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There are 2 main types:

The first is a General or Ordinary Power of Attorney.

A general Power of Attorney authorises the attorney (the person being given the power) to carry out any act that the donor (the person giving the power) could have carried out personally (though there are some minor exceptions to this), or it can be given for a specific task.
They are usually created for a set period of time usually often where the person giving the power (the Donor) is temporarily unavailable such as when going abroad or being unable to deal with his affairs for some other reason.

They will end either on a specified date, at the request of the donor or on the donor’s death or loss of mental capacity. There is no requirement for a General Power of Attorney to be registered however for it to be valid, it must be signed as a deed and witnessed by an independent witness.

The Second type of Power of Attorney is an Enduring Power (EPA).

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a special form of Power of Attorney which generally gives all the rights a general Power of Attorney gives but continues to be valid after the Donor has become mentally incapable of managing his or her affairs. A general Power will become invalid if this happens. Note that the donor of an EPA must always have mental capacity when granting the power.

To be effective an EPA must be registered to be effective.
When the Attorney becomes aware or has reason to believe that the Donor has become or is becoming mentally incapable then he or she has a duty to apply to the Court of Protection for registration of the Power.