If you live in Texas but need to buy, sell, or inherit real estate in Peru, you usually cannot handle the closing yourself from across the hemisphere. Instead, you sign a poder (power of attorney) authorizing a trusted person or lawyer in Peru to act for you before a notary and the public registry. Getting that document to work in Peru is where most people get stuck, because a defective power of attorney can stall or void the entire transaction.
This page explains how to prepare a Texas power of attorney that a Peruvian notary and the Registros Públicos will accept.
What an apostille is
An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document — a notary's signature, a court seal, a registrar's certification — so it will be accepted by authorities in another country. For countries in the Hague Apostille Convention, the apostille is the finish line. For countries outside it, the same Texas certificate is the first step in a short legalization chain.
Does an apostille work in Peru?
Yes. Peru is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so a Texas document carrying a Texas apostille is recognized in Peru without further consular legalization. You do not need to visit a Peruvian consulate to authenticate an already-apostilled U.S. document.
Keep in mind that an apostille only authenticates the U.S. notary's signature. It does not cure a power of attorney that is too vague to satisfy Peruvian property law, and any English document will still need a certified Spanish translation.
How the Texas Secretary of State apostille works
Texas apostilles come from a single office: the Secretary of State's Authentications Unit in Austin. There is no county-clerk step — a document notarized by any Texas notary, in any of the 254 counties, goes straight to the state. Since October 2023 Texas issues one Universal Apostille (Form 2102) that works for every destination, whether or not the country belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention.
The state fee is $15 per document. Mailed requests can take up to 25 business days; in-person and appointment service in Austin is same-day for up to 10 documents, and a bulk drop-box handles larger batches in 24–48 hours. There is no online submission — every request is handled by mail or in person. Certified copies of vital records (birth, death, marriage, divorce) must be less than five years old.
Federal documents — FBI background checks, USCIS naturalization certificates, IRS letters — cannot be apostilled by Texas; they go to the U.S. Department of State. We confirm the correct authority before anything is filed, so your documents are never rejected on a technicality.
Peru's property power-of-attorney requirements
For a real estate transaction, Peru works through a poder that is typically granted by escritura pública — a public deed executed before a notary. There are two practical routes:
- Grant the poder at a Peruvian consulate. You appear in person at a Peruvian consulate in the U.S., and the consul formalizes the poder in Spanish. This is often the cleanest path because the document is drafted correctly the first time and needs no separate translation.
- Sign before a U.S. notary and apostille it. You execute the poder before a Texas notary, obtain the Texas apostille, and mail the original to Peru. There it is presented to a Peruvian notary and, for the transfer, recorded with the Registros Públicos (SUNARP).
A specific poder that names the property — including the person authorized to act and exactly what they may do (buy, sell, sign the deed, register the transfer) — is strongly preferred over a broad, general mandate. The more precisely the document tracks the transaction, the less likely a notary or registrar will reject it.
Documents you'll need
- A poder with specific powers describing the transaction and the property
- Your valid passport or identification
- The full name and identification of your attorney-in-fact in Peru
- Property details provided by your representative in Peru
- The Texas apostille (route 2 only)
- A sworn Spanish translation of any English document (route 2)
Translation
If your document is in English, Peru requires a sworn or official translation into Spanish — an informal translation will not do. Plan for the translation to be arranged once the apostille is issued, since translators generally render the apostille along with the underlying document. A poder granted at the consulate is written in Spanish from the start and avoids this step entirely.
We handle the whole apostille — you don't travel to Austin
Our firm provides full-service apostille handling: we prepare your document, coordinate Texas notarization or certified copies, file the Universal Apostille request with the Secretary of State, add U.S. Department of State and embassy legalization when a country requires it, arrange certified translation, and deliver the finished documents to you or your recipient abroad.
We also coordinate directly with your counsel overseas — a barrister or solicitor in Commonwealth countries, an advocate in South Asia, a notario público in Latin America — so the document is drafted with the exact wording their registry, court, or bank requires before anything is apostilled.
- 📞 Phone: (281) 348-6723
- 📧 Email: busbytexas@gmail.com
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A note on accuracy
Apostille and legalization requirements change, and each receiving institution — a foreign land registry, bank, pension office, or consulate — can impose its own rules. This article reflects requirements verified in 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Contact us so we can confirm the current requirements for your specific document and destination before you file.
For the full statewide process — fees, timelines, document types, and the Hague vs. non-Hague paths — see our complete Texas Apostille Guide.