mera comunicação prévia
Published 5 November 2026, 23:09
mera comunicação prévia (simple prior notification)
The procedure under which many businesses open in Portugal: rather than a permit you have to wait for, it is a notification through the Balcão do Empreendedor — you submit it, pay the fee and start trading, and the inspection comes later. This is how shops, cafés, workshops and salons open.
Where you come across it. Opening a business; an inspection by the police or the municipality that begins with the question of whether the notification was submitted.
The simplicity is deceptive: the notification does not override the other requirements — fire safety, environmental, health and hygiene. Trading without having submitted the notification is an offence in itself, and it is the municipal police who write up the report.