Sick Leave in Portugal: ADD, Medical CIT and Sickness Benefit
Proving an absence, receiving sickness benefit and getting medical care are three different tasks. Choose the right route.
- SNS 24 ADD can justify up to three consecutive days, twice per calendar year, for workers aged 16 or over. Request within five days of the first absence.
- ADD itself does not give sickness benefit. A medical CIT and contribution/eligibility rules are separate.
- SNS 24 now sends ADD to Social Security automatically. Give the employer its verification code and communicate an early return.
- For continuing illness, seek medical assessment rather than extending ADD. Ordinary benefit waiting periods differ for employees and freelancers.
For a short truthful illness absence, start with the official SNS 24 ADD instructions. If you need medical assessment, a longer absence or sickness benefit, check the medical CIT route instead. Autodeclaração de Doença justifies a limited absence; it does not diagnose you or automatically pay you. Tell your employer about the absence, and keep proof and benefit decisions separate.
Do I need ADD or a medical certificate?
If employment has ended, sickness documentation and unemployment support are separate processes. Check the IEFP registration and unemployment-benefit guide for the relevant request and deadline instead of assuming a medical certificate starts a benefit claim.
| Situation | Document/task | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Short illness absence within ADD limits | SNS 24 self-declaration | No more than three consecutive days; twice a calendar year |
| Still unable to work after three days | Medical assessment and CIT if clinically justified | ADD cannot be prolonged |
| Already used both ADD requests | Medical assessment for absence evidence | Do not create a third declaration or false date |
| Checking income replacement | ISS sickness-benefit conditions with CIT | Proof is not automatic entitlement |
| Freelancer unable to work | Medical CIT and independent-worker benefit rules | Employee waiting period does not apply universally |
Article 254 of the Labour Code recognises the digital declaration as one way of proving illness, under an honour declaration limited to three consecutive days and twice a year. It also allows employer verification through the legally specified medical route and warns against fraudulent evidence. The point is to simplify truthful short absences, not to select an easier-looking form for an absence outside the rules. Medical assessment remains a clinical decision; this guide does not decide whether your symptoms permit you to work.
What do I need before requesting ADD?
How to request and share an ADD
- Notify your employer and check the appropriate document
For an unexpected absence, notify the employer as soon as possible. Check the illness start date, duration and how many ADD requests you have already used this calendar year. The self-declaration is a truthful absence record, not a medical diagnosis or a sickness-benefit claim.
- Open the official SNS 24 channel
In the portal's personal area, choose Documentos e certificados > Autodeclaração de Doença > Pedir autodeclaração. In the app, choose Documentos e certificados > Autodeclaração > Pedir. If unable to use digital channels, SNS 24 lists 808 24 24 24. Do not put your login credentials in an employer message.
- Enter the real date and confirm the declaration
Request within five days of the first absence day. Complete the mandatory fields, use Seguinte, check the details and submit only when correct. ADD is for workers aged at least 16, no more than three consecutive days, up to twice per calendar year. Two requests cannot be stacked into one six-day absence.
- Give the employer the verification code
SNS 24 makes a verification code available through the confirmation, personal area/app or stated contact channel. Give the employer that code so they can verify through the official service. Keep your copy and a record of the absence communication; do not provide passwords or unrelated clinical documents.
- Handle recovery or continuing incapacity separately
SNS 24 communicates ADD automatically to Social Security. If returning before the declaration ends, communicate early return through SSD. If still unable to work after three days, seek medical assessment: do not extend ADD. Tell the clinician the original absence and ADD dates so any CIT reflects the actual assessed situation.
If you cannot enter the health portal, use the SNS appointment and portal guide. For an absent or incomplete SNS record, see registration and coverage. Requesting a declaration is not a consultation, appointment booking or registration correction. The five-day request window is not permission to wait five days before telling an employer about an unexpected absence.
How soon must I tell my employer?
Under Labour Code article 253, a foreseeable absence is notified with its reason at least five days beforehand; when that is impossible, including an unexpected absence, notify as soon as possible. Repeat the communication if the absence continues. Article 254 separately permits the employer to ask for evidence within 15 days of notification, to be supplied within a reasonable period. Do not confuse any of those duties with the SNS 24 application window or assume portal submission itself tells the employer.
Give the employer the verification code requested by SNS 24's instructions. Keep the official declaration and confirmation of your notification together so a payroll or attendance question can be checked against the same dates. If an employer cannot validate it, first check the actual code, issuer and period, then use the official support channel. Do not repair an error by inventing another illness start date or submitting a false declaration. Finkavo can help organise a checklist, not certify the absence.
Is ADD paid, and must I send it to Social Security?
ADD does not give entitlement to subsídio de doença. SNS 24 says the absences are justified but not paid. Its September 2026 page confirms automatic communication to Social Security, in place since 29 July 2025; do not follow older instructions that require you to send every ADD yourself. If you recover and return before its end, communicate that early return in SSD so the record is not left describing a period you did not actually remain absent.
