mission. The fee for a pure signature certification is based on the transaction value and is capped both at the bottom and at the top in the schedule of costs to the GNotKG, so that it stays a two-digit figure even for expensive vehicles; the notary's office will tell you the exact amount in advance.

Revocation is possible at any time, but only takes effect if it actually arrives. The principal has to tell the representative that the power of attorney is ending — and demand the document back: Section 175 BGB obliges the representative to return it once it has lapsed. As long as the original is in circulation, a third party to whom it is presented may rely on the power of attorney under Section 172 BGB; if the document can no longer be obtained, the only route left is a declaration of invalidity by public notice under Section 176 BGB. So: put a time limit on it from the outset and have the sheet handed back once the job is done, instead of relying on a verbal arrangement.

A special case is the Vorsorgevollmacht (a lasting power of attorney for future incapacity). It is not a vehicle power of attorney, but it can cover a vehicle sale if it is drafted broadly enough. Registration offices and cautious buyers as a rule accept it only in the original and check carefully whether the wording includes asset transactions. Anyone who can foresee that a car will have to be sold is better off issuing a separate power of attorney relating to that vehicle alongside it.

How to check as a buyer whether the person opposite you really may dispose of the car

If someone concludes a contract without authority to represent, that contract is initially in abeyance: it only becomes effective once the represented person approves it (Section 177 BGB). If they do not approve, the representative without authority is liable for performance or damages (Section 179 BGB). That is of little use to you, though, if that person cannot be found or is insolvent — the hassle lands with you in any case.

The ownership question is a separate matter. If the vehicle is stolen, acquisition in good faith is ruled out under Section 935 BGB: you will not become the owner of items lost to their owner even if you checked carefully and paid in full. Your diligence becomes practically relevant in the other group — with an embezzled leasing or finance vehicle and with consignment stock, where acquisition depends on good faith. There, anyone who has not even had the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II shown to them loses that protection; that counts as gross negligence.

The check itself is quickly done. Ask for the power of attorney in the original, not as a phone photo: a file says nothing about whether the document is still valid. Then compare three pairs — the principal's name against the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II, the ID details in the power of attorney against the ID of the person in front of you, and the VIN in the power of attorney against the number stamped into the vehicle. The single most effective step after that is a short call back to the principal, but on a number you have found out yourself: it clarifies whether the power of attorney is genuine, whether it is still valid and whether the price was agreed as stated. Warning signs are a power of attorney without a date, a missing ID copy, a principal who cannot be reached by phone, and pressure towards a quick cash payment.

The principal carries a risk too. Anyone who issues an unlimited power of attorney has to accept a sale below value: if the representative breaches a minimum price that was agreed only verbally and does not appear in the text of the power of attorney, the contract is still valid externally, and all that remains is compensation in the internal relationship. Minimum price, time limit and the question of receiving money therefore belong in the document itself.

This text is general information for orientation and does not replace legal advice in an individual case.

The power of attorney settles the authority — not the condition of the car

A checked power of attorney answers exactly one question: whether the person in front of you is allowed to sell the vehicle. It says nothing about rust on the underbody, a resprayed accident repair, faults in a control unit or an implausible mileage. The two questions run independently of each other, and having cleanly settled the one does not help you one bit with the other.

When buying through an authorised representative there is the added point that the person you are talking to usually does not know the car from their own use of it. The son offering his mother's car does not know which repairs were carried out over the past few years. The employee handing over a retired company vehicle can say nothing about how the previous users drove, and a dealer acting on behalf of a customer has often only given the vehicle a superficial look. “I'd have to ask about that” is the normal case in this constellation and not a warning signal — but it does mean that you cannot settle the condition question by asking, only through an inspection of your own.

That is exactly what checkdenwagen comes for, anywhere in Germany, straight to the seller, to wherever the car is standing. The inspector works through over 100 points — bodywork and paint thickness, underbody, engine and gearbox, electronics and fault memory, tyres and brakes as well as the vehicle documents — and is approx. 1.5 hours on-site for it. You get the report within 24 hours. You do not have to be there for the appointment yourself, which suits precisely those cases where the vehicle is far away and you were going to send someone with a power of attorney anyway. The Standard Check costs from EUR 289 incl. VAT and travel, the Premium Check with a market value assessment from EUR 339 incl. VAT and travel.