Livro de Reclamações: how to complain in Portugal and what it achieves

First try to sort it out — and say you will ask for the book

The complaints book is not the first step but the second. The law doesn't require you to go in that order, but the Direção-Geral do Consumidor (DGC, the consumer affairs directorate, which runs the complaints book) explicitly advises trying to settle things amicably first: explain the problem at the till, at reception, at the branch.

If they won't listen, ask for a manager and say out loud that you are asking for the livro de reclamações. Half the stories in the chats end right here: it never gets as far as an entry in the book, because after that phrase the problem is suddenly solved. It isn't a trick: the employee knows that the complaint goes not to their boss but to a regulator, that refusing to hand over the book gets the business fined, and that they will be the one held to account.

Speak calmly and briefly: what happened and what you are asking for. Making a scene at this stage more often hurts than helps: you want a solution, not to win an argument.

“A Portuguese woman in a queue once strongly advised me to ask for the complaints book and to record everything. Firstly, you can get the appointment made free (yes, they'll send a bill, but then if you kick up a fuss, they'll remove it).”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

beremennost_portugal04.02.2026

“My mother's contract was renewed on a tablet and they didn't give her a paper copy. She asked them 200 times whether it was exactly the same contract as before. They told her: yes. And when after that renewal she got a bill with this rubbish on it, she went straight there to make a scene. She went there three times, I think. And they kept telling her: well, it's 5 euros, no big deal, you'll pay. And she said: for me 5 euros is money. If it isn't for you, then you pay for me. She also asked for the complaints book, and when they didn't want to give it to her the last time, she said: call the manager.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa27.03.2024

What the complaints book is and who must have one

The Livro de Reclamações (complaints book) is a state instrument, not a business's internal notebook. It works under the decree-law Decreto-Lei n.º 156/2005 as amended by Decreto-Lei n.º 74/2017, which is what introduced the electronic book. There are three formats: a paper book with a red cover on the premises, the electronic book at livroreclamacoes.pt and a phone app.

A paper book is required of anyone who meets two conditions at once: they have permanent premises where they actually work, and they serve the public there — a shop floor, a counter, a reception desk. That is why there is a book in shops, cafés, pharmacies, gyms, hairdressers, driving schools, clinics, banks, property management companies and hotels. The electronic book is required of everyone who has a paper one and, on top of that, of anyone who sells online — even if they have no premises open to the public at all.

There must be a sign on the wall: “Este estabelecimento dispõe de livro de reclamações” (“this establishment has a complaints book”), and next to it the name and full address of the body that deals with the complaint. This is handy: the sign tells you exactly who will receive your entry before you have even made it.

How widely it is used shows in the portal's own counter: as of 28 August 2026, 457,804 sellers and service providers are registered there, 1,644,013 complaints have been filed, and 35 regulators deal with them.

“It's easy – a guy comes round and for about 100-something euros puts up the required signs, hangs a fire extinguisher and leaves a first-aid kit. An hour's work. Well, you also need to order the Livro reclamacoes and register on the electronic complaints book website. No one has ever checked any of it in five years of business. We replace the fire extinguishers on time ourselves.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

reciboverde27.10.2025

The electronic book is stronger than the paper one: they have to reply to you

This is the main thing to know, and it hardly ever comes up in conversations. Everyone, in every sector, must reply to an electronic complaint: the company has to send you a written reply within 15 working days telling you what it has done — or face a fine. A copy of the reply goes to the regulator.

With the paper book, most businesses have no such obligation. Only providers of essential public services have to reply to the person themselves: electronic communications and post, electricity and gas, water and rubbish collection, public transport. A café, shop, gym or salon may not reply to you at all — their only obligation is to forward your entry to the regulator. So if you have the choice, complain through livroreclamacoes.pt.

How it works: no registration is needed, just a working email address — that is where the reply will come. The complaint goes to two places at once: the company itself and its regulator. It is all free. The portal is in Portuguese and English; in the paper book write in whatever language you can, but in Portuguese it will get through faster and without misunderstandings.

An electronic complaint carries the same weight as a paper one: it is the same book, just in a different form.

