Revocation of Power of Attorney Chile (Revocación de Mandato)

Revocation of Power of Attorney Chile (Revocación de Mandato Notarial) is a unilateral legal instrument governed by Código Civil Articles 2163 through 2165 and authenticated under Código Orgánico de Tribunales (COT) Article 420, by which a mandante (principal/grantor) formally terminates an existing poder notarial (power of attorney) previously granted to a mandatario (agent/attorney-in-fact). The revocación extinguishes the mandatario's authority to act on the mandante's behalf — retroactive only to the extent that third parties have actual notice — and is one of the fundamental protections the Chilean civil law system provides to mandantes who have granted powers of attorney.

CC Article 2163 N° 3 establishes revocación del mandante (revocation by the principal) as one of the seven causes of termination of a mandato. CC Article 2165 clarifies that the revocación must be notified to the mandatario to be effective (surta efecto) as between the parties — a revocación that has not been communicated to the mandatario does not terminate the mandato from the mandatario's perspective, though it is effective between mandante and mandatario from the date of execution. CC Article 2173 provides the third-party protection rule: third parties who, in good faith (buena fe), contracted with the mandatario after the revocación but before receiving notice of it are not bound to the revocación — their transactions remain valid against the mandante. This rule creates the critical practical imperative of communicating the revocación immediately and widely.

COT Article 420 establishes that the Notario Público exercises jurisdiction over all extrajudicial notarial acts (actos y contratos extrajudiciales), including revocaciones de mandato that must be executed as escritura pública. The Notaria de Chile — which maintains a protocolo notarial (notarial register) under COT Article 407 — issues copias autorizadas (authenticated copies) of the revocación that the mandante presents to banks, the Conservador de Bienes Raíces (CBR), the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), courts (where the mandatario has been appearing as judicial representative), and all other relevant third parties.

The revocación de mandato is particularly critical in Chile for three categories of situations. First, when a banking power of attorney (poder bancario) must be terminated — Chilean banks regulated by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) require a copia autorizada of the revocación before blocking the former mandatario's account access, and any transactions the bank processes in good faith before receiving the revocación remain valid against the mandante under CC Article 2173. Second, when a real estate power is revoked — the revocación should be annotated at the Conservador de Bienes Raíces (CBR) to prevent the former mandatario from executing property transactions after the revocación. Third, when a judicial power is terminated — the revocación must be filed with each court where the mandatario has been appearing, as the court continues to recognize the mandatario's representation until formal notification.

A Revocation of Power of Attorney Chile is needed whenever a mandante wishes to terminate an existing poder notarial and stop the mandatario from acting on their behalf — for any reason, at any time, as revocation is freely exercisable under CC Article 2163 N° 3.

Relationship breakdown between mandante and mandatario is the most common reason — loss of trust (pérdida de confianza) due to the mandatario misusing the poder, failing to follow the mandante's instructions, making unauthorized transactions, or simply because the personal or professional relationship has deteriorated. Chilean banks report frequent revocaciones following family disputes where a son or daughter has misused a parent's banking power of attorney.

Completion of the original purpose for which the poder was granted — the mandatario has sold the property, resolved the legal dispute, completed the banking operation, or managed the affairs during the mandante's absence — makes revocation appropriate to formally close the legal instrument and prevent any future unauthorized use of the poder.

Return of the mandante from abroad — an expatriate who granted a poder before moving overseas and has now returned to Chile permanently — needs to execute a revocación and notify all Chilean banks, the CBR, and other institutions where the poder was previously registered to prevent future unauthorized use.

Change of mandatario — when the mandante wishes to grant a new poder to a different mandatario (a new abogado, a different family member, or a professional representative), best practice requires executing a revocación of the old poder simultaneously with or before the new poder, to avoid the existence of two overlapping poderes for the same matters.

Death or incapacity of the original mandatario — while CC Article 2163 N° 5 automatically terminates the mandato upon the mandatario's death, a formal revocación (or its equivalent — a notarial declaration of the mandato's termination) provides documentary evidence of termination that institutions such as banks and the CBR can process.

