Trade and Services
On this page you can find various services related to the management of retail establishments.
Businesses working in the commercial trade and providing services must provide a notification concerning the start of operations, any changes or the closure of their establishment or warehouse, using the form available on this website. In some cases, you will need to apply for authorisation to set up or make changes to your establishment.
Retail establishments and food warehouses must comply with certain requirements. To find out what requirements must be met, please consult the laws set out in Article 40 of the legal regime governing access to and pursuit of commercial, services and catering activities (RJACSR).
This information is available on the ePortugal portal for mainland Portugal and for Madeira.
Applications for the Azores, with the exception of sales and stock clearance services, should be made via the Azores Government portal.
Table of contents
Notifications
Applications for starting up operations, making changes or closing an establishment must be communicated by sending a form to the responsible municipal authority, via ePortugal or at a municipal council customer services office.
Authorisations
Only the establishments listed below need to apply for authorisation to start trading:
- commercial groupings of retail and service establishments
- traditional/specialised commercial groupings of retail and service establishments
- traditional/specialised shopping centres
- large supermarkets/hypermarkets.
Applications can be made by submitting the form on this website.
Services
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to the establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Wholesale and retail trade of food
- Operating an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to the establishment or warehouse: Mainlad Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Retail sales in an establishment belonging to a company using one or more signs or logos or forming part of a group
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal
Retail sales in large supermarket located in a commercial unit
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal
Ambulatory retail sales
- Publication of regulations: Mainland Portugal
Retail sales of pets and pet food
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Wholesaling of food of animal origin under a controlled temperature
- Operating an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to the establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Wholesaling and retail sales of feed for farmed animals
- Operating an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Operating an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment or warehouse: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Commercial groupings of retail and service establishments
- Permit for setting up: Madeira
- Authorisation for changes: Madeira
- Minor changes: Mainland Portugal
- Renewal of permit: Madeira
- Closing: Madeira
Commercial groupings and traditional/specialised shopping centres
- Traditional/specialised shopping centres – joint permit for setting up: Mainland Portugal
- Traditional/specialised shopping centres – joint permit for significant changes: Mainland Portugal
- Traditional/specialised commercial groupings – renewal of the joint permit for setting up: Mainland Portugal
- Traditional/specialised shopping centre – closure: Mainland Portugal
Large supermarkets/hypermarkets
- Joint authorisation for setting up: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Joint authorisation for significant changes: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Renewal of permit: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Notification of closure: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Stallholders and street vendors
- Access to activity: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Change of activity: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Cease of activity: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Organisation of trade fairs by a private entity
- Notification: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Notification of technical manager: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Notification of change of technical manager: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Undertaking and preparing bodies – Undertaker registration: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Adaptation and repair of motor vehicles using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed and liquefied natural gas (NG)
- Operating a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds
- Operating a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing a workshop: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Sales and stock clearance services are available for mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira:
- Operating an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Changes to an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
- Closing an establishment: Mainland Portugal | Madeira
Legislation
- Decree-Law no. 109/2019, of August 14 - simplifies and harmonizes the procedures that traders must comply with whenever they notify the Food and Economic Safety Authority that they intend to carry out sales in balance or in liquidation.
- Decree-Law No. 10/2015, of January 16 - approves the legal regime for access and exercise of trade, services and restaurant activities.
- Decree-Law No. 70/2007, of March 26 - regulates commercial practices with price reductions, with the aim of disposing of stocks, increasing sales volume or promoting the launch of a product not previously marketed by the economic agent.