Guide
An agreement that has to be
written and registered
Many deals in Pakistan are still made on a handshake and a piece of paper. When something goes wrong years later, the paper is all there is. This page is about making the paper hold: what goes in it, what it is written on, and when it has to be registered.
Where this applies This page covers agreements made in Pakistan or about something in Pakistan. Stamp duty and registration are provincial. The amounts and the offices differ, and an advocate confirms them for your province.
What this is about
Three things make a paper hold. The wording, so that it says what was agreed and nothing less. The stamp paper, because many kinds of agreement have to be written on paper of a set value or the court will not read them. And registration, because for some agreements, above all those about land, only a registered paper is proof.
From abroad, the difficulty is signing. Your signature has to be made in front of someone who can confirm it, or a power of attorney has to allow someone else to sign for you.
What has to be in place
What has to be in place.
What was agreed, in plain words, before any drafting.
The identity documents of everyone signing.
A power of attorney, attested, if someone signs for you.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What you will be asked for.
- Identity documents of the parties.
- The papers the agreement is about: the record extract, the previous deed, the invoice.
- Two witnesses, for most registered agreements.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Drafts the agreement in the form a court expects, on the right stamp paper.
- Has it registered where registration is required.
- Signs for you under a power of attorney, or arranges for your signature to be confirmed where you are.
What to ask before you agree
- Does this agreement have to be registered, and where?
- Who will sign for me, and what will the power of attorney say?
- Which stamp paper does it go on, and who buys it?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Papers and signatures
I need someone in Pakistan to act for mePapers and signaturesA document has to be attested, notarised or translatedPapers and signatures
I want to send a legal notice, or I have received onePapers and signatures
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- stamp paper
- Paper of a set value that many agreements have to be written on.
- registration
- Entering an agreement in the public register, which for land is what makes it proof.
- affidavit
- A written statement made on oath.
- agreement to sell
- The agreement made before the sale deed.
Sources
Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.
Checked
11 September 2026
Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.