Can someone sign a promissory note with a power of attorney?

Yes. An agent named in a valid power of attorney can sign a promissory note for the person who granted it, as long as the document gives the agent authority over borrowing and the agent signs in a way that shows they're acting for someone else. If you're the lender, your job is to check both of those things before any money moves.

Many states have adopted some version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, and Virginia is a useful model because its sections map closely to the uniform text. Virginia Code 64.2-1629 lists what a grant of general authority over banks and other financial institutions lets an agent do. Two items on that list matter for a loan. Subdivision 7 lets the agent "borrow money and pledge as security personal property of the principal" to borrow or to pay, renew, or extend a debt. Subdivision 8 lets the agent make, endorse, guarantee, and negotiate promissory notes of the principal.

So the first question is what the power of attorney actually grants. If it gives authority over banks and financial institutions, the agent can usually sign a note. If it gives authority to do all acts the principal could do, Section 64.2-1622(C) says the agent gets the general authority described in Sections 64.2-1625 through 64.2-1637, and the banking section sits inside that range. A narrow document is a different story. A power of attorney written to sell one car or close on one house doesn't stretch to a personal loan, and a lender who accepts it anyway is guessing.

How the agent should sign the note

The signature is where most mistakes happen. The Uniform Commercial Code rule on representative signatures, which Virginia codifies at Section 8.3A-402, binds the principal when an authorized agent signs. The agent stays personally off the hook only if the form of the signature "shows unambiguously" that it was made for a represented person who's identified in the note. If the agent just signs their own name with no capacity shown, they can end up personally liable to a later holder who didn't know the deal.

A clean block names the principal as borrower, then shows the agent signing for her. Here's a sample you can adapt:

BORROWER: Margaret L. Owens
By: ______________________________
Daniel R. Owens, her agent under power of attorney dated ______________

The body of the note should also name Margaret as the borrower. Don't list Daniel as a co-borrower unless he's personally agreeing to repay, because that changes who owes the debt.

Here's how that plays out with real numbers. Margaret, who's 81, needs $25,000 for a new roof. Her son Daniel holds a durable power of attorney that grants general authority over banks and financial institutions. A family friend agrees to lend the money on an installment note at 5% for 48 months. That works out to a monthly payment of $575.73 and $2,635.15 in total interest over the life of the loan. The friend wires the $25,000 straight to the roofing contractor, and Daniel signs using the block above. The loan pays for Margaret's house, the payment fits her budget, and the paper trail shows it.

Before closing, the lender should get three things. The first is a full copy of the power of attorney, including every page. The second is an agent's certification. Section 64.2-1617(C)(1) lets a person asked to accept an acknowledged power of attorney request, and rely on without further investigation, "an agent's certification under oath of any factual matter concerning the principal, agent, or power of attorney." A short certification should state that Margaret is alive, the power hasn't been revoked, Daniel hasn't resigned, and the document is in effect. The third is proof of where the loan money is going.

That certification does real work. Under Section 64.2-1617(B), a person who accepts an acknowledged power of attorney in good faith, without actual knowledge that it's void or terminated or that the agent is misusing it, may rely on it as if it were valid. The protection depends on that lack of actual knowledge, which is why the next part matters.

Durable versus springing also matters. Virginia Code 64.2-1602 makes a power of attorney durable unless it expressly says the principal's incapacity ends it, so it keeps working after the principal can't manage her own affairs. A springing power is different. Section 64.2-1607(A) says a power is effective when signed unless it names a future date or event. If it springs on incapacity and nobody was named to make that call, Section 64.2-1607(C) requires a written determination from the attending physician and a second physician or licensed clinical psychologist, or from a lawyer, judge, or appropriate government official. A lender relying on a springing power should ask for that written determination too.

When the agent can't borrow for themselves

An agent's power is for the principal's benefit. Section 64.2-1612(A) requires every agent to act in good faith and only within the scope of the authority granted. Unless the document says otherwise, Section 64.2-1612(B) also requires the agent to act loyally for the principal and to avoid a conflict of interest that impairs their judgment.

Section 64.2-1622(B) draws a harder line for agents who aren't the principal's ancestor, spouse, or descendant. Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, those agents can't use it to create an interest in the principal's property for themselves. A friend acting as agent can't pledge the principal's brokerage account to secure the friend's own business loan.

Family agents aren't exempt from the loyalty duty, either. If Daniel asked the lender to send the $25,000 to his own checking account so he could buy a truck, the lender would have actual knowledge that the agent was using the power for himself. At that point the good-faith reliance protection in Section 64.2-1617(B) likely falls away, and Margaret's estate could challenge the note. When the money's going to the agent, the safer move is to have the principal sign herself, if she can, or to stop and get legal advice.

Other states number these sections differently, and a few haven't adopted the uniform act at all. Before you lend, read the borrower's state version of the banking authority and agent duty sections, then check your repayment window with our statute of limitations lookup so you know how long you'd have to sue if payments stop.

Sources

• Virginia Code 64.2-1629, Banks and other financial institutions
• Virginia Code 64.2-1622, Authority that requires specific grant
• Virginia Code 8.3A-402, Signature by representative
• Virginia Code 64.2-1617, Acceptance of and reliance upon acknowledged power of attorney
• Virginia Code 64.2-1602, Power of attorney is durable
• Virginia Code 64.2-1607, When power of attorney effective
• Virginia Code 64.2-1612, Agent's duties
• Virginia Code 64.2-1603, Execution of power of attorney
• Virginia Code 64.2-1609, Coagents and successor agents