Everything our lawyer does, written down for you to do. Two documents, one office or one email, no fee. And the honest line on when it is worth paying someone: Coepi does it for 39.99 EUR, charged once.
The NIF is free and the Portuguese tax authority issues it to anyone who asks properly. If you have the time and, outside the EU, someone in Portugal to represent you, you do not need us. Here is the complete route, the same one our lawyer follows.
Updated on 17 October 2026
Official source: Portal das Finanças, the Portuguese tax authority
If you live in the EU or the EEA: no. If you live anywhere else: yes, Finanças wants a person or company in Portugal who receives your tax mail, and they file for you. That representative is what paid services sell. A friend with a Portuguese NIF can do it for free.
Law: article 19 of the Lei Geral Tributária. Since 2022 you can drop the representative later by signing up for electronic notifications.
Your passport or EU identity card, and a proof of your address at home: a bank statement, a utility bill or a council letter from the last three months, with your name on it. Documents in English, Spanish or French are accepted as they are; others need a certified translation.
Any Serviço de Finanças, with the two documents. Book a slot on the portal first; walk-ins are turned away in Lisbon and Porto. The clerk issues the number on the spot and prints the confirmation. It costs nothing.
The representative logs into the Portal das Finanças, opens e-balcão, "Registo Contribuinte", "Atrib/Alter NIF-Singulares", and attaches your passport, your proof of address and a power of attorney signed by you. The answer with the number comes back on e-balcão, with an email to say so, usually within 8 business days, 9 in 10 within 14.
The message our lawyer sends is below. Finanças answers in Portuguese.
Eu, [nome do representante], na qualidade de mandatário(a) de [nome completo], [nacionalidade], venho remeter, em anexo, a documentação necessária para a atribuição de número de identificação fiscal, e declaro aceitar ser o(a) representante para este efeito.
Com os melhores cumprimentos,
[nome do representante]
The PDF or the printed slip is your proof of the number. Banks, landlords and employers ask for it. The number itself never expires.
Photograph the two documents, sign on the screen, pay. A Portuguese lawyer is your representative, files the same day, and the number lands in your inbox. Nothing recurring, no government fee, money back if it cannot be filed.
Get your NIF| In person at Finanças | Online through a representative | Online with Coepi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you are | In Portugal | Anywhere | Anywhere |
| What it costs | Free | Set by the representative | 39.99 EUR, charged once |
| Who files | You, at the counter | Your representative, on the e-balcão | Thaís R. Garrido, a Portuguese lawyer |
| What you need | Passport and proof of address | Passport, proof of address and a power of attorney | Passport and proof of address; we prepare the power of attorney |
| Fiscal representative | Not needed | The representative, if you live outside the EU | Included for the application, nothing to renew |
Yes. A non-resident NIF is issued to your address abroad. That is the normal case for everyone who applies before moving.
No. Any person or company with a Portuguese NIF and a Portuguese address can represent you. A lawyer can file the power of attorney without a notarised signature; a friend needs your signature certified.
Nothing. The NIF is free, in person and online.
At the counter, the same visit. Through e-balcão, usually within 8 business days, 9 in 10 within 14; the figures are live from our own filings.
Yes. Start an application and upload the same two documents; nothing you did at Finanças gets in the way.