Power of attorney Croatia: template 2026, free download

Power of attorney in Croatia: a punomoć is a written authorisation, governed by the Zakon o obveznim odnosima (čl. 313.–318.), by which you empower another person to act in your name and for your account. For ordinary everyday matters a plainly signed document is valid with no notary; anything outside ordinary management — above all selling real estate — needs a precisely worded special (posebna) punomoć with a notarised signature, and since NN 69/2026 a punomoć may also be issued electronically. Fill in the fields and download a ready-to-sign Croatian punomoć.

How to use this template

A Croatian punomoć takes effect once you name the parties, state the scope and sign it; for ordinary everyday acts no notary is required, but a punomoć used to sell or encumber real estate must carry a notarised signature under čl. 314. of the Zakon o obveznim odnosima. Choose the variant that matches your task, fill it in, then download, sign and hand it over.

Start by choosing the right variant. A general (opća) punomoć covers ordinary, everyday acts — collecting mail, dealing with the health-insurance fund (HZZO) or utilities, submitting applications. A special (posebna) punomoć is for a single, named act that goes beyond ordinary management, and here lies the costliest trap: a document titled „special" but worded vaguely — „all legal acts" — is treated as a general power and rejected by banks and land registries. Name the concrete act precisely. The real-estate variant adds the cadastral identifiers and a mandatory notarised signature; the revocation (opoziv) variant withdraws a punomoć you granted earlier.

Fill in the parties — your details and the agent's — using an OIB, or a passport/ID-card number if you have no OIB.
State the scope precisely and, for real estate, add the property's cadastral data (k.č.br., k.o., zk. uložak).
Download the letter in Word or copy it, then sign it by hand — the grantor's signature is required under čl. 314.
Where the act requires it — real estate, land-registry entries, some court steps — have a public notary (javni bilježnik) certify your signature; certification costs roughly €6 per signature under the notary tariff, an approximate figure that rises toward €50 or more for fuller notarial drafting.
Deliver the punomoć to the counterparty or authority. If you later revoke it, the revocation only binds a third party once they learn of it (čl. 317.), so notify everyone who relied on it.

A punomoć has no fixed expiry date. It lasts until its stated term, until you revoke it, until the authorised act is done, or until the grantor's death or the legal person's dissolution (čl. 318. st. 3.) — unless it is expressly stated to be valid for the case of death.

What a valid punomoć must contain

A valid Croatian punomoć must identify the grantor and the agent (čl. 313. st. 1.), state the scope of authority (čl. 315.), meet the form the underlying act requires (čl. 314.), and carry the grantor's signature plus the place and date — seven elements set by the Zakon o obveznim odnosima. Miss one and a bank or land registry can reject the document.

Every element below is load-bearing; the generator writes each one into the letter with its governing article, so you never have to remember the markers yourself.

Mandatory elements of a Croatian punomoć — Zakon o obveznim odnosima (consolidated text, 2026)
Element	Governing article (ZOO)	Source
Identification of the grantor (opunomoćitelj) — name, OIB or passport, address	čl. 313. st. 1.	zakon.hr
Identification of the agent (opunomoćenik) — name, OIB or passport, address	čl. 313. st. 1.	zakon.hr
Scope of authority — ordinary management vs. express special authorisation	čl. 315. st. 2.–3.	zakon.hr
Form matching the underlying act (electronic form allowed since 2026)	čl. 314. st. 1.–2.	NN 69/2026
Grantor's handwritten signature (notarised where the act requires it)	čl. 314.	mtoken.gov.hr
Place and date of issue	čl. 316.–318.	zakon.hr
Validity term and revocability	čl. 316. st. 1.–2., čl. 317. st. 1.	zakon.hr

Which variant you need — and whether a notary is involved — depends on the act. The four types, drawn from the consolidated Zakon o obveznim odnosima (2026), compare like this: an opća punomoć needs no notary, while a real-estate punomoć always does.