“I had the same story [link] After complaining here, Vodafone apologised and removed the extra bills”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa12.12.2025

If they won't give you the book

Refusing to hand over the book is an offence in itself, and fines under this decree-law range from €150 to €15,000 depending on the offence and on whether it is an individual or a company; even negligence is punished. The book must not leave the premises — they won't “bring it tomorrow” or send it to your home: you come to the premises to write in it.

What to do is simple. Ask for the shift manager and repeat your request in front of them. If they refuse too, call the police: the PSP in towns, the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana, the National Republican Guard) outside them. Officers come out and write a report on the refusal, and from then on it is the regulator's business, not yours.

At the same time you can file a complaint electronically, straight from your phone, and say in it that they refused to give you the book: then the regulator will have both your complaint and a separate offence. If the company isn't on the portal — and it must be — the complaint goes straight to the regulator, and it is worth stating in it that the firm isn't registered on the portal.

Separately: if a person cannot write themselves — because of a disability or because they cannot write — the business must fill in the sheet as they dictate.

“You need to go to the AIMA office and kick up a fuss. Ideally so they notice your condition🤰 There was a case in the chat, they hadn't issued a residence permit for about a year after the biometrics, they were already demanding the complaints book there and threatening to call the police because they were refusing to accept the complaint.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

beremennost_portugal27.10.2025

“said he went in person to the irn Vila real, and they have to accept it here, you have to demand it as insistently as possible, talk about a ‘complaint’ and the complaints book.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt10.07.2024

How the paper book is filled in: three copies

The book has 25 sheets, and each sheet comes in three carbon copies. The business must send the red original to the regulator within 15 working days — by post or as a scan by email. The blue duplicate is given to you, and you must take it straight away: it is your only proof that the complaint was ever made. The yellow third copy stays in the book and must not be torn out.

The book itself costs the business €23.94 (the price from 1 April 2026; it is reviewed once a year), and completed books are kept for three years. The point is that for the business the cost is not money but the attention of inspectors.

While you write, take your time: copy the number and date from the receipt, give the time, name the employee if you know their name. Photograph the blue copy with your phone straight away, without leaving the counter.

“Want more madness about randomness: the child's card arrived, they didn't put it in the letterbox, they left a notice. Mum went to the post office to collect it, with the translated birth certificate, the child's passport and her own. They wouldn't give it to her. Because on the envelope the child has no PATRONYMIC, but the certificate and passport do. So it's not her. They called the manager, he confirmed we won't hand it over. They went again the next day — didn't give it. They wrote a complaint in the Livro de reclamações That was 3 days ago. Then we started thinking how to get a document about the patronymic at the consulate. But, remembering that you have to keep trying, we came today and they handed over the card without any problems.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt12.11.2024

What to write in the complaint

A complaint is facts and a request, not emotions. An order that works: what the service or product was and when you bought it; what happened, date by date; what you have already done (called, written, gone in) and what you were told; what you are asking for — a refund, an exchange, an appointment, ending the contract without a penalty.

The law requires two things of a complaint: that it is truthful and polite. This is not a formality — insults and made-up details end the case, and you end up in the wrong. Citing a legal provision helps if you have actually found it; a made-up citation never helps.

In the electronic book you can attach files to the complaint — receipts, correspondence, photos, screenshots. One case, one complaint: no one will deal with three different stories in one text. And keep everything you send: if there is no reply, or it is a brush-off, the next complaint builds on the first.

“I've had two similar stories with NOS, one with cancelling, the second is ongoing now about poor connection quality (the internet drops for a minute, sometimes for hours). The first was resolved fairly successfully through the livro de reclamações, the second I'm handling the same way straight away, without even trying to go to them in person. I'm collecting evidence in a folder and every two weeks I write a complaint if they didn't reply to the last one, or replied unsatisfactorily.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa11.07.2026

“Write to the single Portuguese complaints book stating the branch and the name of the manager who refused to accept the documents, and they'll invite you in to open an account. Put references to the regulations there too, like, this and that, the law exists but isn't being followed.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

banksdeportugal13.02.2026

Where the complaint goes: who handles each sector

The complaint doesn't go “nowhere”: each sector has its own regulator, and on the portal it is filled in automatically when you choose the company. Here is who is responsible for what.