Pre-litigation caution — when a dispute arises between mandante and mandatario and litigation is contemplated, the mandante should execute a revocación immediately to prevent the mandatario from taking adverse actions using the poder while the dispute proceeds.

A valid Revocation of Power of Attorney Chile under CC Articles 2163–2165 and COT Article 420 must contain the following essential elements to effectively terminate the mandatario's authority and provide proper notice to all relevant parties:

Principal Identification (Individualización del Mandante): Full legal name, RUT number (Rol Único Tributario emitido por el SII), nationality, marital status, profession, and domicilio. The mandante must be the same person who executed the original poder — the revocación must demonstrate identity continuity between the original grantor and the revoking party. If the original mandante has died, their heirs (herederos) can execute a notarial declaration of mandato termination, but this is a different instrument from a revocación.

Agent Identification (Individualización del Mandatario Being Revoked): Full legal name, RUT, and domicilio of the mandatario whose authority is being terminated. The revocación should also include the mandatario's capacity in the original poder (e.g., abogado, gerente, asesor financiero) to ensure accurate identification.

Original Poder Description (Individualización del Poder Revocado): Precise identification of the original poder being revoked — the date of execution (fecha de otorgamiento), the Notaría before which it was executed (identified by the Notario Público's name and location, e.g., Notaría de don Juan Pérez González, Santiago), the repertorio number (número de repertorio — the unique identifier assigned by the Notaría under COT Article 429), and a brief description of the scope of the original poder (banking powers, judicial representation, real estate disposition, etc.). This precise identification prevents any ambiguity about which poder is being revoked, particularly important when the mandante has executed multiple poderes.

Revocation Declaration (Declaración de Revocación — CC Art. 2163 N° 3 and Art. 2165): The explicit, unambiguous declaration by the mandante that the poder identified above is hereby revoked (queda revocado) in its entirety (en todas sus partes) effective as of the date of execution of this revocación. The declaration should state that the mandatario no longer has authority (sin ninguna facultad para actuar en nombre del mandante) to perform any act under the revoked poder from the date of notification to the mandatario and each relevant third party under CC Article 2173.

Notification Plan (Plan de Notificación): The revocación should include or be accompanied by a notification plan listing all parties that must receive actual notice (notificación real) to cut off their good faith reliance on the original poder under CC Article 2173: — The mandatario directly (entrega personal or carta certificada con acuse de recibo) — Each bank or financial institution (Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Banco Santander Chile, Scotiabank Chile, Banco BCI, etc.) where the mandatario had account access — The Conservador de Bienes Raíces (CBR) of the jurisdiction where any real estate subject to the poder is located (for annotation — anotación marginal — on the relevant inscription) — The Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) if the mandatario had tax representation authority — Each court (tribunal) where the mandatario was appearing as judicial representative (with a formal escrito filing the revocación in the court record) — All known contractual counterparties who may have relied on the poder

Consequences Declaration (Declaración de Efectos): A statement clarifying that any acts performed by the mandatario after the date of notification to each respective third party are without authority and not binding on the mandante — subject to CC Article 2173 (which protects third parties' good faith transactions before notice). This statement also provides documentary evidence for subsequent disputes about whether a specific transaction was authorized.

Substitute Mandate Reference (Referencia a Nuevo Mandato — if applicable): If the revocación is accompanied by the simultaneous execution of a new poder to a different mandatario, the revocación should reference the new poder (identified by its Notaría and repertorio number) to clarify the transition of authority and prevent any gap in authorized representation.

Notarial Authentication under COT Article 420: The revocación must be executed as escritura pública before a Notario Público regulated by COT Articles 399–437. The Notario incorporates the instrument into the protocolo notarial and issues copias autorizadas. Banks, the CBR, the SII, and courts require a copia autorizada of the revocación — not a photocopy — before processing the termination of the mandatario's authority.

Forms-legal.com provides this Revocación de Mandato Chile template as a reference document. Given that failure to properly notify the revocación to all relevant third parties may leave the mandante liable for the mandatario's good-faith transactions under CC Article 2173, the mandante should consult with an abogado to confirm that all required notifications have been made and acknowledged. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.