How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Portugal: AMI Licence & Income

In short — as of August 2026: To trade as a real-estate intermediary in Portugal you (or your company) need an AMI licence (licença de mediação imobiliária) issued by IMPIC, requiring civil-liability insurance of at least €150,000, clean tax and Social Security records, no relevant criminal record for directors, and suitable premises — plus an annual €265 regulation fee. Most newcomers skip this entirely and work as a consultant (angariador) under an already AMI-licensed agency instead, invoicing via recibos verdes, no licence of their own required. Typical agency commissions run 4–5% + 23% IVA of the sale price (up to 6% for luxury or complex deals), but a consultant keeps only a negotiated share — commonly 30–70% — of that. Income is commission-only with no guaranteed minimum, so treat the first year as a pipeline-building exercise, not a salary replacement. Confirm current IMPIC fees and insurance minimums before committing, as regulatory figures are reviewed periodically.

Two ways in: consultant under an agency, or your own AMI licence

Almost every foreigner asking "how do I become a real estate agent in Portugal" is actually asking one of two different questions, and the honest answer depends on which one it is.

Route 1 — Work as a consultant (angariador) under an existing AMI-licensed agency. This is how the vast majority of people start, and it's the route with the lowest cost and fastest path to earning. The agency holds the AMI licence, the insurance and the regulatory responsibility; you find and manage clients, viewings and negotiations under their brand and supervision, and get paid a share of whatever commission the agency earns on deals you originate or close. You typically register as self-employed and invoice the agency through recibos verdes rather than being a payroll employee, though some agencies do offer employment contracts, particularly larger franchises.

Route 2 — Form your own AMI-licensed company. This is the route for people who already have real estate experience, capital, and want to build (or already run) an agency rather than work inside one. You need a company (usually a Lda), the AMI licence itself, the mandatory insurance, and — realistically — a business plan that accounts for the fact that you're now responsible for the compliance, insurance and reputational risk of every transaction that goes through your licence, including any consultants working under you.

Most people should start with Route 1. Building a client base and a feel for the local market before taking on the licensing and compliance burden of Route 2 is the pattern most successful agents in Portugal actually followed — few start by opening their own agency on day one.

The AMI licence: what IMPIC actually requires

The AMI licence (Autorização para o exercício da atividade de Mediação Imobiliária) is issued by IMPIC — the Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção — and is the legal precondition for any person or company intermediating property sales, purchases, leases or exchanges in Portugal. It applies to companies (the licence holder is nearly always a legal entity, not an individual), and its core requirements are:

• No debts to the State or Social Security. You must provide a certificate proving your company has no outstanding tax or Social Security debts, or that payment is guaranteed, and that it's compliant with its filing obligations for the year of the application.
• Mandatory professional civil-liability insurance. A policy (or equivalent financial guarantee) covering the mediation activity, with a minimum insured capital of €150,000. Any gap in the policy's validity — even briefly — can trigger cancellation of the licence, so this isn't a one-off box to tick; it has to stay current every year.
• Commercial suitability (idoneidade comercial). Directors and legal representatives can't have a relevant criminal record — the certificate must be requested specifically for the purpose of "mediação imobiliária" and must be valid at the date of submission to IMPIC.
• Suitable business premises. The company needs a registered address appropriate to the activity — this can be a physical office or, increasingly, a compliant registered-office arrangement, but it has to actually support running the business.
• Company registration documents. A permanent certificate of commercial registry (certidão permanente) or the access code, confirming the company exists and its real estate activity is properly classified under the relevant CAE code.

Once submitted, IMPIC targets a decision within 20 working days of a complete file, with formal notification within a further five days. In practice, the slow part isn't IMPIC's review — it's assembling the criminal-record certificates, tax/Social Security clearance and a bound insurance policy before you submit. Once licensed, there's an annual regulation fee of €265, and every January you must reconfirm the licence's underlying requirements — insurance in force, no new debts, suitability unchanged — or risk suspension.

This is exactly the kind of multi-agency paperwork chain — company registration, insurance procurement, IMPIC filing — where using a service that's done it before saves real weeks. GrowIN's company setup service coordinates the incorporation, CAE classification and the AMI application itself, so you're not learning IMPIC's document checklist from scratch while trying to also start selling property.

The commission model: what "commission-only" actually means

There's no salary in real estate sales in Portugal — this is the single fact newcomers underestimate most. Agencies typically charge sellers a commission of 4–5% + 23% IVA of the final sale price, with well-priced, in-demand properties sometimes negotiated down toward 3%, and complex, luxury or niche properties sometimes reaching 6% + IVA. A €300,000 sale at 5% + IVA generates roughly €18,450 in commission to the agency — but that's the agency's revenue, not the consultant's.

