Notarial Services in Portugal

Who Delivers Notarial Acts in Portugal

In Portugal, the notarial function is defined in the Código do Notariado as the activity that gives legal form and confers public faith ("fé pública") on out-of-court juridical acts. The primary organ is the notário — a public officer. However, since Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 of 29 March, Portuguese advogados (lawyers registered with the Ordem dos Advogados) and solicitadores hold delegated competence to perform a specific catalogue of notarial acts.

Both routes produce equally valid results: an act performed by a Portuguese advogado under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 has the same evidential force as one performed at a cartório notarial. Câmaras de comércio e indústria and, for certain purposes, juntas de freguesia and CTT hold parallel or partial competence.

THE-Ö Legal is a Portuguese law firm. We deliver the acts that fall within the delegated notarial competence of Portuguese advogados — signature recognition, certified copies, authenticated private documents, powers of attorney, and translation certification. We do not present ourselves as a public cartório and we do not issue apostilles: apostilles are issued by the Procuradoria-Geral da República and its district services. Where an act requires an escritura pública or an official register entry, we coordinate the process with the competent notário or conservatória.

Full Scope of Notarial Services

The table below shows what is delivered directly by a Portuguese advogado under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006, what requires a notário público or public authority, and what we coordinate on your behalf.

• Signature recognition (simples, com menções especiais, presencial, por semelhança) — DIRECT.
• Certified copy of documents (certificação de fotocópias) — DIRECT.
• Authentication of private documents (termo de autenticação / documento particular autenticado) — DIRECT for the acts covered by Decreto-Lei n.º 116/2008 and Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006.
• Powers of attorney (procuração) — DIRECT for private authenticated form; escritura pública required for certain acts.
• Certified translations (via signature recognition of the translator or via advogado certification) — DIRECT.
• Sworn declarations and statutory statements — DIRECT (drafting + recognition).
• Apostille (Hague) — coordinated: apostilles are issued by the PGR and district services.
• Consular legalisation (for non-Hague destinations) — coordinated with the Portuguese consular network.
• Escritura pública (public deed) — requires a public notário; we prepare the file and represent you.

Signature Recognition (Reconhecimento de Assinatura)

Portuguese law distinguishes several forms of signature recognition, each carrying a different level of formality and used in different scenarios. Choosing the wrong form causes documents to be rejected by receiving authorities.

We deliver simple, presencial and menções especiais recognitions under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 art. 38 and Decreto-Lei n.º 237/2001 arts. 5-6. Where the receiving authority requires a particular form — such as recognition by similarity for representative capacity, or a specific mention for property or corporate acts — we adjust the recognition accordingly.

Certified Copies (Certificação de Fotocópias)

A certified copy attests the conformity of a photocopy with the original. Under Decreto-Lei n.º 28/2000 and Decreto-Lei n.º 237/2001 art. 5, certifications performed by advogados carry the same evidential force as those performed with notarial intervention. Each act must be recorded in the Ordem's electronic system at the moment of certification (Portaria n.º 657-B/2006).

Acceptance by any particular recipient — AIMA, IRN, a bank, a consulate, a foreign court, a university — is not universal and depends on the purpose, the recipient, the type of original document and the professional who certifies it. We confirm the correct route with you before issuing the certified copy.

Authentications and Documento Particular Autenticado

A termo de autenticação is a notarial act that authenticates a private document, giving it the same evidential force as a public deed for the acts covered by Decreto-Lei n.º 116/2008. It is not a substitute for an escritura pública in every situation: for some acts — including wills and certain land-registry transfers — an escritura or a specific registered act remains required.

Since 15 November 2021, authentication and signature recognition can also be performed by videoconference for the range of acts published in the corresponding Justice Portal notice, including CPCV, real-estate deeds within the Casa Pronta framework, divorce and separation by mutual consent, and inheritance qualification. Wills and some land-registration acts are excluded.

Powers of Attorney (Procuração)

Under Article 262 no. 1 of the Portuguese Civil Code, a procuração is the act by which a person voluntarily grants another representative powers. The form of the procuração follows the form of the act the representative must perform: for acts requiring an escritura pública, the procuração itself must observe the same solemnity.

A private procuração authenticated by an advogado under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 is valid for most day-to-day representation needs, including AIMA, IRN, banking, tax authority and the Ministério da Justiça electronic procuracoesonline.pt registry. For real-estate deeds, corporate transactions and some family-law acts, a specific form may be required.

Certified Translations

Portugal does not maintain a sworn-translator registry equivalent to the Spanish traductor jurado or the Brazilian tradutor juramentado. The IRN certification pathway names five equivalent professionals who can certify a translation performed by a qualified translator: notário, conservador ou oficial dos registos, advogado, solicitador, câmara de comércio e indústria.

Under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006 art. 38, THE-Ö advogados can certify translations by recognising the translator's signature and issuing the authentication. Where a document is a public document issued in another EU Member State that falls under the specific EU exemption, an alternative certification path applies.

Apostille (Hague) — Coordinated

The Portuguese apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention is issued by the Procuradoria-Geral da República, with delegated authority to District Deputy Prosecutors General in Porto, Coimbra and Évora, and to prosecutors in Madeira (Funchal) and the Azores (Ponta Delgada). The service fee is €10.20 per document; issuance is typically immediate.

Since 15 March 2025 in Lisbon and 15 April 2025 nationwide, requests can also be submitted online for electronic documents through apostila.ministeriopublico.pt. Physical documents are handled in person at the designated PGR services. We prepare documents to the correct standard, submit on your behalf where possible, and deliver the apostilled originals to you.

Sworn Declarations and Statutory Statements

Under Portuguese practice, sworn declarations (declarações sob compromisso de honra) are commonly self-drafted for municipal, employment or academic purposes and do not require a lawyer. Where a declaration is required for use abroad — for foreign courts, foreign registries, non-Hague destinations or foreign banking — we draft the declaration under Portuguese law, recognise your signature under Decreto-Lei n.º 76-A/2006, and coordinate any subsequent apostille or consular legalisation.

This includes single-status declarations for use in a foreign marriage registration, declarations of celibacy, cohabitation confirmations for foreign authorities and residence declarations for foreign consulates.

Multilingual Access

THE-Ö Legal delivers notarial acts in English, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Where a signatory does not speak Portuguese, an interpreter is engaged for the act itself as required by Portuguese law; the certification and authentication remain performed by a Portuguese advogado under Portuguese law.

We do not describe ourselves as an English public notary or a British notary. What we offer is native Portuguese notarial capability with authoritative delivery in the language of the signatory.

How We Work

Every engagement begins with an intake conversation that confirms three things: the receiving authority, the purpose of the act, and the destination country. These three facts determine whether we need a simple signature recognition, a signature recognition with special mentions, a termo de autenticação, an apostille, a consular legalisation, or a combination.

We then confirm scope and fees in writing, complete the act (in-person or, where legally admissible, by videoconference), and deliver signed originals plus any coordinated apostille or consular step. Where a step falls outside our direct delivery — apostille, consular legalisation, escritura pública, register entry — we coordinate the file and represent you before the competent authority.