Appoints one named person to act for you before the Department of Revenue or any county tax commissioner's office on one described vehicle. It is the document that lets a title be applied for, transferred or replaced while the owner is deployed, hospitalised, out of the country or simply four hundred miles away.
Written against T-8 (Rev 3-2015), issued under the Georgia Department of Revenue and every county tax commissioner's office in the state.
This is the form people reach for when a co-owner is unreachable, and it only works the other way round: the person who cannot be there has to sign it, in front of a notary, before it is any use to anybody.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank T-8 from the dor.georgia.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual T-8, rendered from the PDF the Georgia Department of Revenue, 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 actual T-8 at revision 3-2015. Note the notary block: Georgia does not just witness the signature, it records the owner's driver's licence number, the name as it reads on the licence and the issuing state, because the notary is certifying identity as well as execution.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
I/We - the vehicle owners
The full legal names of everyone shown as an owner on the certificate.
Watch out: Everyone. If the certificate names two owners and only one signs this, the attorney-in-fact can act for one of them and the transfer still stalls.
2
You fill this in
Appoint - the attorney-in-fact
The full legal name of the one person being appointed.
Watch out: One name, and the form says so beside the box. A copy of that person's driver's licence or state identification has to be submitted with the form.
3
You fill this in
The vehicle
The VIN of the vehicle the attorney-in-fact is being empowered over.
Watch out: The authority is limited to this vehicle. A second car needs a second form, not an additional line.
4
You fill this in
Signed and attested this day
Day, month and year of execution.
Watch out: This date starts the twelve months. A power of attorney signed in advance of a deployment can expire before the deployment ends.
5
You fill this in
Owners' printed names, signatures and address
Printed or typed full legal names, signatures, the owner's address and phone number.
Watch out: The certification directly above says the form was completely filled in at the time of execution, so nothing should be blank when the pen touches the signature line.
6
You fill this in
The identification block
The owner's valid driver's licence number, the name as listed on the licence, and the issuing state.
Watch out: The notary is certifying that they proved identity by positive picture identification, so the licence has to be in the room. A copy also has to accompany the form for an expedited title at the Department's own lobby.
7
You fill this in
The notary's acknowledgement
Day, month and year, the notary's full legal name, signature, seal, address, phone number and commission expiry.
Watch out: Everything on this form is completed before the notary; nothing is added afterwards. An alteration made after the seal is on the page voids it.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Appointment of attorney-in-fact
The vehicle owner or owners' full legal names, then the full legal name of the appointed attorney-in-fact - and the printed note beside it that only one attorney-in-fact may be appointed.
The vehicle
The VIN as it appears on the certificate, with the year, make and model. The authority is limited to the vehicle described, and to no other.
What the authority covers
Applying for an original or replacement certificate of title, transferring title to the vehicle, and performing any act or thing whatsoever concerning the vehicle in every aspect as the owner could do if present.
The revocation and expiry paragraph
This power of attorney revokes all earlier ones and stays in force until written revocation reaches the Department or the tax commissioner - but in no event is it valid beyond twelve months from the date of its execution.
Signed and attested
Day, month and year, then the owners' printed or typed full legal names, their signatures, the owner's address and phone number.
Acknowledgement of notary public
The notary certifies that the named owner executed the form in their presence and was proven to be the person named by positive picture identification - and the block records the owner's valid driver's licence number, the name as listed on the licence and the issuing state.
The notary's own details
Day, month and year, full legal name printed or typed, signature, seal or stamp, address, phone number and the date the commission expires.
What gets this one rejected
•A photocopy. Printed in capitals across the head of the form: photocopies are not acceptable, the original form must be submitted.
•Appointing two people. Only one attorney-in-fact may be appointed, and the note sits beside the box.
•Submitting it without identification. The form must be accompanied by a copy of the appointed attorney-in-fact's driver's licence or state issued identification.
•Using it where the seller and the buyer are the same person or company and an odometer reading has to be disclosed. The form's own note rules that out.
•A form that was not completely filled in before it was signed. The owners certify that the power of attorney was completely filled in at the time of its execution.
•Any alteration or correction. The header says either voids the form, and that prior versions are not accepted at all.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Twelve months, and then it is dead. The expiry is absolute - in no event valid beyond twelve months from the date of execution - regardless of what the owner intended or whether anyone has revoked it.
•Blue or black ink, except the signatures. The form may be typed, completed electronically and printed, or printed legibly by hand in blue or black ink; the signatures are the exception and go on afterwards.
•It is a felony to falsify. The header states it plainly, and adds that the Department or the county tag office reserves the right to verify all information on the document before accepting it.