Shops, cafés and restaurants, hairdressers and beauty salons, gyms, dry cleaners, repairs, car dealers and garages, hotels and short-term lets (alojamento local), car parks, funeral directors, exam preparation centres — ASAE (Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica, the food and economic safety authority). ASAE also handles everything that has no regulator of its own.

Health — public and private, inpatient and mobile facilities — ERS (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde, the health regulator); banks, payment institutions and credit intermediaries — Banco de Portugal (the Bank of Portugal); insurers and insurance intermediaries — ASF (Autoridade de Supervisão de Seguros e Fundos de Pensões, the insurance supervisor); phone, internet, television and post — ANACOM (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações, the communications authority); electricity and gas, including chargers for electric cars — ERSE (Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos, the energy regulator); water, sewerage and rubbish collection — ERSAR (Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços de Águas e Resíduos, the water and waste regulator).

Transport and everything to do with cars — AMT (Autoridade da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, the mobility and transport authority): buses, trains, the metro, taxis and Uber and Bolt, car hire, driving schools, vehicle inspection centres, toll roads, scooter and bike hire. Planes, airports and ground handling — ANAC (Autoridade Nacional da Aviação Civil, the civil aviation authority). Estate agents, developers, valuers and condominium managers — IMPIC (Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção, the institute for property and construction markets). Travel agencies — Turismo de Portugal, schools and universities — IGEC (Inspeção-Geral da Educação e Ciência, the education inspectorate), pharmacies and medicines — INFARMED, private notary offices — the registry and notary institute (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado), private security — the PSP.

One more thing worth knowing about health: besides handling complaints, ERS offers free mediation — reconciling the parties — and you can use it even if you haven't filed a complaint. The ERS office is not in Lisbon but in Porto, at Rua de São João de Brito, 621: paper letters go there.

“Yes, only going in person and butting heads. If you get a decent specialist, you'll get help. What helped was a few rows and luck. You can write a complaint to Anacom.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatporto14.11.2025

What a complaint achieves

Most often it achieves what talking couldn't: movement. In conversations it looks the same every time — a person wrote, called and went in for months, wrote in the book, and a few days later they are the ones being called. That is how a place was found at a health centre, a utente number (the patient number in the state health service) was issued, money was refunded, extra phone bills were cancelled, a basic bank account was opened, a parcel was handed over at the post office.

It works for two reasons. First: a complaint has a deadline and an addressee, while a message to customer support has neither. Second: complaints are counted. The regulator sees how many came in about a particular company and on what grounds; they add up to statistics and reasons for an inspection. One complaint of yours rarely changes the rules, but it goes into the count — and it is that count that later brings the inspectors.

Another benefit people forget: a paper trail. After a complaint you have the company's reply in hand — with a date and its exact wording. If you later have to go to arbitration or court, that reply will be the key document.

“residence permit. I wrote in the complaints book citing the law that requires basic accounts to be opened. And a week later they called back and invited me in to open it”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

banksdeportugal13.10.2025

“In the complaints book. Write it however suits you. Then the complaints department gets in touch with you and apologises. I usually have stories like that with meo.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa08.02.2024

What a complaint doesn't achieve

It doesn't get your money back. The regulator is not a judge: it doesn't award you compensation, cancel a contract or make the seller exchange the product. It looks at whether the company broke the rules and punishes the company itself — with a fine, an inspection, an offence case. Your money plays no part in this.

It doesn't overturn a decision the company is entitled to make. The most common example is banks: people write in the complaints book and to the Bank of Portugal after being refused an account and get a polite reply: “we are not obliged to open an account for everyone”. Where the law requires it (a basic bank account for those who have no other), a complaint often works; where it is the bank's goodwill, almost never.

It has no effect on those who aren't in Portugal. A foreign service with no representation in the country isn't registered in the complaints book, and complaints about it go to its own regulator — in the country of its licence.

And don't confuse it with Portal da Queixa: that is a private review site; companies sometimes reply there, but it has no legal force and no deadline runs under it. You can use it as leverage through publicity, but an official complaint only goes through livroreclamacoes.pt or directly to the regulator.

