The practical difference is scope. A Special Power of Attorney is written for a defined act or tightly limited set of connected acts. A General Power of Attorney may authorise connected management or administrative acts over time. Neither label removes the need to state powers clearly or satisfy the receiving organisation.
Under the current UAE Civil Transactions Law, a general agency covers management and preservation acts within the law and the instrument. A disposal or another act requiring special authority must be expressly stated. That is why a broadly titled General POA should not be treated as an automatic property-sale, banking, settlement or litigation mandate.
Use a Special POA as the starting point when the agent needs to:
The draft can include connected steps, but each one should support the stated outcome.
A General POA may fit where the same agent must handle several connected, ongoing personal or administrative matters and where the relevant recipients accept that structure. It should still list the intended categories, limits and exclusions. “General” should not mean “insert every possible power”.
Ask: could a careful stranger understand exactly what the agent may do, with which assets or organisations, and where the authority stops?
No. They serve different scopes. The relevant question is whether the written powers are appropriate and accepted for the intended act.
No. Those acts may require express, recipient-specific authority and supporting evidence.
Yes, where the steps are connected to the defined outcome and are written clearly. It should not become an unrelated bundle of broad powers.
A well-drafted Special POA usually provides the narrower starting point because the authority is tied to a defined job. A General POA can also be limited, but its categories must be written carefully.
Yes. The licensed notary controls the execution decision and may request different wording, evidence or attendance.
Authority may end by revocation, expiry, completion or other legal events. The process and notice consequences depend on the instrument, applicable law and affected third parties.