CHECKLIST: ATTESTING A DOCUMENT SIGNED ABROAD FOR USE IN INDIA

Part 1. Before you sign

1. 1. Have the document prepared with every name, spelling and number exactly as in your passport and your Indian papers (Aadhaar, PAN, land records).
2. 2. Ask the office in Punjab or Chandigarh where it will be used (the Sub-Registrar, bank, court or other) whether it wants particular wording or its own form. Prepare the document to match.
3. 3. Do not sign at home. Sign only in front of the notary, and sign every page the notary asks you to.

Part 2. Signing before a notary

1. 11. A copy of your passport and, if you hold one, your OCI card.
2. 12. Proof of your address abroad, if the office asks for it.
3. 13. Any covering form or application the attesting office asks for.
4. 14. A photocopy of the whole attested document for your own records.

Part 5. Bringing it to India

1. 15. Courier the original with tracking. Note the date it first reaches India.
2. 16. Ask the Sub-Registrar or other office whether the document must be stamped within a fixed time after it reaches India, and do it within that time.
3. 17. If it is a power of attorney, the person holding it should take the original to the office. Ask whether it must be registered or further authenticated before it is used.
4. 18. Keep copies of everything, and the courier receipt.