An authorization letter gives a third party permission to act on your behalf, especially in instances when you may be unavailable or unable to act for yourself. You may need someone to assist you, for example, with your financial matters, legal issues, or health directives. A properly written authorization letter will accomplish this.

Steps Edit

Part One of Four:
Preparing to Write an Authorization Letter Edit

Understand what an authorization letter does. An authorization letter gives another person the right to act on your behalf in specific matters. They are primarily used in circumstances in which the letter writer is not able to represent themselves. A few examples of situations that may require an authorization letter include:

• A parent or guardian may grant child care workers authorization to make basic emergency medical decisions regarding the children in their care. [1]
• It is advisable to give an authorization letter for minors traveling with adults who are not their parents or guardians. This will protect the minor from child trafficking and child custody issues. [2]
• If you have money held in a regional bank that you can no longer easily access, you may need to write a letter of authorization to allow someone else to handle issues that arise with the account or financial institution.
• An authorization letter can allow release of personal information, such as medical records. [3]
• You may also need to authorize another party to act on your behalf to handle especially fast-moving financial transactions. Not every business deal can wait for you; if you are temporarily indisposed, you can write a letter of authorization and temporarily grant decision-making powers to a trusted colleague.

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Identify the different parties involved in an authorization letter. There are three parties involved in an authorization letter. The first party is the original rights holder, such as the parent of a child or the owner of a bank account. The second party is the group or individual with whom the first party is conducting a transaction, such as a financial institution or hospital. The third party is the person selected to act as a proxy in the first party’s absence. The letter should be addressed to the second party.

• The letter will explain the rights granted to the proxy who will be acting in your place. [4]
• If the second party is not known (especially in cases where authority was granted for potential emergency situations), you will have to address the letter simply “To whom it may concern.”

Type your authorization letter rather than writing it by hand. A handwritten letter may be difficult to read and isn’t as professional in appearance as a typed letter. The authorization letter is an important document authorizing someone to hold your legal or financial powers for you. It must be prepared to meet scrutiny. If someone else close to you wants to dispute the authority of the letter holder, the document may be used as evidence in a court of law.

Format the letter properly. A letter of authorization is a business letter and should be formal in tone and format.

Standard business letters use a block format. The body should be single-spaced, and there should be no indentation of the paragraphs. Instead a blank line between the salutation and the first paragraph as well as between paragraphs. [9]

Find a witness or notary public . A witness is someone who will observe you signing the authorization letter. This ensures that you are not signing the letter under duress, and that you are in fact the person giving the authorization. In some instances, it is a good idea to have your letter notarized by a notary public. [10] This person is someone authorized by your state to attest to legal documents.

• This person should not be anyone named in the letter.

Sign the letter. Print out the letter and sign it with blue or black ink. You may choose to include a date line next to your signature. If so, write the date that you sign the document.

• Have your witness sign and date the letter as well, or ask the notary public to notarize the letter.

Give the original letter to the proxy. In most cases, the proxy will retain the letter so that he or she has proper documentation of authority granted. The proxy may need to present the letter to immigration officials, for example, if he is traveling internationally with your child.

Keep a copy of the letter. Make sure to retain a copy of the letter for your records. You may need to produce it if any questions arise regarding the authorization you’ve given to your proxy.

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