The general vehicle power of attorney: seventeen fields appointing somebody to sign all papers and documents required to secure the title, and granting the authority to endorse and transfer title. It is the right form when the owner cannot get to a counter and the vehicle needs no odometer disclosure. It is the wrong form the moment mileage is involved.
Written against 48-1001 (R07/25), issued under A.R.S. 28-370.
Between this form and 48-7104 there is exactly one deciding question: does the vehicle still need an odometer disclosure? On a 2011-or-newer car under twenty model years old it does, and then this form is the wrong one however convenient it looks.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 48-1001 from the apps.azdot.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual 48-1001, rendered from the PDF the Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
The vehicle here is a 2007, which is why this form is the right one: at more than ten model years old it is exempt from the odometer disclosure, so the shorter power of attorney does the job. On a newer car the form would be refused.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Vehicle Identification Number, Year, Make, Body Style
The single vehicle the authority covers.
Watch out: One vehicle per form. A second car needs a second power of attorney, even for the same attorney-in-fact.
2
You fill this in
Attorney-In-Fact
Who is being appointed, with their mailing address.
Watch out: An organisation can be named. If it is, whoever turns up will also need to prove they are authorised to act for it.
3
You fill this in
Buyer/Seller/Owner Name
The person granting the authority, in full.
Watch out: The field name lists three roles because the form is used from either side of a sale. Fill in whichever you are and nothing else changes.
4
You fill this in
Driver License Number and Date of Birth
The grantor's identifiers.
Watch out: These are what let MVD tie the authority to the person on the vehicle record. A missing licence number is the usual reason one of these comes back.
5
You fill this in
Mailing Address, City, State, Zip
Where the grantor can be reached.
Watch out: It should agree with the address MVD holds. If it does not, update the record in the same visit rather than explaining it later.
6
You fill this in
Signature
The grantor signs, and only the grantor.
Watch out: Sign it in front of the notary or the MVD agent. A signature made earlier and brought in is the commonest reason a power of attorney is turned away.
7
The buyer fills this in
The acknowledgement block
Date, county, state, commission expiry and the witness's signature.
Watch out: Notarisation and an MVD agent's witness are alternatives, not both. The statute says the department's designated staff may do it without charging a fee.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle Identification Number, Year, Make, Body Style
The vehicle the authority is limited to. This is not a general power of attorney over your affairs.
Attorney-In-Fact
The individual or organization you wish to act for you in this matter, with a mailing address, city, state and ZIP underneath.
The grant
One printed sentence: I appoint the Attorney-In-Fact above, to sign all papers and documents required to secure the title, and further grant the authority to endorse and transfer title thereto, for the vehicle described above.
Buyer/Seller/Owner Name, Driver License Number, Date of Birth
The person granting the authority - which the form allows to be any of the three.
Mailing Address, City, State, Zip
The grantor's address.
Signature
One line, the grantor's.
The acknowledgement block
Acknowledged before me this date, with date, county, state, commission expiry, headed Notary or MVD Agent Signature.
What gets this one rejected
•Using it for an odometer correction or discrepancy. ADOT's Odometers Guidelines rule this out by name and point to form 48-7104 instead.
•An expired grant, or one from somebody who has died. A power of attorney is valid until revoked by the grantor or by the grantor's death.
•An unwitnessed signature. It has to be notarised or witnessed by an MVD agent, and a photocopy of either will not do.
•A signature with an alteration, white-out or cross-out anywhere on the form.
•A copy rather than the original. The original or a certified copy must accompany the application, because it serves as evidence of the public filing of the transaction.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The processor reads it before accepting it. MVD's policy makes the counter responsible for reading or reviewing each power of attorney to determine the limitations set by the grantor.
•An out-of-state one is valid. A foreign jurisdiction power of attorney created in another state is valid in Arizona provided it meets the issuing jurisdiction's requirements.
•You can ask for it back. If the customer requests the return of the power of attorney, the processor makes a copy of the original to complete the transaction.
•It also covers routine registration work. MVD describes the form as authority to sign all documents required to obtain and transfer a vehicle title, or perform registration renewals, duplicate registrations, and lost plate or tab replacements.
