Register a birth

Online registration is only possible for children born in Portugal, a European Union Member State or the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland). For children born in other countries, the birth must be registered at the responsible consular post.

To register a birth online, you must:

• provide proof of birth in the form of a document issued by the hospital where the child was born or by another administrative body;
• state the full names of the parents and grandparents;
• indicate the details of the birth and the child, such as the name, which must adhere to certain rules (no more than two given names and four surnames);
• specify the maternity clinic or hospital where the child was born;
• if you are applying for online registration and want to apply for the Citizen's Card choose the "yes" option
• attach a photo of the baby and proof of birth, in PDF, PNG, JPG or JPEG format (it can be a scan or a photo, as long as it is legible)
• provide certain details relating to the birth and the household as required by Statistics Portugal (for births in Portugal).

When registering a birth abroad, you must additionally:

• state whether you wish the child to have Portuguese citizenship;
• where possible, provide the local birth certificate.

Note: documents for children born abroad must be written in French, English or Spanish. If a document is in any other language, you should enclose, preferably, the local birth certificate accompanied by a multilingual standard form (this can only be used by the authorities) or, alternatively, a certified Portuguese translation of the local birth register entry or of the birth declaration issued by the hospital or maternity clinic.

To register a birth in person, you need to:

• present proof of birth, issued by the hospital where the child was born or by another administrative body
• identify the parents and grandparents by their full names
• indicate the details of the birth and the child, such as the name, which must comply with certain rules (as a rule, up to 2 forenames and 4 surnames)
• indicate the maternity hospital or hospital where the child was born

If you register a child born abroad, you must also:

• indicate whether you intend to grant the child Portuguese nationality
• attach, if possible, the local birth registration certificate.

Note: In the case of a child born abroad, the documents must be written in French, English or Spanish. If they are in another language, you should preferably attach the local birth certificate accompanied by the multilingual form (these can only be used by the authorities), or, alternatively, a certified translation into Portuguese of the local birth registration or the declaration of birth issued by the hospital/maternity.

It is free of charge.

Note: If during the birth registration process you ask for the Citizen Card, the request has a cost of 7.50€.

Births in Portugal must be registered as soon as possible at the maternity clinic or hospital. If this is impossible, the birth must be registered within 20 days of taking place.

Births in the European Union or the United Kingdom may be registered in Portugal online within 1 year of taking place. However, it is recommended that the birth be registered as soon as possible.

Births occurring abroad more than 1 year previously can only be registered in person, as special rules require that checks be performed by the registration services.