How to Open a Company in Portugal

1. The first step is to choose a name from the list of pre-approved names available online or at the Empresa na Hora desk. Alternatively, you can present a certificate of admissibility that has already been approved by the National Registry of Collective Entities.

2. After choosing the company name, you must indicate the type of social pact you wish to adopt: a pre-approved one or one that you have drafted yourself. The social contract, also known as the articles of association, establishes the division of capital, the distribution of profits, and the voting rights.

3. Next, you need to appoint an Official Accountant (TOC), choose one from an available pool of TOCs, or submit the declaration of commencement of activity at any Tax Office (within 15 days of the company’s creation).

4. Additionally, you need to establish the company’s share capital—the resources that the partners contribute to the company to enable it to carry out its activities, representing the initial assets of the company. The process will be completed when all partners deposit the share capital in a bank account in the company’s name within five working days after registration. In other words, they can contribute the share capital to the company by the end of the first fiscal year (usually by the end of the year).

5. Then, you must submit the required documents. If they are individuals, you need to present the citizen card of all partners. If it is a legal entity, you will need to present the Collective Entity Identification Card or the access code to the Electronic Card. You will also need the minutes of the General Assembly meeting granting the powers to create the association, identification documents of the legal representatives of the company in question (Citizen Card, Identity Card, passport, or residence permit), the birth certificate, or the updated articles of association of the legal entities.