In short
"ppa." stands for "per procura" and shows in a signature that an authorised signatory with Prokura is signing for the business. Anyone who only has a commercial power of attorney may not use this addition and usually signs with "i. V.".
ppa. explained
The HGB requires the holder of Prokura to add their name to the company name with an addition indicating the Prokura (Sec. 51 HGB). In practice, this is "ppa.". For the recipient, this means the signatory has far-reaching authority to represent. It arises as soon as it is granted (Sec. 48 (1) HGB); entry in the commercial register must be applied for, but is not a condition of its validity (Sec. 53 HGB). A holder of commercial power of attorney must refrain from any Prokura addition and sign with an addition expressing the power of attorney (Sec. 57 HGB), usually "i. V." for "in Vertretung" (on behalf of). The commercial register extract shows whether someone really holds Prokura and whether they may sign alone or only jointly with others.