Punomoć variants — typical use, notarisation and legal basis (Croatia, ZOO 2026)
Variant	Typical use	Notarisation	Legal basis (ZOO)
Opća (general)	Ordinary everyday acts	Not required	čl. 313.–315. st. 2.
Posebna (special)	A named act outside ordinary management	Depends on the underlying act	čl. 315. st. 3.
Za nekretnine (real estate)	Sell/buy/gift/encumber property; land registry	Required (notarised signature)	čl. 314. + 315. st. 3.
Opoziv (revocation)	Withdraw a granted punomoć	Any form (notarise if advisable)	čl. 316.–317.

What changed for 2026

The 2026 amendment to the Zakon o obveznim odnosima (NN 69/2026) added čl. 314. st. 2., which for the first time allows a Croatian punomoć to be issued in electronic form; the change took effect in early July 2026.

Until 2026 a punomoć effectively lived on paper — printed, hand-signed, and, where the deal demanded it, physically stamped by a notary. The new electronic option matters most for English-speaking expats managing Croatian affairs from abroad, who previously had to post or courier a signed sheet across borders for even a routine authorisation. One caveat: the change opens electronic form as a possibility, but it does not lift the notarisation requirement for high-stakes acts. The paper-and-notary route stays mandatory for selling or encumbering real estate, where a notarised signature is still the load-bearing formality.

This article does not replace professional legal advice. For a power of attorney used in a high-stakes transaction — above all disposing of or encumbering real estate — have the document reviewed and the signature notarised by a Croatian public notary (javni bilježnik).

Frequently asked questions

Does a Croatian power of attorney (punomoć) have to be notarized?

No — not for ordinary everyday acts, where a plainly signed punomoć is valid. Notarial certification of the signature is required when the underlying act requires it: disposing of or encumbering real estate, land-registry entries, and certain court or official procedures. That is because čl. 314. of the Zakon o obveznim odnosima makes the form prescribed for the underlying act apply to the punomoć itself.

What is the difference between a general (opća) and a special (posebna) power of attorney?

A general (opća) punomoć authorises only acts of ordinary management — everyday administrative matters (čl. 315. st. 2.). Any act outside ordinary management, such as selling property, going to court or waiving a right, is valid only if the agent is expressly and specifically authorised for that named act (čl. 315. st. 3.). A „special" punomoć worded vaguely is treated as a general one and rejected.

Can I revoke a power of attorney in Croatia after I have signed it?

Yes. The grantor may revoke or narrow a punomoć at any time, and any contractual promise to waive that right is void (čl. 316. st. 1.). A revocation may be given in any form (čl. 316. st. 2.), but it has no effect against a third party who neither knew nor had to know of it (čl. 317. st. 1.) — so deliver it to the agent and to anyone who relied on the authority.

What must a valid punomoć contain?

It must identify the grantor and the agent (name, OIB or passport number, address), state the scope of authority, meet the form the underlying act requires, and carry the grantor's signature together with the place and date of issue. These elements flow from čl. 313.–318. of the Zakon o obveznim odnosima; the generator writes each one into the letter.

Does a power of attorney for selling property in Croatia need to be certified?

Yes. A punomoć used to sell, buy, gift or encumber real estate must be in written form with a notarised (ovjeren) signature, and it should carry the property's cadastral identifiers — kat. čestica, katastarska općina and zk. uložak. A general punomoć used for such a disposition will be rejected by the land registry and the bank (čl. 314. and čl. 315. st. 3.).

Can a punomoć be issued electronically in Croatia?

Yes, since NN 69/2026. The 2026 amendment added čl. 314. st. 2. to the Zakon o obveznim odnosima, permitting a punomoć to be issued in electronic form; it took effect in early July 2026. The electronic option does not remove the notarisation requirement for real-estate and other acts for which the law prescribes a certified form.

How does a foreigner without an OIB identify themselves on a Croatian power of attorney?

On the official government model punomoć form, a foreign national who has no Croatian OIB identifies themselves by their ID-card or passport number in place of the OIB. The name and address fields are filled the same way as for a resident, so an expat can complete a valid punomoć before ever obtaining an OIB.

Fact-checked against Croatian consolidated law · facts verified on 04/08/2026 · TrendBite EN Legal-QC