How to Send a Power of Attorney to Ethiopia
· 6 min read
A power of attorney written abroad does not work in Ethiopia on its own. It needs a stamp, and a record, before any office in Ethiopia will act on it. This guide walks the route your paper takes, and names each fee an office publishes. Where an office publishes none, it says so.
One thing first, because it shapes the rest. We do not write your power of attorney. We do not tell you what it should say. That is a question for an advocate you hire directly. We handle the paper once it exists.
What the law calls this
One law covers this: Proclamation No. 922/2015. It names the power of attorney, and the cancelling of one, as papers that must be stamped and recorded.
The law splits the job in two. Authentication is a signature and a seal. Registration is a number, plus a copy left with the office. You need both.
Who can do it? The law names the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus Ethiopian embassies and consular offices. Inside the country the job sits with the Federal Documents Authentication and Registration Agency (DARS). It was set up under Regulation No. 379/2016 and its head office is in Addis Ababa.
There is no Ethiopian apostille
Has a lawyer or a notary told you to get an apostille? They have the wrong country.
Ethiopia has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention. It is not in the list of member states. The short apostille route does not exist here. You use the older, longer chain.
Route 1: the online route
The embassy in Washington says that since 2 April 2026 it no longer handles power of attorney work in person. That work now runs through the Digital MoFA system online.
The system has six steps, and you fill in each one yourself. Pick your country. Enter who is granting the power. Enter who will act, and what they may do. Set the start and end dates, then sign. Upload your papers. Receive the certificate. It states a turnaround of 24 to 48 hours.
For ID it takes a passport, a driver licence, a resident permit card, a state ID, an Ethiopian Origin ID or a military ID. Holders of an Ethiopian passport or an Ethiopian Origin ID use that. Everyone else is asked for two residence IDs.
The certificate is then collected from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Addis Ababa.
Route 2: the mail route
The embassy's power of attorney page still sets out a mail route. Know it, in case you are told to use it.
Your paper is stamped first by the state secretary office where you live. Then by the U.S. Department of State. Only then does it go to the embassy. You send a filled form, your ID, and a self addressed return envelope with a tracking number.
The fee is USD 62 per document if you hold an Ethiopian passport or an Ethiopian Origin ID, and USD 95 per document if you do not. Payment is by money order made out to the embassy. No cash, no card, no personal cheque.
These two official pages disagree
They do. The embassy's authentication page says this work moved online on 2 April 2026. Its power of attorney page still sets out the money order and the return envelope.
We will not guess which one applies on the day you file. Ask the embassy that serves you which route is live. Do that before you pay for anything or post a document.
| What | Amount | Processing time | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POA, holder of Ethiopian passport or Origin ID | USD 62 per document | Not published | ethiopianembassy.org | 20 September 2026 |
| POA, no Ethiopian passport or Origin ID | USD 95 per document | Not published | ethiopianembassy.org | 20 September 2026 |
| Online route | Not published | 24 to 48 hours | digitalmofa.com | 20 September 2026 |
You pay the fees in this table yourself, to the embassy or through the online system. They never pass through us. A registration fee in Ethiopia is different: when we register your document, we pay that fee to the office and pass it on at cost, with the receipt.
Registering it in Ethiopia
The law asks for registration as well as the stamp: a number, plus a copy left with the office. It names embassies among the offices that can do this, so ask before you pay twice.
Ask the office in Ethiopia that will act on your paper whether it also needs registering with DARS. If it does, this is the step we sell. Our POA representation page shows what we do under a registered power of attorney, and our prices show what each task costs.
POA intake + DARS registration + first action: USD 119.
Our timeline (5 business days from POA receipt) covers our own steps only: from the day your documents reach us to the day we lodge your stamped power of attorney with DARS for registration. The office's own processing time is not published and is not part of it.
Proof on closing: scanned official receipt, scan of the stamped document, geotagged pickup photo.
That fee is ours alone. Official government fees are separate, and are passed on at cost with the receipt. We add nothing to them.
"Service fee refunded if SLA missed for causes within Agar's control."
What we do not do
We do not draft powers of attorney. We do not give legal advice. What your paper should say, how wide or narrow the powers should be, and whether it covers your job, are all legal questions. Ask an advocate you hire directly.
We act as an authorised agent under a power of attorney. We are not your lawyer. We do not appear before any court. We do not represent you in a dispute.
We do not collect money owed to you, hold it, or pass it on to anyone, even if your power of attorney allows it.
Sources
- Authentication and Registration of Documents Proclamation No. 922/2015. Power of attorney and its revocation among documents that must be authenticated and registered, and what authentication and registration each mean. Checked 20 September 2026.
- Federal Authentication and Registration of Documents Agency Establishment, Regulation No. 379/2016. The agency, its establishment and its head office. Checked 20 September 2026.
- Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington DC, Power of Attorney. The USD 62 and USD 95 fees, money order only, the state secretary and Department of State chain, and the return envelope. Checked 20 September 2026.
- Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington DC, Authentication and Legalization. From 2 April 2026, power of attorney and document authentication are no longer handled in person at the embassy, only through Digital MoFA. Checked 21 September 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Digital MoFA, Power of Attorney. The six online steps, the 24 to 48 hour turnaround, accepted identification, and collection in Addis Ababa. Checked 20 September 2026.
- HCCH, Status table, Convention of 5 October 1961 (Apostille). Ethiopia does not appear among the contracting parties. Checked 20 September 2026.
Note: the embassy's two pages describe different routes, and no office publishes a processing time for the mail one. Ask before you file.
Questions people ask
How do I send a power of attorney to Ethiopia from the US?
Your document needs a stamp and a record. There are two routes. The embassy in Washington says that since 2 April 2026 this work runs through the Digital MoFA online system, which states a 24 to 48 hour turnaround. Its power of attorney page still describes a mail route through the state secretary office, then the U.S. Department of State, then the embassy. Ask which one is live before you pay or post anything.
Does Ethiopia accept an apostille?
No. Ethiopia has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention and is not in the list of member states. If a notary abroad offers you an apostille for Ethiopia, the shorter route they have in mind does not exist. You use the longer chain instead.
How much does an Ethiopian power of attorney cost?
The embassy in Washington publishes USD 62 per document if you hold an Ethiopian passport or an Ethiopian Origin ID, and USD 95 per document if you do not, by money order only. The online system publishes no fee. Both checked 20 September 2026. You pay those fees to the embassy directly, and they never pass through us. If we register the document in Ethiopia, the registration fee there is separate from our service fee and is passed on at cost, with the receipt.
Can Agar write my power of attorney?
No. We do not draft powers of attorney and we do not give legal advice. What the document says, how wide the powers are, and whether it covers your job are legal questions for an advocate you hire directly. We act under the document once it exists, as an authorised agent.
Does my power of attorney have to be registered in Ethiopia?
Proclamation 922/2015 names the power of attorney, and the cancelling of one, among the papers that must be authenticated and registered. Registration is a number, plus a copy left with the office. The law names embassies among the offices that can do this, so ask the office in Ethiopia that will act on your paper whether it also needs registering with DARS.
How long does the whole thing take?
The online system states 24 to 48 hours for its own step. No office publishes a processing time for the mail route, so we will not print one. Our own timeline covers only our steps in Ethiopia, and it starts when your document reaches us.
Ready to register your power of attorney?
Once your document is stamped, we register it with DARS, then carry out one task from our published price list under it, and send you the receipts. We never write the document.
See what it costs