A espinha dorsal do direito das sociedades de Portugal — os tipos de sociedade (Lda. / Unipessoal por Quotas), a constituição (Empresa na Hora ou Empresa Online), o registo de atividade (CAE), o registo do beneficiário efetivo (RCBE) e as obrigações correntes de uma Lda. — cada regra datada e ligada à sua fonte primária no Código das Sociedades Comerciais ou numa fonte oficial do IRN / gov.pt / INE.
Este conjunto de dados — estado em direto
| Elemento | Regra | Base legal |
|---|---|---|
| Sociedade por Quotas (Lda) | The standard private limited company: two or more quotaholders whose liability is, in principle, limited to the company assets. Capital is divided into quotas (not shares). This is the usual vehicle for a small or medium business.VerifiedSociedades por quotas are governed by Título III (Arts. 197.º–270.º) of the CSC. | Arts. 197.º ff, Código das Sociedades Comerciais (CSC) |
| Sociedade Unipessoal por Quotas | A single-member private limited company: one quotaholder (a natural or legal person) holding a single quota representing the whole capital. Same limited-liability logic as an Lda, for a sole founder.VerifiedCapítulo X (Arts. 270.º-A ff) of the CSC. The word "Unipessoal" must appear in the firm name (Art. 270.º-B). | Art. 270.º-A ff, CSC |
| Sociedade Anónima (SA) | The public limited company (share capital divided into shares). Generally requires a minimum of 5 shareholders and a minimum share capital of €50,000. Used for larger ventures, not the typical small-business setup.VerifiedMinimum 5 shareholders (Art. 273.º n.º 1) — one shareholder is allowed where it is a company (Art. 273.º n.º 2). Minimum capital €50,000 (Art. 276.º n.º 5). | Arts. 271.º, 273.º, 276.º, CSC |
| Lda — minimum quotaholders | An Lda requires at least two quotaholders; a single founder incorporates a Sociedade Unipessoal por Quotas instead.VerifiedArt. 7.º n.º 2 CSC requires at least two parties to a company contract, save where the law admits a single member (the unipessoal por quotas, Art. 270.º-A). | Art. 7.º n.º 2; Art. 270.º-A, CSC |
| Sociedade por Quotas — minimum share capital | The share capital is freely set by the quotaholders in the articles; each quota must have a nominal value of at least €1. There is no €5,000 minimum (abolished in 2011).VerifiedSince Decreto-Lei n.º 33/2011 (in force 6 April 2011) Art. 201.º provides "capital social livre": the capital equals the sum of the quotas, and no quota may be under €1 (Art. 219.º n.º 3). So the practical floor is €1 per quotaholder (e.g. €2 for a two-member Lda, €1 for a unipessoal). | Arts. 201.º, 219.º n.º 3, CSC (red. DL n.º 33/2011) |
| Quotaholder liability | Liability is limited: each quotaholder is liable only for their own subscribed contribution, and is jointly liable with the others for the full paid-up of the share capital. Company debts are answered for by the company assets.VerifiedArt. 197.º n.º 3: only the company assets answer to creditors for the company’s debts — the "limited liability" of an Lda. This is the statutory principle; it does not displace director/manager liability rules or piercing in abuse cases. | Art. 197.º n.º 1 e n.º 3, CSC |
| Management — gerência | An Lda is managed by one or more gerentes (managers), who may be quotaholders or not. The gerentes bind the company and are appointed in the articles or by shareholder resolution.VerifiedArt. 252.º n.º 1: the company is managed and represented by one or more gerentes, who may be chosen from outside the quotaholders. | Arts. 252.º ff, CSC |
| Elemento | Regra / taxa | Base legal |
|---|---|---|
