Diário da República

Published 4 November 2026, 21:42

DR — Diário da República (Portugal's official gazette)

The official publication in which the state prints laws, decrees, regulations and notices. Until a text has been published in it, the document does not legally exist, and the publication date is the starting point for deadlines. Series 1 carries laws, decree-laws and government resolutions; Series 2 carries acts of public bodies. You can read it free of charge at diariodarepublica.pt.

Where you come across it. A reference to a law in a news story, in a letter from a public body or in a contract; checking whether a rule is in force and from what date.

The publication date and the day a law starts to apply are different things: for decree-law 166/2026 they were four and a half months apart. Check the articles on entry into force and on when the law takes effect, at the very end of the document, and read the text itself in its “versão consolidada”, as the law may have been amended many times.

Official website: diariodarepublica.pt

Guides

How to rent out your property yourself in Portugal: the contract, taxes and what to do if the tenant doesn't pay National Defence Day and military obligations in Portugal Removal from Portugal: what to do if your residence permit has expired or not been renewed A tenant has received an eviction notice: what it is and what to do, day by day Fuel in Portugal: what a litre costs and how to pay less How to rent a home in Portugal Public holidays and days off in Portugal: which days are non-working and what you are paid for them The Asian hornet in Portugal: how to recognise it, what to do if you are stung and where to report a nest