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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
🚗 The car was sold by power of attorney: who really remains the owner?
A subscriber contacted our chat-bot with a question:
“I handed the car over to another person by granting them a power of attorney. I received the money for the car, but we did not sign a sale-purchase agreement. Is the car considered sold and who is now its owner?”
A common belief is that if a person received a “general power of attorney” for a car and accepted money for it, they automatically become the owner. However, that is not the case.
A power of attorney only gives another person the authority to act on the owner’s behalf. It does not, by itself, transfer ownership of the car.
❓ Who remains the owner of the car?
The owner continues to be the person in whose name the vehicle is registered.
Ownership of the car transfers based on the appropriate contract, in particular a sale-purchase agreement, and the subsequent re-registration of the vehicle in the new owner’s name.
📌 What does this mean in practice?
▪️ If you only issued a power of attorney — the car legally remains yours.
▪️ The person who received the power of attorney does not become the car’s owner solely by virtue of that document.
▪️ The owner can revoke the power of attorney.
▪️ Fines for automatically recorded violations may be sent to the owner if the actual user is not properly designated.
▪️ In the event of a dispute, the power of attorney itself does not confirm the transfer of ownership.
⚠️ It is also worth remembering: there is no such thing as a “general power of attorney” that by itself transfers ownership of a car. A power of attorney is an agency document, not a sale-purchase contract.
🔻 How to sell a car correctly?
💁♂️ We recommend:
▫️ conclude a sale-purchase agreement;
▫️ contact the MIA service center;
▫️ re-register the vehicle in the new owner’s name;
▫️ obtain a new vehicle registration certificate.
If the owner cannot be present in person, they may authorize a representative to act on their behalf. However, the representative does not become the car’s owner — they only perform the actions specified in the power of attorney.
✅ Important: transferring a car “by power of attorney” can create problems both for the person who formally remains the owner and for the person who actually uses the car.
Therefore it is safer not to limit yourself to a power of attorney, but to draw up a sale-purchase agreement and officially re-register the car.
💁♂️ If you have questions or need additional consultation, seek legal help via our chat-bot or by email [email protected].
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