| Empresa na Hora — in-person, same-day | A special immediate-incorporation regime: the whole company is created over the counter in a single in-person appointment (Loja do Cidadão / IRN desk), using a pre-approved company name from the public list. Standard fee €360.VerifiedCreated by DL n.º 111/2005 and run by the IRN. The €360 fee is now PINNED to the legal fee schedule: Regulamento Emolumentar (DL n.º 322-A/2001), Art. 27.º (Emolumentos comuns) n.º 3.1 — "Pela prática dos actos compreendidos no regime especial de constituição imediata de sociedades … €360" — confirmed verbatim against the DR consolidated text on 2026-08-31. Per n.º 3.4 this €360 is a single all-in value that already includes the name approval at the desk, the mandatory publication and the commercial-registration acts (so it does NOT stack with a separate RNPC certificate when a pre-approved list name is used). Consistent with the Empresa Online own-pacto fee (€360) in incorp-empresa-online. Available for Lda, Unipessoal por Quotas and SA. A custom (non-list) name requires a prior RNPC certificado de admissibilidade instead. "Same-day" describes the appointment itself, not the wait to get one — see incorp-empresa-hora-appointment. | Regime: DL n.º 111/2005. Fee: Regulamento Emolumentar (DL n.º 322-A/2001), Art. 27.º n.º 3.1 |
| Empresa na Hora — appointment & availability | Empresa na Hora is completed in a single appointment, but that appointment must be booked in advance through the SIGA scheduling system (agendamento.gov.pt / gov.pt), and desk availability is limited — slots are often weeks or months out. So "na hora" (on the spot) describes the appointment, not the wait to secure one; the effective lead time is the appointment date. Remote incorporation (Empresa Online, roughly 1-2 weeks) is frequently faster in practice.VerifiedGrounded: Empresa na Hora is the Espaco Empresa service that requires SIGA scheduling (siga.marcacaodeatendimento.pt); the incorporation itself is same-appointment. The CONSTRAINT (limited slots) is asserted; the LIVE waiting time is dynamic and is deliberately NOT fixed here. VERIFIED FLOW (2026-08-31, by driving the real SIGA wizard end-to-end): SIGA has NO standalone availability API — the earliest slot is server-rendered into step 4 (/Marcacao/HorarioLocal) inside <div id="dv_Slots">. Reading it needs NO reCAPTCHA and NO authentication (the captcha only gates the final "Marcar"/booking submit); the wizard is simply stateful, so the path IRN → Tema 22116 → Subtema 22119 → Motivo 22132 → district → desk → Proximo must be replayed in order. LIVE SPOT-CHECK (2026-08-31): the earliest presencial slot at CRCP Loule (Faro, the only Empresa na Hora desk in the district) was 12-11-2026 13h30 — i.e. ~73 days out, confirming the "months, not on-the-spot" reality. This is now watched read-only by scripts/watch-siga.mjs (headless Playwright), which snapshots to scripts/state/siga-empresa-na-hora.json and writes a dated report + GitHub issue on any change, per district/desk. | SIGA — Sistema Integrado de Gestão do Atendimento |
| Empresa Online — remote incorporation | Full remote incorporation over the internet with Cartão de Cidadão / digital-certificate authentication. Fee €220 with a pre-approved model pacto, or €360 where the founders draw up their own articles.VerifiedThe remote alternative to Empresa na Hora. €220 (pre-approved pacto) / €360 (own pacto) are the official justiça.gov.pt published fees; an urgent request doubles them to €440 / €720 (fee table verified 2026-08-31). Foreign founders without a Cartão de Cidadão typically use a lawyer/solicitor with a power of attorney, or the in-person route. | Decreto-Lei n.º 125/2006 |
| Company name approval — RNPC certificado de admissibilidade | A custom company name must be cleared by the Registo Nacional de Pessoas Coletivas (RNPC) via a certificado de admissibilidade — €75 (or €150 urgent), valid 3 months. Empresa na Hora skips this by using a pre-approved name from the public list.VerifiedThe certificate reserves the firm name and assigns the NIPC (regime: DL n.º 129/98); validity 3 months. The €75 / €150 fee is now PINNED to the legal fee schedule: Regulamento Emolumentar (DL n.º 322-A/2001), Art. 23.º (Emolumentos do Registo Nacional de Pessoas Colectivas) n.º 2 — "2.1 Pelo pedido de emissão do certificado — €75" — confirmed verbatim against the DR consolidated text on 2026-08-31. Urgency (n.º 2.2) makes "the value of the emolument corresponding to the act" additionally due, i.e. it doubles to €150. Matches the gov.pt published fees. | Regime: DL n.º 129/98 (RNPC). Fee: Regulamento Emolumentar (DL n.º 322-A/2001), Art. 23.º n.º 2.1 (€75) / n.º 2.2 (urgência) |
