You may be busy doing something else. You may be away for some errands. You may have upcoming many-days seminar. You may be on a vacation. These are some of the reasons why you cannot do some tasks just like claiming your personal documents, school records, medical records, passport, and many other. This is when you need someone to act on your behalf, and this is when you must write an authorization letter to claim, the examples of which are presented in the next section.
Writing an authorization may be overwhelming at first especially when you want to say a lot of things yet you do not know where to start. But as you constantly practice writing, you can immediately get a grasp on how to do it with ease. You just need to organize your thoughts, and you have to comply with the basic rules in formal writing.
Afraid to start writing your authorization letter? Here are several useful tips for a well-written authorization letter.
In writing the date, make sure to specify the correct date so that the receiver will be aware of the range of dates you have delegated your authorities while you are away.
For the content of your authorization letter, make sure to keep it short and use plain words. Keep it brief and straight to the point to avoid confusion by the reader. It is better that you will refrain from using ambiguous or very technical words or jargon as these may create misunderstanding among the parties involved. You may also see third party authorization letters.
Just as any other letters, be specific and informative in your authorization letter. Provide the information with regard to the purpose of your letter, and be sure to give the full details of the person or people whom you have given the authority to act on your behalf.
Keep your tone as formal as possible when you are writing for a business entity or people that you are not so close with. However, you can write casually to people whom you know so well and when the purpose of the authorization letter requires less formal tone of writing. Either way, just maintain a systematized and organized writing and always proofread your write-up. You may also see agent authorization letters.
1. Understand the purpose of an authorization letter, that is, it gives another person the right to act on your behalf with matters specified in your authorization letter. It is used primarily in circumstances in which the letter writer cannot attend to the tasks for some valid reasons. Here are few examples of situations that may require an authorization letter:
1. Fast-moving financial transactions. Not every business deal can wait for you; hence, if you are temporarily indisposed, you can write a letter of authorization to someone whom you know and trust so well and temporarily grant him or her the decision-making powers or any other tasks. You may also see travel authorization letter
2. Bank transactions. In transacting with the bank such as making deposits or withdrawals, you can delegate the task to any trusted person by giving him or her an authorization letter specifying the tasks he or she could do on your behalf.
3. Claiming stuff. You can also allow someone to claim important document or things for you. All you need is an authorization letter to claim. Examples of things to be claimed by others on your behalf are money, ATM cards, passport, baggage, luggage, school records, medical records, and documents with personal information. You may also see bank authorization letters.
4. Medical decision. When the parents are away, they may grant the guardian or child care workers the authorization to make basic emergency medical decisions regarding the children in their care. They must clearly specify the scope and limitations of their power to decide to avoid misunderstanding and confusion.
5. Traveling minors. When minors would go on a trip or travel without their parents or guardians, it is advisable to give an authorization letter for minors traveling with adults who are not their parents or guardians to protect them from child trafficking or child custody issues. You may also see child care authorization letters.
2. Identify the parties involved in an authorization letter. These three parties are as follows: 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 an individual or group with whom the first party is conducting a transaction; and the third party is the person selected to act as a proxy on behalf of the first party’s absence.
3. It is highly recommended that you type your authorization letter rather than writing it by hand for a handwritten letter may be difficult to read and is less professional than the printed one. Remember that this document is a very important one that you can even use as evidence in a court of law. You may also see official meeting letters.
1. In writing the heading of your authorization letter, you must follow the standard format of a business letter, that is, placing your name and address on the top left side of the page. Place your name on the first line, your street information on the second, and your city, state, and zip code on the third, with a single spacing between each line.
2. After your name and address, skip one line and write the current date, the date that you are writing the official letter, on the next line. Write out the date in full, not the abbreviated format.
3. Next, write the recipient’s name and address. Leave one line between the date and first part of the recipient’s name and address, and the recipient’s information should be in the same format as that of your information.
Remember that the recipient is not the same as the one authorized to make decisions for you or the one to act on your behalf. You may be granting authority to a proxy to act on your behalf, but the letter must be addressed to the second party, the party with whom you and your proxy are dealing with. You may also see writing templates.
If you do not know the party with which you will be dealing or you are unsure of the name of the party, you may leave the portion blank.
1. In writing the salutation, you must use the appropriate titles such as Dr., Ms., Mrs., Mr., and Atty. rather than using their first names. Write the full name after the title of the person to whom the letter is addressed. If you do not know the name of the party with whom your proxy will be dealing, you can write “To whom it may concern.”
2. Keep the authorization letter short and precise. As stated in the tips above, be precise in your authorization letter and keep it short, simple, and direct to the point to avoid misunderstanding and confusion among the parties involved. This would also save the precious time of the reader as well as your time in preparing such letter. You may also see formal letters.
3. Be specific in the things or tasks that you want the proxy to do in your behalf. Specify the powers, duties, and responsibilities that your representative is authorized to do on your behalf. Give specific details about the authorization you are granting as well as the limitations. For example, if you are authorizing someone to sign documents for medical information, you can start your authorization letter with the following:
“I, (your full name), hereby authorize (proxy’s full name) to release to (the organization that will receive your medical records), the following medical information from my personal medical records: (list of the medical information).”
You must also provide the very specific details for your authorization such as your medical insurance number and claim information. You may also see business reference letters.
4. Specify the dates for the authorization, the date when your authorization will take effect. Make sure to give the beginning and ending dates. In cases that you cannot determine the exact dates, you can write the length of time that your authorization will be in effect.
5. Provide a reason for your authorization letter by explaining why you need a representative to act on your behalf and indicate that you are ill, out of town, or may not be able to be reached for a certain period of time.
6. Clearly write any restrictions or limitations on the authorization and identify the areas that you are not authorizing so that your proxy will be aware as to what extent he or she can act on your behalf. You may also see application letters.
7. Conclude the letter with closing words such as “sincerely yours,” “yours truly,” “kind regards,” and other similar formal words for closing. Leave four blank lines where you are going to write your handwritten signature. Below your signature will be your full name in print.
1. Properly format your letter of authorization and ensure that it is complying with the rules in writing a business letter. The tone must also be consistently formal. Standard business letters use a block format in which all the contents of the letter are flushed left. The body should be single-spaced, and there must be no indentation of the paragraphs; instead, a blank line must separate between the salutation and the first paragraph as well as between paragraphs. You may also see employee verification letters.
2. Commonly, an authorization letter can be made formal, legal, and binding through a notary public or a witness who will observe you signing the authorization letter to ensure that you are not signing the letter under duress and that you are personally giving the authorization. You may also see appointment letters.
3. Print a hard copy of the letter and sign it with blue or black ink for formality. Have your witness sign as well or ask the notary public to notarize the letter. Give the original letter to the proxy for proper documentation that he or she is actually granted an authority. Retain a copy for your own. You may also see job application letters.
Start creating your own authorization now applying the tips presented above or you may refer to the examples in the previous section.