Short answer. Six ways. The principal revokes it, the agent withdraws, either of them dies or becomes civilly interdicted, insane or insolvent, the firm that gave or accepted the agency dissolves, the purpose is accomplished, or the agreed period runs out. Ending it and telling the world are separate steps.
What the law says
Agency is extinguished: (1) By its revocation; (2) By the withdrawal of the agent; (3) By the death, civil interdiction, insanity or insolvency of the principal or of the agent; (4) By the dissolution of the firm or corporation which entrusted or accepted the agency; (5) By the accomplishment of the object or purpose of the agency; (6) By the expiration of the period for which the agency was constituted.
Civil Code, Article 1919 — Modes of Extinguishing Agency. Read the full provision →
The two ways a person ends it
Revocation and withdrawal are the deliberate routes. A principal may generally revoke at will, because an agency rests on trust and nobody is made to keep a representative he no longer trusts. An agent may likewise withdraw, but not simply by walking away: he must give notice to the principal, and if the sudden departure would cause harm, he is expected to carry on until the principal has had a reasonable opportunity to make other arrangements. Some agencies are harder to revoke than others, particularly where the authority was created as part of a bargain in which the agent himself has an interest.
The events that end it without anyone deciding
The rest of the list operates on its own. Death, civil interdiction, insanity or insolvency of either side ends the agency, because the authority to act for another cannot survive the loss of the capacity that created it. So does the dissolution of the firm or corporation that gave or accepted the mandate. Accomplishment of the purpose and expiry of the period are the tidy endings: an agent appointed to sell one parcel has nothing left to do once it is sold, and a one-year authority stops at the year even if the work is unfinished. Long-dormant powers of attorney are worth re-reading for that reason.
Death is where the trouble usually starts
Families often keep using a parent's power of attorney after the parent has died, on the understanding that the document is still in the drawer. It is not the document that carries the authority. There are two qualifications worth knowing. An agency established in the common interest of the principal and the agent, or of a third person who accepted the arrangement, is not necessarily extinguished by death. And an agent who acts in good faith, not yet knowing of the principal's death, may bind the estate in favour of a third person who also dealt in good faith. Neither of those excuses continuing to trade on a mandate you know has ended.
Ending it and proving it ended
Extinguishment is one thing; protecting yourself from what the former agent does next is another. Notify the agent in writing and keep proof of receipt. Notify separately the specific people he was dealing with, because a revocation nobody told them about may not prejudice them. Recover the original instrument and any documents or property of yours he holds, and ask for an accounting of everything done and collected up to the ending date. Where the agency was registered or filed with a bank, a registry or an agency, file the revocation there too. Silence after the ending is what lets an ended authority go on causing damage.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Spouses Feliciana and Angel Cesa vs. Spouses Elisa Montano Brucelas and David Brucelas, G.R. No. 255564, March 5, 2025 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Marcelino E. Lopez, et al. vs. The Hon. Court Appeals and Primex Corporation/Marcelino E. Lopez, et al. vs. The Honorable Court of Appeals and Primex Corporation, G.R. No. 163959 / G.R. No. 177855, August 1, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →