Can I complete the deed without being there?

Yes, through a power of attorney with specific powers to buy that particular property. It must follow the legal form required and is normally executed before a notary. If granted abroad it needs legalisation or an apostille and, if in another language, a translation. Sort this out well in advance: a badly drafted power of attorney, or one with insufficient powers, is enough to stop the act going ahead that day. If there is a mortgage, tell the bank, because it must also accept the power of attorney for the loan.

Who chooses the notary, the buyer or the seller?

As a rule, whoever bears the costs of the act chooses, and those normally fall on the buyer. With a mortgage, however, the bank usually nominates the notary, desk or solicitor it works with, because they prepare and register the charge. It is not an arbitrary imposition, and refusing it usually delays the booking. If you have a reason to prefer another venue, raise it early, not in the week of the deed.

How long is there between the promissory contract and the deed?

It depends on the bank and on the state of the paperwork, not on a fixed rule. What weighs on it: the property valuation, the issue and validity of the mortgage offer, obtaining missing documents from the seller, and cancelling old charges. The deadline is whatever the promissory contract says, so negotiate it with slack and provide for an extension. A tight deadline turns an administrative delay into a breach with consequences for your deposit.

Do I need a lawyer at the deed?

It is not compulsory. The notary or solicitor formalising the act guarantees legality and the identity of the parties, but is impartial and does not defend your interest. Checking the registry certificate, the tax record, the habitation licence and whether they agree with one another is a different job, and it is done beforehand, not on the day. It can be done by a lawyer, a solicitor or a buyer-side adviser. What must not happen is nobody doing it.

What happens if a document is missing on the day?

It depends on the document. If proof of payment of transfer tax and stamp duty is missing, or the registry certificate shows an encumbrance still to be cancelled, the act does not go ahead. If something is missing on the seller's side, the postponement is attributable to whoever failed and the promissory contract sets out what follows, including deadlines and the fate of the deposit. Do not agree to sign on a promise that the document will turn up later. Rebooking costs days; signing over a problem can cost the whole purchase.

The buyer's guide

The deed: what happens and what to bring on the day

The deed is the act in which ownership changes hands and, where there is a mortgage, in which the bank releases the money and registers its charge over the property. It can take place at a notary's office, at a Casa Pronta desk, or through a private document authenticated by a lawyer or solicitor. The act itself is short and holds no surprises if the earlier work has been done. In the room you will find the buyer, the seller, whoever formalises the act and, almost always, a representative of the lending bank. The buyer brings valid ID, a Portuguese tax number and proof that IMT and stamp duty have been paid, because without that proof the act does not go ahead. Everything else (a clean land registry certificate, the habitation licence, the energy certificate, the condominium declaration) is the seller's obligation, but it is the buyer who ends up without a house if something is missing. The deed is won in the weeks before it, not on the day.

Where it happens and what gets signed

There are three ways to formalise a property purchase in Portugal and all carry the same legal weight. A public deed before a notary. A Casa Pronta desk, a service of the national registry institute, where the purchase, the mortgage and the registration are all handled in one place on the same day. Or a private document authenticated by a lawyer, solicitor, notary or chamber of commerce, the route many banks prefer because it keeps the process on their side.\n\nWhere there is a mortgage you do not sign one contract, you sign two in the same sitting: the sale and purchase, and the loan secured by a charge over the property. They are separate transactions. One transfers the house to you, the other gives the bank security over it. If the seller still has a loan outstanding, a third document comes in, the release of the existing charge, without which the house reaches you with a registered encumbrance.\n\nAs a rule, whoever bears the costs of the act chooses the venue, and those costs normally fall on the buyer. In practice, with a mortgage the bank usually nominates the notary or solicitor it works with. Accepting that nomination speeds things up and rarely costs more.