| Share capital — realisation | The founders declare the share capital at incorporation. Cash contributions do not need to be deposited up front — they can be paid into the company bank account by the end of the first financial year.VerifiedArt. 202.º n.º 4 CSC allows cash entries to be deferred, with the founders declaring under their responsibility that the amount is deposited/held; the deposit deadline is the end of the first financial year (Art. 26.º n.º 5). Non-cash contributions require a ROC valuation report (Art. 28.º). | Art. 26.º n.º 5; Art. 202.º n.º 4, CSC |
| What incorporation issues | On incorporation you receive the certidão permanente (permanent commercial certificate), the NIPC / cartão de empresa (company tax number) and the company’s Segurança Social number, plus the RCBE declaration.VerifiedEmpresa na Hora issues access codes to the certidão permanente, the cartão de pessoa coletiva (NIPC) and the company Social Security number in the same appointment. Início de atividade at Finanças and the accountant handoff are separate, subsequent steps. | — |
| Non-EU/EEA individual founder — fiscal representative for the first NIF | A founder resident outside the EU/EEA needs a Portugal-resident fiscal representative to obtain and hold their Portuguese NIF while non-resident. The requirement ceases once they become a Portuguese tax resident, when the representation is replaced by adherence to electronic notifications (Portal das Finanças / ViaCTT). Residents of the EU/EEA (plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) are exempt from the outset.VerifiedSequencing matters: the fiscal representative is what lets a non-resident obtain the first NIF; e-notifications becomes the alternative only once the person is set up in the Portal / becomes resident. Confirmed against the AT Representação Fiscal FAQ (items 4627/4634; failure when required is a €75–€7,500 fine). Consistent with the Tax Residency service, which ceases the representative and sets up e-notifications on becoming resident. | LGT Art. 19.º |
| Foreign company as shareholder — Portuguese NIPC via the RNPC / FCPC | A foreign legal entity that becomes a shareholder (sócia) of a Portuguese company must be identified with a Portuguese NIPC. The number is assigned on inscription in the Ficheiro Central de Pessoas Coletivas (FCPC) kept by the RNPC, run by the IRN. As a non-resident with a Portuguese tax relationship, it must also designate a fiscal representative (LGT Art. 19.º) unless it adheres to electronic notifications.VerifiedThe step most foreign founders miss on a 50/50 with an overseas holding company: the holdco needs its own Portuguese NIPC (FCPC inscription at the RNPC/IRN) and, being non-resident, a fiscal representative — plus the RCBE look-through to the ultimate beneficial owner (see rcbe-foreign-owner). Materially more setup than a single-founder Unipessoal. | DL n.º 129/98 (RRNPC) — RNPC / FCPC & NIPC; LGT Art. 19.º |
| Elemento | Regra | Base legal |
|---|---|---|
| CAE — activity classification (CAE-Rev.4) | Economic activities are identified by CAE codes (Classificação Portuguesa das Atividades Económicas, maintained by INE). CAE-Rev.4 is the version in force since 1 January 2025.VerifiedCAE-Rev.4 (DL n.º 9/2025) replaced CAE-Rev.3 (DL n.º 381/2007) from 1 Jan 2025, aligning with NACE-Rev.2.1 (EU) and ISIC-Rev.5 (UN). Existing codes were migrated automatically in INE / AT / IRN records during the 2024–2025 transition (IRCAE survey). | Decreto-Lei n.º 9/2025, de 12 de fevereiro |