“After I went to the complaints book, Activo sent me a template reply that they have no obligation to open one, we don't want to and that's that =)”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

banksdeportugal12.06.2026

“Here I can see my attempts to open an account, all banks can see this. For example, when you apply to activo an iban is assigned and immediately closed if you're refused. Other banks see this... [link] Writing to the complaints book and the central bank is pointless from experience, unless you press on the basic account. But they're also entitled not to open even a basic one if there's suspicion of something (and they're not obliged to explain what).”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

banksdeportugal02.04.2025

If you want your money: arbitration centre, justice of the peace court, court

For money there is a separate route — out-of-court consumer dispute resolution centres. There are ten of them around the country: CACCL in Lisbon, CICAP in Porto, CIMAAL in the Algarve, CACRC in Coimbra, CIAB in the north, TRIAVE, centres in Madeira and the Azores, and CNIACC — a national centre that takes cases from places with no centre of their own. They first try to reconcile the parties, and if that fails an arbitrator decides the case, and the decision is binding on both sides. For the consumer it is free or almost free, and quicker than court.

There is a separate rule for essential public services — electricity, gas, water, communications, rubbish collection, public transport: if you choose arbitration, the company must take part, and its consent is not needed. In other sectors the other side may refuse to take part.

The next level is the julgado de paz (justice of the peace court): it takes civil disputes up to €15,000, works quickly and without a lawyer, and the fee is €70 per case, half paid by the person filing and the rest by the losing side. Anything above €15,000 and anything criminal goes to the ordinary courts.

There is also DECO PROteste — not a state body but a consumer protection association with a paid subscription: they advise where to write and handle the dispute for you. In conversations the praise for it is restrained: it helps you understand and give things a push, but it is still not the one that decides.

“It works. Just recently mobile operators were ordered by a court to pay millions in compensation. But you probably shouldn't count on a quick result. I'd start with the Livro de Reclamações.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

myptaxes25.09.2025

“Not sure about an expert assessment, but the shop itself refused to take it back. I wrote a complaint, but as I understand it the chances under the law are slim, even though the laptop hasn't even been opened”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

baraholka_pt24.03.2026

State bodies are a different story: AIMA, Finanças, the ombudsman

The red complaints book is for those who sell goods or services. It doesn't always apply to a government office: public administration has its own books and its own procedure. At an AIMA office (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, the agency for integration, migration and asylum), at the tax office or at Segurança Social (the social security service) you can ask for the book, and in conversations this sometimes got things moving, but don't count on it as your main lever. The address livroamarelo.gov.pt, which does the rounds in the chats, does not open at all as of 28 August 2026 — don't waste your time on it.

What works with state bodies: a written request to the department itself through its online service desk (for the tax office it is e-balcão, for Segurança Social e-Clic), and if there is no reply, a complaint to the ombudsman. The Provedor de Justiça (ombudsman) deals specifically with what the authorities do and fail to do, and the department must answer the ombudsman's inquiry. The post was vacant for almost a year and was filled again in summer 2026.

Don't expect it to be quick: in conversations, complaints to the ombudsman sit for months, and one person got a reply to a request about renewing their residence permit nine or ten months later — after they had already received the document. But the paper trail works here too: a complaint that has been filed and registered forces the department at least to set out its position.

It is the same with traffic fines: the complaints book doesn't work here at all. You answer a notice of offence with a defence (defesa) within 15 working days, and you file it not with whoever issued the notice but with whoever makes the decision: for minor parking offences that is the town hall, in other cases ANSR. The recipient's address is on the notice itself. The procedure is in the guide Traffic fines in Portugal.

“Actually it's no laughing matter there: my neighbour, a native Portuguese man of 60, sometimes worked, then was on benefits, then found work again. And segurança messed something up with his payments so badly that I nearly learned Portuguese on the spot — that's how much he was yelling at them. They didn't take into account the reason he was let go, I think, that it wasn't of his own accord. In the end he called them for 2 months and each time they told him something new. He only sorted it out by going to the provedor de justiça. And this is a guy who grew up here, knows the local laws and quirks and speaks fluent Portuguese.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa27.08.2026

“By the way, the ombudsman's office replied to a couple of my complaints about this nonsense, saying they very much sympathise and asking me to complain to the directorate again so that they can respond”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

digitalnomadportugal15.10.2025