Who is in the room

The buyer and the seller, or their attorneys under a power of attorney. If the property belongs to a married couple, both sign, and the same applies on the buying side depending on the marital property regime. If there are heirs, all of them must be present, or the estate must have been divided beforehand.\n\nWhoever formalises the act: the notary, the registrar, or the lawyer or solicitor authenticating the document. They are impartial by professional duty. They check the legality of the act and the identity of the signatories. They are not your lawyer and will not assess whether the deal suits you.\n\nA representative of the lending bank, often an attorney or an external lawyer, who hands over the payment instruments and signs for the institution. The seller's bank does not attend, but the release of its existing charge must be on the table. The estate agent is usually there too, collecting the commission at that moment, and was engaged by the seller. And if any party does not speak Portuguese, an interpreter is required: the law demands that whoever signs understands what they are signing.\n\nThe buyer may also bring their own adviser. It is worth understanding the arithmetic of the room: the agent represents the seller, the bank's representative represents the bank, the notary represents nobody. The only person representing the buyer is the one the buyer brings.

What must be settled before the day

Taxes paid. Transfer tax (IMT) and stamp duty on the purchase are settled beforehand and the receipt is produced at the act. IMT is progressive in bands, with a marginal rate and an amount deducted from the result, and the applicable rate depends on whether the property is your permanent home, a second home, or rural land. There is also an exemption regime for young buyers, with conditions and ceilings. The values change with each annual budget, so always confirm on the tax authority's own IMT simulator, never on a table copied from a blog. With a mortgage there is stamp duty on the financing as well.\n\nInsurance in force. The bank will require buildings insurance and, almost always, life cover linked to the loan. The policies must be issued and effective on the date of the act, not the day after.\n\nFunds ready and in the right form. The deposit was already paid at the promissory contract stage. The balance is handed over at the act, by bank draft or by a transfer already executed and confirmed. Cash payments are capped by law and in practice cash is not used at a deed.\n\nDraft read. Ask for the draft document days in advance and read it. Check names, marital status and property regime, the identification of the property, its tax and registry references, the price and the payment method. An error in any of those fields is fixed by email before the act and costs a formal rectification after it.\n\nFinal visit to the property. Go the day before or that morning. Confirm it is empty, that whatever was agreed to stay is still there, that there is no new damage, and that you can read the meters.

Documents: what you bring and what you demand

The buyer brings: valid civil ID (citizen card or passport), a Portuguese tax number, proof of payment of transfer tax and stamp duty, the agreed payment instruments, the insurance policies if the bank asks for them at the act, and, if signing on someone else's behalf, a power of attorney with specific powers for the purpose. If married, bring your spouse's details and your marital property regime.\n\nThe seller produces, and the buyer checks in advance: an up-to-date tax register extract (caderneta predial) showing the property's tax reference and area; a land registry certificate showing the registered owner and any encumbrances (mortgages, seizures, usufructs, registered pre-emption rights); the habitation licence issued by the municipality, bearing in mind that sufficiently old buildings are exempt and the municipality then issues a certificate saying so; the energy certificate, mandatory for selling under Decreto-Lei 101-D/2020; the technical data sheet for more recent buildings; and a declaration from the condominium manager stating any outstanding charges, which the law requires the seller to produce unless the buyer expressly waives it. Never waive it without knowing what the unit owes.\n\nIn certain cases pre-emption rights must also be respected, for example those of the municipality in protected areas, of a sitting tenant, or of co-owners. Where they exist they must have been notified beforehand, otherwise the sale can be challenged later.\n\nA practical rule: certificates expire, and the land registry certificate should be checked on the day of the deed itself. A seizure can be registered between the booking and the signature, and whoever checked three weeks ago checked nothing.

How the act runs and how payment works

The act is quick and predictable. Identities are verified, the documents are checked, the content of the contract is read or explained, questions are answered, and it is signed. Where there is a mortgage, the loan and charge are signed straight afterwards with the bank's representative.\n\nPayment happens there and then. The amount financed by the bank does not necessarily pass through your account: the bank issues a bank draft in the seller's name and, where the seller still has a loan outstanding, a separate draft in the name of the seller's bank for the exact amount owed, against delivery of the release of charge. Your own equity is handed over by bank draft or by an already confirmed transfer. Amounts already paid as a deposit are deducted, under the terms of the promissory contract. The agency commission is usually paid at that moment by the party that engaged the agency, which is the seller.\n\nThe keys are handed over at the end, after signing. If something does not add up, do not sign. A signed deed is corrected in court or by agreement between the parties. A postponed deed is corrected with a phone call and a new date. The cost of waiting a week is almost always lower than the cost of signing over a problem.

