Portugal Tax Clearance Certificate: Request, Validity and Checks

• Choose Dívida e Não Dívida in Portal das Finanças. Certificates obtained through the portal are free.
• The tax-regularity certificate is valid for four months under current CPPT Article 24—not the three months still shown on an older AT service page.
• Regularised tax status is not always the same as having no debt. Qualifying payment arrangements or challenges can also meet the legal test.
• This AT certificate does not replace a Social Security contribution-status declaration, fiscal-residence certificate or address proof.

To get Portugal's tax clearance certificate, request the certidão de dívida e não dívida in Portal das Finanças and download the original PDF. It certifies the tax position recorded by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT). The certificate of regularised tax status is valid for four months. Start by confirming the document the recipient needs: a tax certificate, a Social Security declaration and proof of your fiscal address are not interchangeable.

Which certificate should I request?

For the other agency's document, use the Social Security contribution-status certificate guide. If the request is about the address recorded against your NIF, start with changing and checking your fiscal address (see the related guides below). Ask the recipient for the exact Portuguese document name before ordering several similar-looking PDFs.

How to get the certificate online

1. 1
   Check the document and holder

   Confirm that the recipient wants an AT tax-debt status certificate, not a Social Security declaration or fiscal-address certificate. Establish whether the holder must be you or a company. Use your own authorised access; do not give a recipient your password or authentication code.

2. 2
   Find the official certificate request

   Open Portal das Finanças, search for Certidão de dívida and choose Pedir Certidão / Aceder. Sign in when asked. The public Certidões menu also provides Pedir Certidão for a new request and Consultar for previous requests. Check that you are on portaldasfinancas.gov.pt before entering credentials.

3. 3
   Select Dívida e Não Dívida

   Choose that exact certificate type after authentication. Confirm the holder and request with CONFIRMAR, then use CERTIDÃO to obtain the document, as described in the AT's February 2026 leaflet. Do not choose Residência Fiscal merely because the recipient is outside Portugal; it certifies a different fact.

4. 4
   Save and read the original PDF

   Download the PDF. AT describes online availability as immediate, but check that a document actually opens before treating the task as finished. Read the holder, issue date and status. A certificate reporting irregular status is still a document: it is not proof that your tax position is regularised.

5. 5
   Check validity and share securely

   The current legal validity is four months. Compare the issue date with the recipient's deadline, keep the original and submit by the requested channel. The AT leaflet explains verification using the NIF and validation code under Certidões e Comprovativos > Validar Documento. Share these only with the intended recipient.

Is it valid for three months or four?

Four months for the certificate of regularised tax status. CPPT Article 24(4)–(6) contains that specific exception to the general one-year certificate rule, rules out extending this validity and says the certificate is not an instrument of discharge. Decree-Law 49/2025 introduced the four-month wording with effect from 1 July 2025. The AT's February 2026 certificates leaflet also states four months.

The separate AT debt-certificate service page still says three months when checked on 17 October 2026. That conflicts with the current statute and the newer leaflet; we do not repeat the old value as current law. Check your actual PDF and the receiving organisation's requirements. If a date printed on the document appears inconsistent, ask AT for clarification or a replacement; never edit the PDF yourself. A recipient's request for a recently issued document is a separate practical requirement, not an extension of legal validity.

Does regularised mean I owe nothing?

Not necessarily. CPPT Article 177-A covers no outstanding taxes or related interest, but also qualifying authorised instalments, qualifying legal challenges and certain suspended enforcement cases. The applicable guarantee requirements matter; lawful dispensation or expiry of a guarantee is treated as equivalent for this provision. Merely asking for a payment plan or challenging a debt does not establish that you meet the test. AT must apply the relevant rules to your recorded situation.

A regularised-status certificate also does not settle every past or future tax liability. Article 24 expressly says it is not a discharge instrument. Keep payment records and continue to deal with declarations or notices separately. If you need evidence that a particular payment cleared, identify that payment rather than using the general certificate as a receipt. This guide cannot decide whether your individual debt or guarantee qualifies.

What if it reports a debt or an unexpected status?

The request itself does not remove debt. Compare the certificate with your official account records and any payment or authorised arrangement you rely on. Note the document's issue date and identify the specific mismatch. If you have recently paid, retain the receipt and ask AT to review the recorded position; do not promise a recipient that a payment receipt already equals a corrected certificate. Obtain a fresh certificate when the record has been resolved.

Assunto: Esclarecimento sobre certidão de dívida e não dívida

Obtive uma certidão em [data]. A situação indicada não parece corresponder a [pagamento/acordo/documento, com data]. Podem esclarecer o registo e indicar se é necessário algum elemento adicional ou um novo pedido de certidão? Tenho o comprovativo disponível para envio pelo canal indicado.

Before you send the document

• Check the correct holder: your personal certificate does not certify a company's tax position.
• Check the actual status, issue date and submission deadline. Downloading a PDF is not the same as receiving a regularised-status result.
• Keep the original PDF and the submission confirmation. Do not replace it with a cropped screenshot or change its wording.
• Use the recipient's stated secure channel. If they ask for an official consultation authorisation rather than a PDF, clarify that separate request instead of sharing your account login.

See what AT records against you — debts, fines and payments due — in Finkavo → Opens your Finkavo account (sign in first if needed). Finkavo only reads AT; it never pays or files for you.