As a consultant working under an agency's licence, your split of that commission depends on several things the agency will spell out (or should, before you sign anything):

• Whether you sourced the listing (angariação) or just closed a buyer — sourcing your own listings typically earns a larger share than working a lead the agency generated.
• Whether the deal was shared with another consultant or another agency (co-mediation is common in Portugal, and splits the pot again).
• Your seniority tier — most agency and franchise models scale the consultant's percentage up as you close more volume, from perhaps 30% for a newcomer toward 50–70% for an established top performer.
• What the agency deducts for marketing, portal listings (Idealista, Imovirtual), CRM access and admin support before the split is calculated — always get this in writing.

Watch out for

• No base salary, no guaranteed leads. Agencies rarely pay a retainer to consultants; you're paid only when a deal closes, and closing takes months, not weeks, for most transactions.
• The "sign here" split trap. Get the exact commission percentage, what triggers it (signed promissory contract vs. completed deed — escritura), and any deductions in writing before you start generating leads for an agency — verbal promises about splits are a recurring source of disputes.
• Recibos verdes reality. As a self-employed consultant you cover your own Social Security (21.4% on 70% of income, exempt for the first 12 months) and IVA once you cross the €15,000 exemption threshold — this isn't withheld for you the way a payroll salary would be.
• The market cycle is the real risk, not the licence. A slow six months in the property market hits a commission-only consultant's income directly; there's no cushion. Anyone relying on real estate income to meet a visa's financial-means threshold (D2, D7) should treat it as volatile, not guaranteed.
• Your own AMI licence means your own liability. If you take Route 2, IMPIC and your insurer hold you responsible for the conduct of every consultant trading under your licence — vet who you bring in as carefully as you'd vet a business partner.
• Verify the agency's own AMI number. Before signing on with any agency as a consultant, check its licence is valid on IMPIC's public register — working under a lapsed or suspended licence exposes you to the same risk as the agency.

Case study — a first year as a consultant in the Algarve

Marta, a former hotel sales manager from Faro, joined a mid-sized agency in the Algarve as a self-employed consultant in early 2025, invoicing via recibos verdes and exempt from Social Security contributions for her first 12 months. Her split was 40% on agency-sourced leads and 55% on listings she brought in herself. Her first four months produced viewings but no closings — a stretch she hadn't budgeted for, living off savings while covering her own transport and marketing costs (roughly €200/month on fuel, phone and basic promotion). Her first sale closed in month five: a €260,000 apartment at a 5% + IVA agency commission (€15,990), on a listing she'd sourced herself, earning her 55% — €8,794 gross, before her own IVA obligations and Social Security once the exemption year ended. By December she'd closed three deals total for the year, for a gross first-year income of roughly €19,500 — respectable for a first year, but arriving in three lumps rather than a steady wage, and well short of what her hotel salary had paid monthly. She kept a day job's worth of savings in reserve throughout and didn't quit her side consulting work in hospitality until year two.

Candid verdict

Real estate consulting in Portugal is a genuinely accessible way in — no licence, low upfront cost, and a route that suits people with sales instincts, local knowledge or a network (particularly among expat or foreign-buyer communities, where language and cultural fluency is a real edge). But it is not a stable income in year one. Expect a slow first several months, commission arriving in irregular lumps rather than a salary, and real exposure to a property market that can cool without warning. It suits people with 6–12 months of savings runway, an appetite for cold outreach and viewings, and no immediate need for guaranteed monthly income. It's a poor fit for anyone who needs real estate income to satisfy a visa's proof-of-funds requirement in year one, or who can't absorb a few commission-free months. Forming your own AMI-licensed agency (Route 2) is a bigger, riskier step that only makes sense once you've proven you can generate a pipeline consistently under someone else's licence first.

For the company side of this decision, see our guides on how to open a company in Portugal step by step and the real cost of starting a business in Portugal, and for other paths worth comparing, our roundup of 10 business ideas to start in Portugal. Once you're trading, our guide to running a company in Portugal in the first year covers the ongoing accounting and compliance either route eventually requires.

Weighing up your own AMI licence versus joining an agency as a consultant? Our company setup service handles the incorporation, CAE classification and the IMPIC licence file end-to-end — talk to us before you commit to a structure you'll have to unwind later.