Still ill after ADD: how does CIT continuation work?
ADD cannot be extended. Seek medical assessment if you remain unable to work. Tell the clinician an ADD exists and give the actual start and end dates; SNS 24 says to explain the original illness start so a clinically justified CIT reflects the full episode. Do not demand a false or automatic backdated certificate. ISS's July guide says ADD days can count toward the benefit waiting period when followed immediately by, or overlapping with, a CIT. A gap changes that treatment: do not assume any earlier ADD removes waiting days from a later unrelated period.
CIT is normally sent electronically by the competent health service and triggers automatic benefit processing, with no extra ordinary application. That is processing, not guaranteed approval. In an exceptional justified paper-CIT case, ISS requires delivery within five working days of issue; late delivery can reduce the paid period. Confirm how the clinician's service transmitted it and retain your copy before assuming a missing payment means a missing medical record.
Who can receive sickness benefit, and when does it start?
The ISS guide requires medical CIT, a qualifying contribution record and applicable conditions. The ordinary guarantee is six months of contributions, consecutive or not, with recognised qualifying periods in other systems potentially considered. Employees also have a recent-work test of 12 days in the specified four-month reference window; independent workers are exempt from that test but need the applicable regularised contribution position. Six consecutive months without contributions can mean a new guarantee period is required. A NISS, contract or open freelance activity alone is not enough.
| Ordinary covered case | Payment can start | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Fourth incapacity day | Three days |
| Independent worker | Eleventh incapacity day | Ten days |
| Covered voluntary-insurance maritime/research category | Thirty-first incapacity day | Thirty days |
These are ordinary rules, not every clinical case. The current guide lists first-day exceptions, including hospital admission, outpatient surgery, tuberculosis, and an illness beginning during parental benefit that continues beyond that period. For ordinary illness, rates rise with duration: 55% of reference remuneration up to 30 days, 60% from 31–90, 70% from 91–365 and 75% beyond 365, subject to legal increases, limits and special cases. Reference remuneration is not simply today's take-home pay or gross freelance invoices; use ISS's calculation and decision.
What should freelancers and people abroad check?
A freelancer should check contribution coverage, debts, the CIT and payment record rather than treating ADD as a shortcut to benefit. Use the Social Security guide for independent workers for the contribution side. The ordinary waiting period is ten days, and special employee-plus-freelance situations need separate verification. If illness occurs abroad, ISS describes country-specific medical certification and delivery rules; contact the competent institution rather than assuming a foreign note is automatically processed like a Portuguese electronic CIT.
A missing payment or early return: the next check
Check dates, CIT transmission, eligibility decision, waiting days, contribution position and registered payment account in the official Social Security portal. An IBAN update can await validation; do not interpret a saved account field as completed approval. Give support only the details needed for that case through its official channel. Return-to-work communication is available in Doença > Cuidados na doença > Comunicar regresso or form GIT 69; working during a medical benefit period can end entitlement even without pay. Follow the clinician's restrictions and ISS notices rather than using this checklist as permission to work or travel.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can SNS 24 ADD cover?
Up to three consecutive days, twice per calendar year, for workers aged 16 or over. Request within five days of the first absence day. You cannot join two declarations into one six-day absence or prolong ADD; continuing incapacity needs medical assessment.
How do I request autodeclaração de doença?
In SNS 24's personal area use Documentos e certificados > Autodeclaração de Doença > Pedir autodeclaração, complete and confirm the true details. The app offers Autodeclaração > Pedir. Without digital access, SNS 24 lists 808 24 24 24.
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What do I give my employer?
Give the declaration's verification code and notify the absence through the employer's reporting channel. Portal submission is not employer notification. Unexpected absence must be communicated as soon as possible; keep its dates and evidence, without sharing portal passwords.
Is ADD paid sick leave?
ADD itself does not give Social Security sickness benefit. It justifies a limited absence; benefit requires the medical CIT and applicable contribution conditions. Proof of illness, employer pay and public income replacement are different questions.
Must I send ADD to Social Security?
SNS 24's current instructions confirm automatic transmission, operating since 29 July 2025. If you return before the end of the declaration, communicate the early return in SSD. Do not leave a record of days you were no longer absent.
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Can I extend ADD or use another one immediately?
No prolongation or stacking into six consecutive days. If incapacity continues, seek medical assessment and tell the clinician the ADD dates. ISS says a directly following or overlapping CIT can account for ADD waiting days; a gap does not automatically do so.
When does sickness benefit start for freelancers?
Ordinarily the eleventh incapacity day, after ten waiting days, when CIT and eligibility conditions are met. Employees ordinarily start on the fourth day. First-day exceptions exist for specified cases such as hospital admission; a NISS or ADD alone does not establish entitlement.
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Do I apply separately after a medical CIT?
Normally the health service sends CIT electronically and ISS processes benefit automatically, subject to eligibility. Exceptional justified paper certificates need delivery within five working days of issue. Check transmission and the decision rather than assuming automatic processing guarantees payment.
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