After signing

The step that closes the purchase is not the signature, it is the registration. The acquisition and the mortgage must be registered at the land registry. At a Casa Pronta desk registration happens during the act itself. By the other routes it falls to the notary, the bank's solicitor, or the buyer, within a legal deadline. Confirm who is doing it, then keep the certified copy of the title and proof of definitive registration. Until it is registered in your name, the house is not secure against third parties.\n\nThen the administrative work. Transferring the water, electricity, gas and telecoms accounts. Notifying the condominium manager. Updating your tax address if this becomes your residence. And the update of ownership at the tax authority, which follows from the registry's own notification.\n\nOn tax, municipal property tax is owed by whoever owns the property at the end of the year it relates to, and is billed the following year. There is a temporary exemption regime for a permanent own home, subject to conditions and to a ceiling on the property's rateable value. Conditions and ceilings change, so check them on the tax authority portal before counting on them.

What makes a deed fail

Almost everything that derails a deed is detectable weeks earlier. The list repeats itself: a mortgage or seizure still registered with no release issued; a habitation licence that does not exist, or was issued for a use different from the property's current one; a registered area that differs from the area on the tax record; works carried out and never legalised, including added rooms and basements turned into living space; an undivided estate and an heir who does not turn up; transfer tax settled on the wrong value, or claimed under a relief the buyer does not actually qualify for; a mortgage offer issued with conditions still unmet; insurance that was never activated; a pre-emption right that was never notified.\n\nThe pattern is always the same: none of these problems is born on the day of the deed. They are born in the registry certificate, the tax record and the licence, documents anyone can request and few read carefully. That is why the buyer-side work happens beforehand, and why having someone do it for you has value even when it costs you nothing, because in Portugal the agency commission is borne by the selling side.

Common questions

Can I complete the deed without being there?: Yes, through a power of attorney with specific powers to buy that particular property. It must follow the legal form required and is normally executed before a notary. If granted abroad it needs legalisation or an apostille and, if in another language, a translation. Sort this out well in advance: a badly drafted power of attorney, or one with insufficient powers, is enough to stop the act going ahead that day. If there is a mortgage, tell the bank, because it must also accept the power of attorney for the loan.
Who chooses the notary, the buyer or the seller?: As a rule, whoever bears the costs of the act chooses, and those normally fall on the buyer. With a mortgage, however, the bank usually nominates the notary, desk or solicitor it works with, because they prepare and register the charge. It is not an arbitrary imposition, and refusing it usually delays the booking. If you have a reason to prefer another venue, raise it early, not in the week of the deed.
How long is there between the promissory contract and the deed?: It depends on the bank and on the state of the paperwork, not on a fixed rule. What weighs on it: the property valuation, the issue and validity of the mortgage offer, obtaining missing documents from the seller, and cancelling old charges. The deadline is whatever the promissory contract says, so negotiate it with slack and provide for an extension. A tight deadline turns an administrative delay into a breach with consequences for your deposit.
Do I need a lawyer at the deed?: It is not compulsory. The notary or solicitor formalising the act guarantees legality and the identity of the parties, but is impartial and does not defend your interest. Checking the registry certificate, the tax record, the habitation licence and whether they agree with one another is a different job, and it is done beforehand, not on the day. It can be done by a lawyer, a solicitor or a buyer-side adviser. What must not happen is nobody doing it.
What happens if a document is missing on the day?: It depends on the document. If proof of payment of transfer tax and stamp duty is missing, or the registry certificate shows an encumbrance still to be cancelled, the act does not go ahead. If something is missing on the seller's side, the postponement is attributable to whoever failed and the promissory contract sets out what follows, including deadlines and the fate of the deposit. Do not agree to sign on a promise that the document will turn up later. Rebooking costs days; signing over a problem can cost the whole purchase.

Where to check the figures

We do not publish tax tables or percentages: they change with each state budget, and an out-of-date number on an agency's own site is a problem rather than a typo. The sources above carry the current value.

Reviewed 2026-07-27