Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. justica.gov.pt
- Check access requirements. Account required: Optional. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Referencia multibanco (stated on Pedir Certidao Permanente).
- Anticipate friction. Captcha / 2FA: Unknown. English UI: Partial.
- Plan turnaround. Expected: Unknown.
- Verify recency. Last verified: 4 Sept 2026. Confirm current pricing at the official registry before submitting.
TL;DR. Portugal’s commercial register is run by IRN under the Ministry of Justice. https://justica.gov.pt is titled Justica.gov.pt | Portal da Justica. The order page https://registo.justica.gov.pt/Empresas/Pedir-Certidao-Permanente, titled Pedir Certidao Permanente, lists Certidao permanente de registo comercial at 25,00 / 40,00 / 60,00 / 70,00 euros for one to four years of validity, registo e documentos at 55,00 / 88,00 / 132,00 / 154,00 euros, pacto social/estatutos at 20,00 / 35,00 / 45,00 / 50,00 euros, payment by referencia multibanco, and that qualquer pessoa ou empresa pode pedir. https://www.empresaonline.pt does not present a certificate matching that name and then fails with a gateway error, and the apex empresaonline.pt no longer resolves; confirm at source.
What is the official Portugal business registry?
The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) under the Ministry of Justice runs RNPC (legal-entity identifier NIPC) and the commercial register. The public justice portal is https://justica.gov.pt. Commercial-register navigation is at https://justica.gov.pt/Registos/Comercial, titled Comercial | Justica.gov.pt.
The empresaonline.pt address no longer resolves, and www.empresaonline.pt fails with a gateway error, so it is not a route to the register.
https://eportugal.gov.pt redirects to https://www.gov.pt/, titled gov.pt. A gov.pt guide, Empresa Online - Servicos do registo comercial, exists there; it is an information page, not a NIPC search form.
The product for a current commercial-register extract is Certidao Permanente, ordered at registo.justica.gov.pt. The page states that the code gives online access 24 hours a day and can replace a paper certificate. Some certidao types podem ser obtidas em lingua inglesa.
What can you search?
No free anonymous NIPC search form appears on justica.gov.pt or on the gov.pt Empresa Online guide.
Pedir Certidao Permanente: anyone may request. The inputs the page asks for are the name of the person requesting, the NIF or NIPC of the requester, the NIPC or firma of the entity, and an email address for the access code. A login sits on the page.
Consultar Certidao Permanente at https://registo.justica.gov.pt/Empresas/Consultar-Certidao-Permanente is the consult path for an issued code, not a name search.
No Empresa Online name-search form is published; confirm at source.
How much does it cost?
| Item | Cost (EUR) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Certidao permanente de registo comercial (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 years) | 25 / 40 / 60 / 70 | Unknown (USD not on the live HTML) |
| Certidao permanente de registo e documentos | 55 / 88 / 132 / 154 | Unknown |
| Certidao permanente de pacto social/estatutos | 20 / 35 / 45 / 50 | Unknown |
| NIPC verification form | Unknown | Unknown |
The table above comes from Pedir Certidao Permanente, under the heading Quanto custa. The page names referencia multibanco as the payment method, with 5 consecutive days to pay after submitting, and lists no card brands; confirm at source.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The page says any person or company may request, and it carries a login. The Portuguese Cartao do Cidadao and CMD are not stated as hard requirements there, so no local identity document is needed and an account is optional; confirm at source.
Is the website in English?
Partial. Pedir Certidao Permanente has an English (United States) control and states some certidoes podem ser obtidas em lingua inglesa. The fee table and process copy are in Portuguese.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown. The page says online access 24 hours a day with the access code after payment confirmation, sent by email.
Is there an API?
No public API is published on justica.gov.pt.
What you legally cannot do
- Bulk automated harvesting of IRN portals is not authorised.
- Personal data of directors and shareholders in Portuguese filings is subject to GDPR.
- A Certidao Permanente access code is not a public dump for redistribution.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- NIPC is the 9-digit company identifier. The certidao page asks for the NIPC or firma of the entity.
- empresaonline.pt no longer works. Use justica.gov.pt and registo.justica.gov.pt.
- Pay by multibanco reference, which is the method the page names. No card brands are listed.
- FATF status is not published on the IRN pages. See fatf-gafi.org.
Alternatives if you cannot access the register directly
- Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes some Portuguese filings. Not for compliance-grade verification.
- empresaonline.pt no longer resolves and is not an alternative.
Local data suppliers
- Iberinform Portugal (iberinform.pt)
- Coface Portugal (coface.pt)
- Informa D&B Portugal (informadb.pt)
Use IRN Certidao Permanente for the statutory current register state.
FAQ
Can a foreign company access Portugal’s commercial register directly?
justica.gov.pt is publicly reachable, and the certidao page says any person or company may request. empresaonline.pt is not reachable.
What is the NIPC in Portugal?
NIPC (Numero de Identificacao de Pessoa Colectiva) is the legal-entity identifier the certidao form asks for; confirm at source.
What entity types are on the commercial register?
justica.gov.pt/Registos/Comercial lists commercial-register services. A full entity-type taxonomy is not set out here; confirm at source.
Does Portugal have a public UBO register?
No public beneficial ownership search appears on the Pedir Certidao Permanente page; confirm at source.
How current is Certidao Permanente data?
The page says the product provides updated information and 24-hour online access with the code.
Is Portugal on the FATF grey list?
FATF status is not published on the IRN pages. See fatf-gafi.org.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: justica.gov.pt; the Pedir Certidao Permanente fee table and multibanco payment; empresaonline.pt, which no longer resolves; eportugal.gov.pt, which redirects to gov.pt. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.