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Lebanese power of attorney in Canada: in person or by post
- What it is
- Giving someone in Lebanon the power to act for you (sale, inheritance, bank, civil status) through a deed signed at the Lebanese embassy or the Montreal consulate, or before a notary in Canada and then legalised by the embassy.
- What it costs
- CAD 70 (special power of attorney) or CAD 135 (general power of attorney) per principal, embassy fee schedule in force since 01.03.2026, recorded on 23.10.2026.
- How long
- In person: signed at the appointment. By post: provincial authentication takes up to 25 working days; the embassy's processing time is not published.
The steps
- before anything else
Ask the body in Lebanon for the wording
Bank, land registry, lawyer: some require their own template.
- 1 day
Choose the route
In person (Ottawa, Montreal for Quebec, honorary consulates) or by post after a notary.
- a few days
In person: request an appointment
Embassy form and copies of the Lebanese ID of the principal and the attorney, by email. In Montreal, book by phone.
- 1 appointment
In person: sign
Lebanese ID, two witnesses if required, medical certificate from age 70, cash payment at the embassy.
- 1 appointment
By post: sign before a notary
Full identity of the principal, the attorney and two witnesses.
- a few days to 25 working days
By post: have the notary's signature authenticated
Quebec: Chambre des notaires (and apostille if the embassy requires it); Ontario: Official Documents Services; other provinces: provincial authority or Global Affairs Canada.
- time not published
By post: send to the embassy
Money order, return Xpresspost envelope, photocopy of your Lebanese ID and one copy of each document.
- a few days
Send the original to your attorney
By tracked post; ask the body in Lebanon whether it requires authentication in Beirut.
What it really costs
| Special power of attorney (per principal) | CAD 70 |
| General power of attorney (per principal) | CAD 135 |
| Cancellation of a power of attorney (per principal) | CAD 105 |
| Undertaking, guarantee, affidavit | CAD 170 |
| Global Affairs Canada authentication (provinces without their own authority) | free |
| Ontario authentication (notarised document) | $16 |
| Quebec apostille, if required | $66.50 |
| Notary's fee, Chambre des notaires authentication, Xpresspost | variable |
| Observed total | CAD 70 (special power of attorney signed in person) |
Amounts recorded on 23.10.2026.
What most often gets stuck
- Notarised power of attorney sent without provincial authentication, or authenticated by the wrong authority.
- The list of authorities on the embassy's page predates 2024: confirm the authority for your province.
- The two witnesses' identity missing from a power of attorney sent by post.
- Cash sent by post: only money orders are accepted.
- No return Xpresspost envelope or extra photocopy.
- Aged 70 and over: medical certificate required.
- Property power of attorney without a copy of the title deed or a recent land registry statement.
- Wording rejected by the bank, which imposes its own template.
A Lebanese power of attorney in Canada is made at the Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa or the Consulate General in Montreal, in person, or by post after signing before a notary and having the signature authenticated by the province: CAD 70 for a special power of attorney, CAD 135 for a general one, per principal. In person, you sign by appointment, with a Lebanese identity document. By post, allow several weeks: the embassy does not publish its processing time, and the provincial step takes from a few days to 25 working days depending on the province.
These fees have applied since 1 March 2026 at the embassy, the Consulate General in Montreal and the honorary consulates (Calgary, Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver), according to the fee schedule published by the embassy.
The two routes at a glance
- In person (the simplest): at the embassy in Ottawa, the Consulate General in Montreal (which covers Quebec) or an honorary consulate. Lebanese ID, two witnesses for some powers of attorney, cash payment at the embassy.
- By post: power of attorney signed before a notary in Canada, with two witnesses, then authentication of the notary’s signature by your province’s authority (or by Global Affairs Canada), then legalisation by the embassy. Payment by money order, return in an Xpresspost envelope.
General or special power of attorney?
The embassy charges two rates: a special power of attorney (CAD 70) and a general power of attorney (CAD 135), per principal, that is, per person granting the power. A special power of attorney covers a specific act (selling a named property, managing a given account); a general one grants wider powers. The embassy publishes no definition: the body that will receive the document in Lebanon (bank, land registry, lawyer, notary) decides what it accepts.
Before you sign anything, ask that body for the exact wording it expects. Banks often have their own template. We do not provide a template: the only official document published by the embassy is its power of attorney request form (in Arabic).
In person: Ottawa, Montreal or an honorary consulate
At the embassy, you first send the request form by email, to the power of attorney desk address shown on the form, with a copy of the Lebanese ID of both the principal and the attorney, to get an appointment. On the day, bring:
- a Lebanese identity document: identity card (“tazkara”), civil status extract (“ikhraj kayd”) or passport;
- two witnesses, for the powers of attorney that require them: property, general power of attorney, marriage and divorce;
- a medical report or certificate if you are 70 or over: the embassy requires the signatory’s mental capacity to be established;
- for a property power of attorney: a copy of the title deed or a recent land registry statement (the original deed for an irrevocable property power of attorney), according to the form;
- the fee in cash: CAD 70 (special) or CAD 135 (general) per principal.
In Quebec, the Consulate General of Lebanon in Montreal (40 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, (514) 276-2638) covers the province, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 2 pm, by appointment made by phone, according to the embassy’s page; the Quebec government directory gives the same address. Its website could not be reached on 23.10.2026, so we could not read its own instructions on powers of attorney. The embassy only says that Montreal and the honorary consulates “handle power of attorney matters”.
