On@18 - The youth guide to public services

As you approach adulthood many new opportunities arise, such as getting your driving licence, travelling abroad without needing permission, applying for university, starting work, moving out of home, voting, and so on.

In different situations, you will interact more with public entities to benefit from services, attend to various matters, solve problems and access benefits. You can do so in various ways, depending on the service: at service counters, by phone, email or online.

One of the aims of this guide is to help you find the service you are looking for and steer you to the easiest and fastest way to do it: through digital public service platforms.

Online public services and websites

Many public services are already available remotely and autonomously, without you having to call helplines or go to a counter.

Whenever you need to make a request or find information, check whether this service is available online.

You can find many of the services online on public service websites (usually identified with gov.pt at the end of the address), such as:

  • ePortugal – the central portal providing public services for citizens and businesses, where you have access to the most relevant information on the majority of public services, in simple and clear language
  • the Tax Portal [Portal das Finanças] – here you can access IRS Jovem [young persons’ income tax], which gives you a partial exemption on income from employment for 3 years. Find out how to access IRS Jovem. Through the Tax Portal you can also validate invoices, issue your receipts, or carry out other procedures related to taxes and contributions.
  • the Social Security Portal – provides information, practical guides and various services for requesting financial support (such as study grants) and social benefits (unemployment benefit, for example) through Segurança Social Direta [Social Security online service].

Besides these, other websites such as Justica.gov.pt, iefponline (Institute of Employment and Vocational Training), or IMTonline (Institute of Mobility and Transport) also provide various online services.

Should you have any questions about any of the services, search the ePortugal portal and consult the available information or contact us.

One login for all websites

The easiest way to access online services is to use the ‘autenticação.gov’ system. With ‘autenticação.gov’ you have a single secure login for the various public and private websites, using the Digital Mobile Key.

Digital Mobile Key

The Digital Mobile Key (CMD) associates your mobile phone number with your civil identification number (Citizen Card, passport or residence permit) and allows you to sign in to various public or private websites, always using the same login. The login is certified by a temporary code that you will receive by SMS or by other means.

You can also sign digital documents with the CMD.

Some of the main online public services for young people

On ePortugal there are thousands of different pages explaining what each service is, what documents you will need and how to follow the procedure. The information is presented in a digestible way to make life easier for you.

The links below will take you to some of the main online public services that are most relevant and interesting to young people.

THROUGHOUT LIFE

EDUCATION

EMPLOYMENT

HEALTH

HOME

VOTING

MILITARY SERVICE

LEISURE

ePortugal is constantly updated, with new practical guides and services always appearing on the portal.

Follow our Facebook page to keep abreast of new developments.

Information updated on March 15, 2024