What if I don’t want to send an original Power of Attorney document in the post?
If you can’t or do not want to send us the original document in the post, you can do one of the following:
1. Present the original document to a Skipton branch
Copies of the original document will be made in branch and your original document will be handed back to you.
2. Send us a certified copy of the Power of Attorney document, ensuring it meets the following requirements:
At Skipton, we can only accept certified copies from the following professional bodies:
For England and Wales:
- Solicitor
- Notary Public
- Chartered Legal Executive
- Stockbroker
- The Donor of the Power of Attorney if they have the mental capacity to do so (please note a Donor cannot certify General Power of Attorney or an Ordinary Power of Attorney).
For Scotland:
- Solicitor
- Notary Public (please note a Donor cannot certify a Scottish Power of Attorney).
Using a certified Power of Attorney
If you are using a certified Power of Attorney, the certification requirements depends on the type of Power of Attorney document. Please see below full list of requirements.
Donor certified (can only be used where Donor is still mentally capable at time of registration with us)
- They must write on the bottom of every page "I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original Power of Attorney." and they must sign and date it including confirming they are the Donor.
- On the last page they must write "I certify this is a true and complete copy of the original Power of Attorney."
- Every page must be signed and dated.
Please note, a Donor cannot certify a General Power of Attorney (GPA), Original Power of Attorney (OPA) or a Scottish Power of Attorney.
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
- All the pages of the LPA will need to be signed and dated as a certified copy with the words "I certify this to be a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original."
- The last page of the LPA should be certified with the words "I certify this to be a true and complete copy of the original." This page will need to include their full name, signature, profession, name and address of the firm and the date.
Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)
- All of the pages of the POA will need to be signed and dated as a certified copy with the words "I certify this to be a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original."
- The last page of the EPA should be certified with the words "I certify this is a true and complete copy of the original." This page will need to include their full name, signature, profession, the name and address of the firm that the solicitor/professional works for and the date.
General Power of Attorney/Ordinary Power of Attorney (GPA/OPA)
A GPA or an OPA is not a document that will need to be submitted to the OPG and therefore if it is to be certified as a true copy of the original it should be certified to say "I certify this to be a true copy of the original" and the certifier should include their name, signature, profession, the name and address of the firm and the date (please note a Donor cannot certify a GPA or OPA document).
Scottish Power of Attorney
The certification requirements differ depending on how the document has been received back, either through the online system or by post.
Returned by EPOAR online system:
The POA must include specific wording to confirm that it is a true copy of the original.
- The certification should be on every page "I certify this to be a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original instrument" and the solicitor must include their signature and date it.
- The last page should also be certified "I certify the foregoing reproduction to be a true and complete copy of the original instrument" and contain their full name and signature, their profession, the date and their business address.
Returned by postal system:
Where a solicitor will not certify the document as being a true copy of the original as it is technically not a true copy of the original but it is a true copy of what was provided to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) which is no longer an original, then we could accept either certification from them that the document is a true and complete copy of what they have received from the OPG as opposed to it being a true and complete copy of the original or confirmation from the solicitor that the document is a copy of what they have received from the OPG.
