Permanent Land Registry Certificate

The Permanent Land Registry Certificate is access, via the Internet, in real time and at any time, to all registrations in force, as well as any requests for registration pending on a given building described.

For all legal purposes, this certificate replaces a paper certificate and, as access is via a code, proof of the building's registration can be provided to any public or private entity, simply delivering the code to each of them..

Who and how can you request and consult the Permanent Land Registry Certificate?

The Permanent Certificate can be requested over the internet, on the Land Registry Online portal, simply identifying yourself with your name and indicating the respective email.

You will be asked to identify the property, indicating the district, municipality and parish where the property is located and the respective description number in the land register, as well as, in the case of an autonomous or temporary fraction, the letter that individualizes. In principle, this data can be found in the contracts that have been concluded, relating to the property, such as, for example, in the purchase and sale and in the mortgage. They are also included in other property certificates.

In the case of an older property, and still in a book, it is necessary to indicate the number of the description, the book and pages and the autonomous or temporal fraction. If you want a "Permanent Land Registry Certificate" of several autonomous/temporary fractions, you must make as many subscriptions as the number of fractions you want.

The Permanent Certificate can be consulted by any citizen who has the access code to the certificate.

How to obtain a Permanent Certificate?

To obtain a permanent certificate, follow the steps below:

1. Access the finance portal (www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt) and click on “Online Land Registry”;
2. Select the option “Request for Permanent Certificate”;
3. Fill in the requested fields, such as the access code to the permanent certificate, the fraction number or the building matrix;
4. Pay the associated cost, which may vary by order type;
5. Wait for the order to be sent and the certificate to be issued.

What is the cost of a Permanent Land Registry Certificate?

The request for a Permanent Certificate (or its renewal) has a cost of 15 euros, if done via the Internet, or 20 euros if the request is made at a land registry office. If a paper certificate is requested, this amount will increase to 30 euros.

What is the validity of the Permanent Certificate?

After the computer system has confirmed the payment, you will have access to the information on your building with the value of a certificate, for a period of six months. Renewals can only be requested a maximum of one month in advance. If the validity period expires, the corresponding access code is automatically deactivated. After renewing the Permanent Certificate, the access code remains the same.

Following a registration process, an access code to the permanent certificate may also be provided free of charge, for a period of three months, relating to the properties on which the registration request relates.

What type of registrations can be made on a property

These are some of the most common registrations that can be made at a Land Registry Office and which appear on the Permanent Land Registry Certificate:

• All types of events associated with the constitution, recognition, acquisition or modification of property rights, usufruct, use and habitation, surface or easement. For example: the acquisition of a property by purchase or donation. In the latter case, if the donor reserves the usufruct of the donated good for himself, the registration of acquisition in favor of the donee implies the realization, unofficial (without depending on the will of the parties), of the registration of usufruct.
• The constitution or modification of horizontal property and the right of timeshare;
• Land transformation operations resulting from allotment, structuring of co-ownership and reparcelling, as well as the respective changes;
• The mortgage;
• Financial leasing;
• Attachment and arrest;
• Actions whose purpose, principal or accessory, is the recognition, constitution, modification or extinction of any of the aforementioned rights, as well as the respective final decisions.
• Proceedings aimed at ordering the arrest and listing, as well as any other measures that affect the free disposal of assets.

All registrations can be done via the Internet.Whenever there is a need to register at the Land Registry Office, regarding a given property, the owner will have to be accompanied by the respective updated land book.

Difference between Permanent Certificate and Certificate of Content

The main difference between the permanent certificate and the content certificate lies in the way the information is made available and its validity.

While the permanent certificate is an online document with updated information and is valid for 6 months, the content certificate is a physical document with fixed information at the time of issue and is valid for 3 months.

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

These are some of the frequently asked questions in Portugal about the Permanent Land Registry Certificate:

Conclusion

The permanent certificate is an essential document in the real estate context in Portugal, as it allows access to up-to-date information about a property, such as the description, identification of the owner and any associated charges and charges. Obtaining this document is simple and can be done through the finance portal, with a variable cost and a validity of 6 months.However, it is important to remember to renew the certificate when necessary and consult the information whenever important decisions related to a property need to be made.