How to Set Up Your Company in Portugal

Portugal offers accessible paths to launch a company. In fact, there are three main ways to register a company in Portugal, each catering to different needs:

• Empresa na Hora (Company in One Hour): the quickest route, with incorporation completed in-person at a government desk. This option is best for founders who accept standard articles of association provided by government authorities and are willing to choose from a pre-approved list of company names.
• Empresa Online (Online Company): good if you want to incorporate remotely.
• Traditional Corporate Method: ideal for more complex company structures or when you need customized articles of association. It involves more steps, coordination with notaries or legal professionals.

In this post we will describe the main steps you need to take to incorporate your company, following each of these procedures.

Preparation

Before registering your company, however, there are a few important details and documents you’ll need to have in advance. These include:

• Identify who the shareholders will be. Note that the required documentation differs depending on whether the shareholder is a company or an individual.
• Decide how the share capital will be divided among the shareholders.
• Appoint the company’s manager(s), meaning the person(s) responsible for representing and managing the company.
• Define your company’s corporate purpose and registered address in Portugal.
• Define your company's name. Here, you can choose one of the pre-approved company names available through the Portuguese authorities or, if you prefer a custom name, you must first obtain a Certificate of Admissibility (Certificado de Admissibilidade) from the National Registry of Legal Entities, which costs €75 for standard processing or €150 for urgent issuance.
• Select a certified accountant (Técnico Oficial de Contas - TOC) who will handle your company’s financial reporting and tax obligations.
• If any shareholder is not a Portuguese national, they must obtain a Portuguese Tax Identification Number (Número de Identificação Fiscal – NIF) before incorporation.

Having fulfilled these steps, you can choose between the incorporation process that best suits your needs.

Empresa "na Hora"

Empresa na Hora is Portugal’s fastest in-person company registration method. It's designed for companies and entrepreneurs who value speed and simplicity over customized documentation. The entire process typically takes one to two hours at specific service desks across Portugal, provided your company structure and founding team meet the requirements.

You can use Empresa na Hora if you are setting up a Private Limited Company (Sociedade por Quotas/Lda), a Single-Member Limited Company (Sociedade Unipessoal por Quotas), or a Public Limited Company (Sociedade Anónima) and is subject to pre-defined bylaws. This means that if your company needs more complex or custom articles of association, you will need to use the online or traditional method.

If Empresa na Hora is the path to follow, then every shareholder must attend the appointment in person or be represented by a third-party with a notarized power of attorney. Here, they will sign the articles of association, using one of the pre-approved templates. With that, registration is immediate and handled by an official at the desk.

Once this process is finalised, you will be given important access codes: electronic company card, Social Security number, and the permanent company certificate. This means that your company exists on the same day.

This process costs €360.

Empresa Online

Empresa Online is Portugal’s digital method for company incorporation. However, registration may be subject to delays, depending on i.e. the specific commercial registry that is handling your incorporation and any delays they may be experiencing.

If this is the path for you, go to the gov.pt portal or Empresa Online 2.0. and log in using your authentication credentials. To do so, you will need either a Portuguese Citizen Card with an active digital signature or a Digital Mobile Key (”Chave Móvel Digital” - CMD). If you lack either, you can also appoint a qualified professional (lawyer, notary, or solicitor) with a professional digital certificate to register the company for you.

Once accessed, you can start the process by filling in your company’s details and choosing your articles of association. You can use a pre-approved template or upload custom articles.

Fees are €220 if using pre-approved articles or €360 for custom articles, which may increase if you make an urgent request.

Traditional way

The traditional method of company creation in Portugal means creating the company through a notarized private document and then registering your business at each government entity involved in the process, rather than using digital or express services.

This approach is mainly chosen when your company needs custom articles of association due to particularly complex ownership arrangement, such as public limited companies (Sociedade Anónima, SA) or when using in-kind contributions instead of cash for share capital. It’s also more suitable if the pre-approved templates we mentioned before don’t meet your requirements.

If advancing this way, you will have to prepare your custom articles of association, likely with the support of a notary or lawyer. All company founders must have their signatures certified, and once done, you will submit the notarized deed of incorporation to the Commercial Registry Office.

The fees charged in this process will vary, but it is important to bear in mind that they may be higher than with Empresa na Hora or Empresa Online. This is due to registration fees but also the preparation of the articles of association, notarization, etc.

Next steps

Once any of these processes is concluded, you will need to:

• Open bank account for the company.
• Deposit the declared share capital into a bank account registered in your company’s name.
• Register beneficial ownership within 30 days of company formation.
• Inform your TOC to file the declaration of start of activity and register the company with Social Security.