Favorable PIP in Portugal: how long it lasts and what to do next

Start by checking whether the request was made under article 14(1) of the RJUE (a simple PIP, on feasibility and constraints) or article 14(2) (a full PIP, which can cover footprint, design, uses, utilities, charges and land cessions). For a 14(2) request, check whether the decision assesses every item a) to f) that applies to the project: that decides whether the works are exempt from a permit.

A favorable decision must always state which procedure the project is subject to (article 16(4)). That sentence is your starting point. Keep the notice, the agency opinions and the drawings assessed, and identify the version the answer was based on.

• Case number and date of the notice or of tacit approval.
• Type of PIP and, where relevant, which 14(2) items were assessed.
• Procedure stated by the council: permit, comunicação prévia or exemption.
• Conditions, outside agency opinions and drawings that form part of the decision.

A favorable PIP is evidenced by the completed application form, which includes the project summary, proof of fee payment and the notice of decision. If the council did not decide in time and the request was tacitly approved, the filing receipt takes the place of the notice (article 16(8)). For a full PIP involving land cessions, the title also includes proof that the cessions were made.

Keep these documents together in one file. They are what you will show a bank, a notary or a buyer, and what your design team should work from.

A favorable simple PIP binds the authorities when they decide a future permit application or review a comunicação prévia (article 17(1)). In other words, you still need a permit or a comunicação prévia (a notification-based procedure checked after filing), but the council cannot go back on what it told you.

A full PIP that covers every item a) to f) applicable to the project goes further: besides being binding, it exempts the works from a permit or comunicação prévia, as long as they are carried out exactly as assessed, and no further outside agency consultations are needed (article 17(2)). If a 14(2) decision does not cover every applicable item, there is no exemption: follow the procedure stated in the decision.

Two years from the notice of the favorable decision or from tacit approval (article 17(5)). Within that time you must file the permit application or the comunicação prévia (simple PIP) or start work (full PIP with exemption).

Once the two years are up, you can ask the mayor (presidente da câmara), once only, to declare that the facts and law behind the decision still hold. The council decides within 20 days; if it confirms, or fails to answer in time, you get one more year to file or start work (article 17(6) and (7)). There is no second extension.

If your PIP was issued before October 1, 2026, article 12 of Decree-Law 108/2026 applies the new expiry periods to existing situations, counted from October 1, 2026, unless the old law's period would end sooner. Confirm the deadline for your case with a professional or with the council.

With a simple PIP, or a 14(2) PIP that does not cover every applicable item, prepare the design in line with the decision and its conditions. In the permit application or comunicação prévia, identify the PIP procedure; the statement of responsibility from the authors and the coordinator declares that the project complies with the PIP's terms and conditions (Portaria 320/2026/1, Annex V, items 16 and 17).

Outside agencies that already gave a favorable opinion during the PIP are not consulted again (article 13(2) of the RJUE). For the filing list for each request, see documents for a PIP, which compares what a PIP and a permit application require.

If the works are exempt, there is no permit to apply for, but there are mandatory steps before you start. At least five days before work begins, notify the council with the items listed in article 80-A(4) of the RJUE and item 37 of Annex V of the Portaria. By the same deadline, post the construction notice on site, visible from the street, using the Portaria's template.

The design authors and the coordinator certify that the designs meet the rules and the PIP's terms and conditions. If work does not begin within a year of the notice, the notice expires (article 80-A(6)).

• Proof of payment of fees and other charges and, where required, of the bond.
• Proof of land cessions, if any.
• Engineering designs (structure, building systems) with statements from the authors and the coordinator.
• The contractor's IMPIC license or certificate (Portugal's construction licensing body) and a workers' compensation insurance policy.
• The site manager's appointment and statement of responsibility, plus the professionals' liability insurance.
• Statistical data form.

Check the use, areas, footprint, height, floors and access that were assessed. A full PIP's exemption only covers works "exactly as assessed": if you move the footprint or add floor area, the change falls outside the decision and needs a new assessment or whichever planning procedure applies.

The summary of a decision can leave out important conditions. Read the drawings and opinions together and link each condition to the part of the design it affects.

Make a list linking each municipal condition to the document to complete, the person responsible and the deadline. That way you can see what is settled and what still stands in the way before the validity period runs out.

• Decision, title and assessed drawings kept in the same version.
• Two-year deadline in your calendar.
• Conditions tied to use, areas and the design solution.
• Outstanding designs, opinions and fees, each with an owner.
• Next procedure confirmed: permit, comunicação prévia or start of exempt works.

A favorable PIP can change hands, for example when the land is sold. The new holder then provides proof of the change to the mayor so it can be recorded on the file; the law sets 15 days from the date of the change (article 16(10)), so handle it right after the deed is signed.

If you are buying land advertised as "PIP approved", ask for the full title and check the type of PIP, the notice date, the conditions and whether it is still within its validity period. Note also that since Law 56/2023, a favorable PIP is no longer enough for the land to be classed as "terreno para construção" (building land) for IMI, Portugal's municipal property tax (article 6(3) of the CIMI). For the buyer's side, read PIP before buying land.

The old autorização de utilização (Portugal's occupancy permit) no longer exists as such. Once permitted works, works under comunicação prévia or works exempt after a full PIP are finished, occupancy is handled by filing a comunicação prévia with the council, with a statement from the site manager or the inspecting engineer confirming that the building matches the design or the PIP (article 62-A). You can use the building as soon as you file.

Permit or comunicação prévia procedures based on a valid favorable PIP are not suspended between the start of public consultation on a new or revised zoning plan and its entry into force (article 17(8)). That is one more reason not to let the deadline slip.

A favorable PIP that breaches the PDM (the municipal master plan), interim protection measures, provisional rules or an approved subdivision is void (article 68). The council can only declare it void, and a lawsuit to that effect can only be filed, within three years of issue, except for national monuments and their protection zones; if the facts amount to a crime, the limitation period for that crime applies instead (article 69(4) and (5)). For decisions issued before October 1, 2026, the three years run from that date, unless the old period would end sooner (article 12 of Decree-Law 108/2026). Tacit approval gives you a title, but it does not make a project that conflicts with the plan compliant: have a professional confirm compliance before you invest.

An unfavorable decision must state how the project, if feasible, can be revised in a later procedure to comply with the plan or subdivision (article 16(5)). Since the 2026 revision, the law leaves those corrections to the next procedure: a new PIP, the permit application or the comunicação prévia.

Use that guidance to revise your proposal and choose between a new PIP and a permit application with the corrected design. If the issue is work already built without a permit, the route is different: see how building legalization works.

Illustrative example: a simple PIP for a house extension is notified as favorable on November 2, 2026, with a condition about access. The tracking sheet records November 2, 2028 as the deadline to apply for the permit, the condition linked to the site plan and the architectural design still to be developed.

If the developer later wants more floor area, that change must be checked against the plan before relying on the PIP. If the deadline passes, the sheet plans for the request to confirm that conditions still hold, which gives one more year.

To go over next steps with us, gather the decision, the title, the latest drawings and a description of the changes you want to make. That lets us identify what is still covered by the PIP and what needs a fresh check. If you are still preparing the request, see our prior information request service.

The official sources are in Portuguese. Check the version in force before preparing a notice, project or application.

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