Free land registration in Portugal ends today

The deadline for the free identification and registration of land via the Balcão Único do Prédio (BUPi), a unified property registration platform, ends today; as of now, 46% of the land area on the mainland and 37% in Madeira have been identified, with the cost rising to 15 euros starting Thursday.

By TPN/Lusa, in News · 30 Sep 2026, 10:33 · 0 Comments

Credits: Unsplash; Author: Fotografías inmobiliarias;

Decree-Law 87/2026, dated 15 April, expanded procedures and extended the period during which property georeferencing is free of charge, under the simplified cadastral information system and BUPi, until 30 September.

The legislation stipulates that, “starting 1 October,” a fee of 15 euros will be charged for each georeferenced graphic representation (RGG) up to the ninth registration, and 10 euros from the tenth representation onwards.

It was further determined that applications for financial support, “specifically from European Union funds, national funds, or others”, concerning “rural or mixed properties” must include an RGG.

Additionally, “RGGs concerning real estate assets belonging to the private domain of the State, autonomous regions, local authorities, and public institutes must be completed by 31 December 2027.”

The legislation also clarified that holders of rural land listed in the Tax Authority (AT) property registry, but lacking a valid registration of acquisition, ownership recognition, or possession, must be notified by the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) to register the land, obtain an RGG, or identify the owner; failure to do so may trigger “proceedings to recognise the property as ownerless.”

According to BUPi data from Monday, 3,679,484 land parcels (44%) have been identified on the mainland out of the 8,451,367 registered with the Tax and Customs Authority (AT); these correspond to 1,805,117 hectares (46%) of the total area of 3,947,349 hectares across municipalities lacking a land registry.

In the Autonomous Region of Madeira, 32,037 property records (12%) have been identified, out of the 267,867 properties registered with the Tax Authority (AT) across five municipalities lacking a land registry, covering 14,350 hectares (37%) of a total area of 38,500 hectares.

Regarding municipalities on the mainland, Miranda do Douro (Bragança district) leads in the percentage of identified properties at 74%, followed by Alfândega da Fé (Bragança), Amares (Braga), Penedono, and São João da Pesqueira (Viseu) at 67%; in Madeira, Ponta do Sol leads with 49%, followed by São Vicente (13%), Ribeira Brava (12%), Calheta (10%), and Porto Moniz (8%).