Prior information request (PIP) in Porto, Portugal: documents, fees and timelines

The Portal do Munícipe splits prior information requests by type of operation: building works, demolition, urbanization works, land subdivision (loteamento), other operations (such as land remodeling) and change of use (alteração de utilização). It also has a separate entry for revalidating a PIP already issued. Pick the one that matches what you want to do with the property, not the one that looks simplest.

Within each operation, the RJUE (Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação, Portugal's planning and building code) allows two kinds of request. A simple PIP (article 14, no. 1) answers whether the project is feasible and which constraints apply. An extended PIP (no. 2) assesses the project in more detail and, if it covers every applicable item, can exempt the works from a building license or a comunicação prévia (prior notification of works). The choice changes the drawings you need, the deadline and the effect of the answer; our general PIP guide explains the regime in full.

Since October 1, 2026, the required documents (elementos instrutórios) are those set by Portaria 320/2026/1, which approved a single application form with a planning summary and repealed Portarias 71-A/2024 and 71-B/2024. For a simple PIP (Annex V, Part I), the core is the access code to the certidão permanente (the online land registry certificate) or, if the property is not registered, a negative certificate plus the caderneta predial (the tax record); a location plan at 1:1,000; and a short written description (memória descritiva). Drawings at 1:200 or 1:500 are optional. An extended PIP (Part II) needs a fuller set, covered in our guide to documents for a PIP.

The PDF checklist Porto publishes for building works still refers to Portaria 71-A/2024, but it shows what the Council expects in practice. Check the procedure page for an updated version; if in doubt, the Portaria in force prevails, and the Council should not demand documents it doesn't provide for without citing the rule that allows it.

• Application stating the type of PIP: no. 1 or no. 2 of RJUE article 14.
• Files in PDF/A format, with a visible digital signature.
• Certidão permanente access code or, if the property is not registered, a negative registry certificate.
• Location plan at 1:1,000, available free from Porto's Mapas Interativos (mapas.cm-porto.pt).
• Topographic survey at 1:200 when the proposal changes the ground levels or the footprint, plus a site plan.
• Written description that checks the proposal against each relevant PDM article and the applicable easements.
• Summary table (quadro sinótico, in PDF and Excel) and professionals' statements of responsibility (termos de responsabilidade).

Porto's Plano Diretor Municipal (PDM, the municipal master plan) in force is its 2nd revision, published by Aviso 12773/2021 and in force since July 9, 2021. It has since had two adaptation amendments (2022, to the coastal program, and 2025, to the natural-hazards map) and a 1st amendment in 2023 (Aviso 1934/2023). A 2nd amendment opened on October 12, 2026 is not yet in force and covers a single project. The Council publishes an updated 2025 version of the regulations.

The PDM documentation includes the regulations and the zoning and constraints maps, with sheets on land-use categories, heritage, ecological structure, natural hazards and road network. Find the property, note the map sheet and version you used, and match the land-use category with the relevant articles. A color on the map is not an answer on what you can build: indices and heights depend on the regulations and the constraints.

Porto's historic center has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1996, and the heritage map identifies other protected buildings and ensembles. If the property sits in one of those areas or in a protection zone, read the protection rules the PDM attaches to it and expect possible consultations with outside agencies, which extend the decision deadline.

You file on the Portal do Munícipe, under the chosen operation, using the "Pedido online" form after logging in. The fee is paid when you file. For in-person help, the Gabinete do Munícipe (Praça General Humberto Delgado, 266) sees visitors by appointment through Linha Porto, +351 220 100 220; when booking, confirm what can be handed in at that appointment.

You don't have to own the property to file a PIP. If you don't, identify the owner and other holders of property rights with a land registry certificate; the Council then notifies them of the request. The national electronic planning platform foreseen in the RJUE only becomes mandatory once it is available, so for now the Council's own channel applies.

Before sending, check that the written description, drawings and summary table all describe the same version of the proposal. Keep the filing and payment receipts: together with the application, they serve as the PIP's legal title if it is approved by silence.

The fee is set in the Tabela de Taxas of Porto's municipal code (Código Regulamentar, Annex G-1). In the version checked in October 2026, a prior information request costs €194.68 for building, demolition, urbanization, subdivision, land remodeling and change of use. The table's wording predates Decree-Law 108/2026, so confirm the amount in the table in force before you file.

The municipal fee is only part of the cost. Add the technical preparation (PDM analysis, written description, drawings) and, where needed, a topographic survey. If you have a team handle PIP preparation in Porto, ask for a quote that separates these items.

Deadlines come from the RJUE, as revised by Decree-Law 108/2026 and in force since October 1, 2026. First, the Council has up to 20 days for saneamento, the initial check in which it can ask for corrections or reject the request. It then decides within 15 days for a simple PIP and 30 days for an extended one (45 for subdivisions). If outside agencies are consulted, the clock runs from the last opinion or from the end of their deadline.

If the Council misses the deadline, the PIP is deemed approved by silence (deferimento tácito). The Council's procedure page does not publish an average response time. In practice, an incomplete request, a supplement or outside consultations (for heritage, for example) delay the decision.

A favorable answer is valid for 2 years from notification or from approval by silence. Within that period you must file the license application or the comunicação prévia; if an extended PIP exempts you from those, you pay the applicable fees and notify the Council at least 5 days before works start.

After the 2 years, you can ask once for a declaration that the facts and the law still hold. The Council decides within 20 days and, if it issues the declaration, the PIP is valid for 1 more year. In Porto this request has its own entry on the Portal do Munícipe, "revalidação de pedido de informação prévia".

Permit applications or prior notifications filed on the basis of the PIP are also not suspended while a new plan or PDM revision is out for public consultation (article 17(8)). For what to do next, see our guide on a favorable PIP and next steps.

Illustrative example, not a real case: you want to buy a two-story house in Porto with about 140 m² (1,500 sq ft) of floor area, and the deal only works if you can add a third floor. Before signing, you file a simple PIP asking whether the extra floor meets the height, floor-area index and setbacks for the property's PDM land-use category.

Without outside consultations, the maximum legal timeline is about 35 days from filing: up to 20 for the initial check and 15 for the decision. If the property is in a heritage protection zone, allow more time. A favorable answer gives you 2 years to move ahead with the design; an unfavorable one must say how the proposal could be revised. To fit this timeline into the CPCV (the Portuguese promissory purchase contract), see PIP before buying land.

A favorable decision must state which control procedure applies next: license, comunicação prévia or exemption. An unfavorable one must state how the request could be revised. Always read the answer alongside the drawings that were assessed: the binding effect covers the project you submitted, not a different version of it.

If a listing advertises a property "with approved PIP", ask for the notification or the proof of approval by silence, the drawings assessed, the date and the PIP type. Check that it is still within the 2 years (or the extra year) and that your plans match what was assessed. If you buy, the new holder must prove the change to the Council so it can record it (article 16(10)). For a property in Lisbon, see PIP in Lisbon.

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

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