| CAE — principal and secondary | A company declares one principal CAE (its main activity) and may add secondary CAEs for other activities it carries on. The CAE is recorded at incorporation and in the início de atividade at Finanças.VerifiedThe CAE drives statistics, the corporate-registry object and the tax declarations. Adding or changing an activity is done by amending the CAEs (a declaração de alterações at Finanças), not by obtaining a licence per activity. | Decreto-Lei n.º 9/2025 (CAE-Rev.4) |
| No generic per-activity "business licence" | Portugal has no generic per-activity business licence. A company lawfully carries on an activity by registering the corresponding CAE code(s) and filing the início de atividade at Finanças — not by buying an activity licence. Only specific regulated activities need a further permit (see below).VerifiedUnder Portuguese law an ordinary (unregulated) activity is exercised by registering its CAE code(s) and filing the início de atividade at Finanças — there is no standalone "trade licence" to buy. Only specific regulated activities need a further sector permit or municipal licence (see cae-regulated-establishments). Asserted from the CAE + início-de-atividade regime, not a per-case interpretation. | Decreto-Lei n.º 9/2025 (CAE); início de atividade (Finanças) |
| Início de atividade (start-of-activity declaration) | Before the first VAT-liable operation, the company must file a declaração de início de atividade at Finanças (declaring its CAE, tax regime and IVA status). It can be filed online on the Portal das Finanças or at a Finanças desk / Loja do Cidadão.VerifiedMust be submitted before the first operation subject to IVA (even if IVA-exempt). For a company this is normally handled by the certified accountant. Failure to file is a tax infraction (coima). The precise article citations (CIVA Art. 31.º / CIRC Art. 118.º) are the declaration-of-activity provisions; treat as faithful-paraphrase of the obligation rather than verbatim. | CIVA Art. 31.º; CIRC Art. 118.º |
| Regulated activities & physical establishments | Specific regulated activities do need a permit beyond the CAE. Retail, services and restaurant establishments — a beauty/wellness studio or a food & beverage venue among them — fall under the RJACSR and require a prior communication (mera comunicação prévia or comunicação prévia com prazo) via the Balcão do Empreendedor, plus sector health/hygiene rules. The exact instrument depends on the activity and município.VerifiedAsserted: certain regulated activities/establishments require a sector permit or a RJACSR prior communication in addition to the CAE — this is a real, general feature of the regime (RJACSR, DL n.º 10/2015, for retail/services/restaurants; sector health rules for beauty/wellness). What varies (and is confirmed per case at the Balcão do Empreendedor / câmara municipal) is the exact instrument, authority and cost — no specific figure is asserted here. | Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2015 (RJACSR), Art. 4.º ff |
| Elemento | Regra | Base legal |
|---|---|---|
| RCBE — who must register | Every entity subject to registration in Portugal (companies, associations, etc.) must declare its beneficial owners — the natural persons who ultimately own or control it — in the Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo (RCBE). The initial declaration is made at/after incorporation.VerifiedLei n.º 89/2017 transposes Chapter III of Directive (EU) 2015/849 (AML). Empresa na Hora incorporations produce an initial RCBE declaration automatically; other routes require a separate RCBE filing on rcbe.justica.gov.pt. | Lei n.º 89/2017, de 21 de agosto; Portaria n.º 233/2018 |
| RCBE — foreign corporate shareholder | When a foreign company co-owns a Portuguese company, the RCBE must look through the corporate chain and identify the ultimate natural-person beneficial owner(s). This is the step most often missed by foreign shareholders.VerifiedThe beneficial owner is always a natural person; a foreign holding company is not itself the beneficial owner. Identifying the natural person(s) behind a foreign shareholder is a required part of the RCBE declaration. | Lei n.º 89/2017 (Regime Jurídico do RCBE) |
