English-Speaking Notarial Services in Portugal

What This Page Covers

This page is for foreign nationals who need a Portuguese notarial act performed in English — for property purchase, a power of attorney to be used in another country, a certified copy of a passport for an AIMA file, a signed declaration for a foreign court, or a certified translation of a Portuguese document for use abroad. It is not a page about English public notaries or British notaries.

In Portugal, the notarial function is performed by notários públicos and — for a defined catalogue of acts under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 — by Portuguese advogados and solicitadores. THE-Ö Legal is a Portuguese law firm operating under Portuguese law. Where you need an English-speaking Portuguese lawyer to perform a Portuguese notarial act in English, this is the correct page.

Who We Are

THE-Ö Legal is a Portuguese law firm registered with the Ordem dos Advogados. Every act we perform is performed by a Portuguese advogado under Portuguese law, using the delegated notarial competence assigned by Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 of 29 March.

The difference between us and a cartório notarial is not the legal effect — the effect is identical for the catalogue of acts covered by DL 76-A/2006. The difference is the language of intake, the language of execution, and the file management around cross-border cases. We work in English, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and our files are organised for foreign counterparties (foreign banks, foreign courts, foreign consulates, foreign registries).

What English-Speaking Clients Typically Need

The most common requests we handle in English involve five categories of act. Each is delivered under Portuguese law with the required Portuguese-language formalities preserved, and with a full English understanding for the signatory.

• Notarised signature on a private document — under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 art. 38, our signature recognition has the same evidential force as a notário's.
• Certified copy of a foreign passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate or court decision for use in a Portuguese file.
• Power of attorney (procuração) for property purchase, banking, corporate management or immigration representation.
• Certified translation of a Portuguese document for use abroad, or of a foreign document for use in Portugal.
• Notarised declaration for use before a foreign counterparty — a foreign court, a foreign consulate, a foreign registry or a foreign bank.

Language and Legal Effect

Portuguese law does not require the signatory of a notarial act to speak Portuguese. Where the signatory does not understand the Portuguese text — for instance, when a private document is drafted in English — Portuguese law requires that an interpreter be present or that the act be performed on the basis of a bilingual document. We handle both.

The certification stamp and the entry in the Ordem's electronic system are performed in Portuguese, as required by law. The intake conversation, the explanation of what you are signing, the answers to your questions and the follow-up documentation are in English. For public deeds performed at a cartório notarial — for example the escritura pública for property — the notário reads the deed in Portuguese; we accompany you and interpret.

Cross-Border Use

For a Portuguese notarial act to be used in another country, an additional legalisation step is normally required. For destinations that are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, we coordinate the Portuguese apostille — issued by the Procuradoria-Geral da República at €10.20 per document, typically immediately. For non-Hague destinations, the Portuguese consular network handles consular legalisation.

For a foreign document to be used in Portugal, we coordinate the reverse: certified translation, verification of the origin-country legalisation, and any Portuguese-side signature recognition or copy certification needed for the specific act.

How We Work

The intake conversation is in English (or Russian, Spanish or Portuguese by your preference). We confirm three things: the receiving authority, the purpose of the act and the destination country. These three facts determine the correct form of the notarial act and any subsequent apostille or consular step.

Scope and fees are confirmed in writing before we begin. Acts are executed in person at our office or, where legally admissible under the November 2021 videoconference regime, remotely. Signed originals and any coordinated apostille or consular legalisation are delivered by secure courier or in person.