A PIP in one week: how we prepare your request in Portugal

The analysis begins with the property's location and boundaries, together with a description of what you want to do. Building a house, extending a building or changing a use raise different questions. Floor areas, number of stories and access help shape the request.

If the location is incomplete or the boundaries are unclear, that gap needs to be resolved before any conclusion is treated as applying to the land.

Once the location and the development are defined, our technology cross-checks the sources that constrain the property: the PDM (Plano Diretor Municipal, the municipal master plan) with its zoning and constraints maps, public easements and restrictions such as the National Ecological Reserve (REN), the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) or heritage protection zones, and known past municipal records. From there, it structures the request through defined steps and checks.

The result should show the basis for each conclusion: what information was used, what assumptions were made and what still needs confirmation. Any open questions travel with the result for review.

Each prepared request produces a set of documents you can read and check before filing.

• Planning rationale and written description, reviewed and signed by an architect.
• PIP request on the single national form approved by Order (Portaria) 320/2026/1.
• Feasibility analysis and estimate of buildable capacity, with sources and assumptions identified.
• A list of the documents, drawings and signatures still needed to complete the filing.

The one-week timeline applies mainly to a simple PIP, under Article 14(1) of the RJUE (Portugal's main planning and building law), which needs few documents: the certidão permanente (online land registry certificate), a location plan, a short written description and, optionally, drawings. The documents for a PIP are covered in a separate guide.

A full PIP, under Article 14(2), also asks the council to rule on massing, footprint, architectural design, use program, infrastructure, development charges and land cessions. It usually requires a topographic survey and material close to a design project. In that case, preparation with our technology covers the analysis, and the timeline depends on the survey and the drawings still to be produced.

The prepared request goes through a case review and a check of the filing documents. The studies and technical documents Apto Group delivers are reviewed and signed by architects registered with the Ordem dos Arquitectos, Portugal's professional body for architects. They carry technical and legal weight within the scope of the work signed: the signature identifies the author and their professional responsibility for the documents they sign. Surveys, drawings and any required statements of responsibility are provided by the professionals qualified for each document.

Our PIP service then files the request with the câmara municipal and follows it through to the decision, including answering any requests to complete the file within the set deadline.

• Confirm the property's identification and that the development is consistent.
• Complete the filing documents and make sure the responsible architects review and sign the technical documents.
• Review the content and assumptions before filing.

From first contact to filing, expect about a week. First, we talk with you to confirm the property, the project and the documents. Then our technology prepares the request. The longest step is review and signature by our architects, who are professionally responsible for what they sign. Missing documents, such as a certificate or a topographic survey, can extend this timeline.

After filing, the RJUE in force since October 1, 2026 provides for an initial completeness check of up to 20 days and a decision within 15 days for a simple PIP or 30 days for a full PIP (45 for land subdivisions), counted from the end of that check or from the last outside agency opinion. If the council does not decide in time, the request is tacitly approved (deferimento tácito). What to do with the answer is covered in favorable PIP: next steps.

Technology speeds up research and the organization of the request, but it does not replace a site visit, a topographic survey when one is needed or the municipality's assessment.

The legal value of signed documents and the effects of the municipal decision are separate matters. An architect's signature does not guarantee a favorable decision, nor does it replace the planning control procedures that apply. A decision on a PIP has the effects set out in the RJUE, Portugal's legal framework for urban development and building, according to its content and the applicable legal conditions.

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

Want to find these guides more easily when you search on Google? Add Apto Group as a preferred source.