| RCBE — keeping it current | After the initial declaration, the RCBE must be updated within 30 days of any change to the declared data, and confirmed annually (by 31 December) even where nothing changed.VerifiedUpdate within 30 days of the triggering fact; annual confirmation by 31 December. Missing it can block certain acts and carries penalties. | Lei n.º 89/2017; Portaria n.º 233/2018 |
| Elemento | Regra | Base legal |
|---|---|---|
| Certified accountant (contabilista certificado) — mandatory | A Portuguese company must have organised accounting signed off by a certified accountant (contabilista certificado, registered with the OCC) from start-of-activity. A company cannot legally do its own accounts or file IES / IRC without one.VerifiedCompanies keep contabilidade organizada (CIRC Art. 123.º); signing the financial statements and tax declarations based on it is an exclusive act of a contabilista certificado (Estatuto da OCC, Art. 10.º). So the accountant is legally required from the start of activity, not optional. | Estatuto da OCC (Lei n.º 139/2015), Art. 10.º; CIRC Art. 123.º (contabilidade organizada) |
| Corporate income tax (IRC) | Company profits are taxed under IRC: a 19% general rate (mainland, 2026), or a reduced 15% on the first €50,000 of taxable income for qualifying SMEs / Small Mid Caps, with the excess at the general rate. Municipal derrama (up to 1.5%) and state derrama may apply.VerifiedMirrors the canonical figures in the Corporate Tax (IRC) dataset (facts irc-general-rate, irc-sme-rate, irc-derrama-*). See /data/corporate-tax-irc for the full IRC spine and the derrama brackets — this fact is the company-law cross-reference, not a second source of truth. | CIRC Art. 87.º (Lei n.º 64/2025) |
| IVA returns & IES annual filing | A company files periodic IVA (VAT) returns (monthly or quarterly by turnover), even at zero, and the annual IES (Informação Empresarial Simplificada) — the combined filing to Finanças, Banco de Portugal, INE and the commercial registry.VerifiedIES was created by DL n.º 8/2007. IVA periodicity (monthly/quarterly) depends on turnover under the CIVA. Both are filed by the certified accountant; missing them triggers automatic penalties. | CIVA (periodic returns); IES — Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2007 |
| RCBE — annual confirmation (recurring) | The beneficial-owner register (RCBE) is a recurring obligation, not a one-off: it must be confirmed annually by 31 December and updated within 30 days of any ownership change.VerifiedCross-references the RCBE dataset (rcbe-update). Listed here because founders frequently treat RCBE as an incorporation-only step and miss the annual confirmation. | Lei n.º 89/2017; Portaria n.º 233/2018 |
| IRC — Modelo 22 annual return, filing deadline | By the last day of the 5th month after the end of the tax period (31 May for a calendar-year company)VerifiedThe Modelo 22 (IRC return) is due by the last day of the 5th month following the tax period; for a calendar-year company that is 31 May. In practice the Secretaria de Estado dos Assuntos Fiscais has, in recent years, granted a short administrative extension (e.g. to 30 June) by despacho — a discretionary, year-specific grace, not a change to the statutory 31 May deadline. | CIRC Art. 120.º n.º 1 |
| IES / declaração anual — filing deadline | By the 15th day of the 7th month after the end of the tax period (15 July for a calendar-year company)VerifiedThe Informação Empresarial Simplificada (the combined annual filing to Finanças, the commercial registry, Banco de Portugal and INE) is due by the 15th day of the 7th month after the tax-period end — 15 July for a calendar-year company (CIRC Art. 121.º n.º 2, applied via Art. 117.º n.º 1 al. c)). As with the Modelo 22, any extension in a given year is a discretionary administrative despacho. | CIRC Art. 121.º n.º 2; IES — Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2007 |