Witnesses: the embassy does not say whether they must be Lebanese or which document they must show. Ask when you book, and bring witnesses with identification.
By post: notary, provincial authentication, then the embassy
Lebanon is not a party to the Apostille Convention (status as of 30.06.2026). Canada has applied it since 11 January 2024, but that changes nothing for Lebanon: a Canadian document for use in a non-member country must be authenticated in Canada, then legalised by that country’s embassy, as Global Affairs Canada points out. The three steps:
- 1. The notary. The power of attorney must give the full identity of the principal, the attorney (“wakil”) and two witnesses, and be signed before a notary public. Attach a photocopy of your Lebanese ID.
- 2. Authentication of the notary’s signature by the authority of the province where the notary practises (see below).
- 3. Legalisation by the embassy: send everything with a money order payable to the Embassy of Lebanon (CAD 70 or CAD 135 per principal; never cash by post), a stamped self-addressed Xpresspost envelope with your phone number, and one extra photocopy of each original document.
Who authenticates, by province (Global Affairs Canada list, page modified on 26.08.2026):
- Quebec: the notary’s signature is first authenticated by the Chambre des notaires du Québec, the authority the embassy cites (“Secretary to the Chamber of Notaries”). The Quebec Ministère de la Justice then issues an apostille, including for countries that are not party to the convention, in which case “additional legalisation may be required”: $66.50 per document, applied for by post in Montreal. The embassy’s “Power of Attorney” page cites only the Chambre des notaires; its “Legalization” page requires, for other documents, authentication by the competent provincial authority (apostille). Ask the embassy whether the Quebec apostille is also required. Note: in Quebec, a commissioner for oaths cannot handle a document intended for an apostille.
- Ontario: Official Documents Services issues a “certificate of authentication” for non-member countries: $16 per notarised document, within 15 business days of receipt. The embassy’s page still uses the former name (“Management Board of Cabinet”). It adds that residents of Ottawa and the surrounding area can have documents certified at Global Affairs Canada; yet, according to Global Affairs Canada, a document notarised in Ontario goes to the Ontario authority. Check before sending.
- Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan: the province’s competent authority.
- Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut: Global Affairs Canada, free of charge. The processing time shown on 23.10.2026 was 25 working days, plus 5 to 10 working days for postage.
The list on the embassy’s “Power of Attorney” page (Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, Department of Justice depending on the province) predates Canada’s accession to the Apostille Convention and no longer matches the Global Affairs Canada list. Before posting your file, ask the embassy which authentication it accepts for your province.
What it costs
- special power of attorney, in person or legalisation by post: CAD 70 per principal;
- general power of attorney: CAD 135 per principal;
- cancellation of a power of attorney: CAD 105 per principal;
- undertaking, guarantee, affidavit: CAD 170;
- by post, on top: the notary’s fee (set by each notary), provincial authentication (free at Global Affairs Canada, $16 in Ontario, the Chambre des notaires fee and possibly a $66.50 apostille in Quebec) and Xpresspost.
Embassy fees in Canadian dollars, in force since 1 March 2026, recorded on 23.10.2026.
Cancelling a power of attorney
Cancellation costs CAD 105 per principal. In person: a Lebanese identity document, a photocopy of the power of attorney to be cancelled, and the full address and phone number in Lebanon of the person who was given the power. By post: the cancellation deed is drawn up by a notary, with your full identification and the same documents, then authenticated by the province like a power of attorney, and sent with a money order and an Xpresspost envelope.
Next, in Lebanon
Once signed or legalised, send the original to your attorney by tracked post. Before they use it, ask the receiving body whether it requires further authentication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut: the ministry’s page on authentications could not be reached on 23.10.2026 and we could not read its conditions.
What most often gets stuck
- A notarised power of attorney sent without provincial authentication, or authenticated by the wrong authority.
- The two witnesses’ identity missing from a power of attorney sent by post.
- Cash slipped into the envelope: by post, the embassy accepts money orders only.
- No return Xpresspost envelope, or no extra photocopy of the documents.
- A signatory aged 70 or over without a medical certificate.
- Wording rejected in Lebanon because the bank or authority wanted its own template.
Sources
- Embassy of Lebanon in Canada, “Power of Attorney”, undated page, consulted on 23 October 2026.
- Embassy of Lebanon in Canada, consular fee schedule (embassy, Consulate General in Montreal and honorary consulates), applicable from 1 March 2026, document dated 27 February 2026.
- Embassy of Lebanon in Canada, power of attorney request form (in Arabic), document dated 26 May 2024.
- Embassy of Lebanon in Canada, “Legalization”, undated page, consulted on 23 October 2026.
- Embassy of Lebanon in Canada, “Consulates of Lebanon in Canada”, undated page, consulted on 23 October 2026.
- Government of Quebec, Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie, “Représentations étrangères : Liban”, updated 22 October 2026.
- Global Affairs Canada, “Document authentication: Requirements”, modified 26 August 2026.
- Global Affairs Canada, “Document authentication” (processing time), modified 26 August 2026, processing time read on 23 October 2026.
- Government of Quebec, “About apostille”, updated 24 November 2025.
- Government of Quebec, “Applying for an apostille”, updated 22 October 2026.
- Government of Ontario, “Authenticate a document for use outside Canada”, updated 8 June 2026.
- Hague Conference, Apostille Convention status table (Lebanon not listed), updated 30 June 2026.
- Consulate General of Lebanon in Montreal, official website, unreachable on 23 October 2026.
Checked on 23.10.2026.