How to Legalize a Power of Attorney for the Jordanian Embassy

To legalize a power of attorney for the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., you sign the document before a U.S. notary, send it to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, and then mail it to the embassy for consular legalization. Jordan is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a single apostille will not work; the embassy will not accept a notarized document until the State Department has certified the notary’s commission.¹ A second path exists: sign the POA in front of a Jordanian consul, and the State Department step drops out.

Draft the Document Before You Notarize Anything

Jordanian practice recognizes two types of POA. A general power of attorney gives your agent broad authority to act on your behalf. A special or limited POA restricts the agent to a specific task, such as selling a piece of property or operating a bank account. If you are drafting a limited POA, write out exactly what the agent can and cannot do, because vague wording is the fastest route to rejection when the document is registered in Jordan.

Include the full legal names, current addresses, and national identification numbers of both the principal and the agent. If either party holds a Jordanian National ID, include that number. The text must state explicitly that the agent has the right to act on the principal’s behalf for the purpose described.²

Arabic is the official language of legal proceedings in Jordan. You can draft in English, but a certified Arabic translation will be required once the document reaches Jordan, and that translation itself has to be notarized by a Jordanian notary public. Drafting in Arabic from the start, or having a Jordanian consular officer prepare the Arabic text, avoids the later translation step and its cost.

Step 1: Notarize the POA With a U.S. Notary

Sign the POA in front of a U.S. notary public. Notary fees typically run $10 to $15 per signature depending on the state. The notary confirms your identity and witnesses your signature. Keep the notarized original; it moves through every remaining step.

Step 2: Get U.S. Department of State Authentication

Because Jordan does not accept apostilles, the State Department’s Office of Authentications has to certify the notary’s commission before the embassy will legalize the document.³ Complete Form DS-4194 and submit it with the notarized POA and a $20 fee per document. You can mail the request or drop it off in Washington, D.C.⁴

Timing depends on how you submit:

By mail: about five weeks from the date received. Send to the Office of Authentications, P.O. Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206, with a self-addressed prepaid return envelope. Pay by check or money order to the U.S. Department of State.
Walk-in drop-off: seven business days. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., at 600 19th Street NW, Washington, D.C. Limit of 15 documents per person per day. Pay by credit card, debit card, or contactless payment.
Emergency appointment: same-day processing, available only when an immediate family member abroad has died or faces a life-threatening situation.

Step 3: Send the Document to the Jordanian Embassy

Once the State Department returns the authenticated POA, the embassy handles legalization primarily by mail rather than by appointment. The legalization office can be reached in person or by phone between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., but document submissions go through the mail.³

Your package must include:

The original POA bearing both the U.S. notary’s seal and the State Department’s authentication certificate.
A duplicate copy of each document for the embassy’s files.
The consular fee of $47.25 per document, paid by money order or cashier’s check only, made payable to the Embassy of Jordan. Write your name and phone number on the payment.
A self-addressed return airbill and envelope using USPS Express Mail or UPS. The embassy does not accept FedEx or regular mail for returns.

Send no more than three documents per envelope. Processing takes about five working days, and incomplete packages are returned without action.

Alternative: Have a Jordanian Consul Notarize It

You can skip the State Department authentication step entirely by signing the POA in front of a Jordanian consular officer. The consul notarizes and seals the document under Jordanian law, which means no U.S. certification of the notary is needed; the Jordanian government’s own representative witnessed the signing. This route also lets you have the Arabic text prepared or verified on the spot. Contact the embassy directly to confirm availability and whether an appointment is required, as procedures can change.

What Happens After the Document Reaches Jordan

Legalization by the embassy or notarization by a consul is not the last step. Before the POA can be used in legal or financial transactions, it must clear two Jordanian government offices:

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies the embassy’s legalization or the consular seal.
The Jordanian Ministry of Justice provides the final authentication that makes the document usable.

Both steps are mandatory regardless of which path you took in the United States.⁵ If the POA is in English, a certified translator in Jordan produces the Arabic version, and a Jordanian notary public then notarizes the translation.²

How Long the POA Stays Valid

Jordanian authorities enforce firm expiration windows. A general POA is valid for one year from the date of issuance. A limited POA is valid for up to three years. If a POA is used after its validity period, the notary who issued it must re-authenticate it as a true copy of the original before it can be used again.² If your POA covers a property sale or other transaction on an uncertain timeline, the three-year limited POA can be the safer choice; a one-year general POA can expire mid-deal.

Two Situations That Need Extra Steps

If the POA will be used to buy, sell, or manage securities on the Amman Stock Exchange, the Securities Depository Center requires separate accreditation on top of the standard registration. The POA must specifically grant authority for the securities transactions involved, and the identifying information in the document must match SDC records exactly.² The SDC retains the original when a limited one-time-use POA is presented.

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident and the POA gives you signature authority over a Jordanian bank account, you may owe a federal report that has nothing to do with the POA itself. A U.S. person with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) when the combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the calendar year.⁶ Holding a POA over a relative’s account abroad is enough to trigger the requirement.

1
U.S. Department of State. Jordan Judicial Assistance Information
2
Securities Depository Center. Required Documents – Powers of Attorney
3
Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Requirements for Legalization and Consular Fees
4
U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services
5
Securities Depository Center. Identification Documents and Powers of Attorney
6
Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)