Licensing in Portugal
Compliance with the applicable licensing procedures is required to implement an investment project, thus obtaining the licenses, authorisations, and opinions required by the legal system before the execution of the work.
Licensing procedures are thematically divided into four areas:
A) Land Use Planning
Ensure that a project is compatible with territorial management instruments, administrative easements, and public utility restrictions.
This includes municipal plans - e.g. Municipal Master Plans, Detailed Plans, and Urbanization Plans - which are regulatory instruments that establish the land use regime, defining models of territorial occupation and the organisation of urban networks and systems, as well as, where appropriate, parameters for land use, as well as ensure socio-economic and financial sustainability, and environmental quality. Thus, one should analyse whether the project complies with the provisions of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM) regulations of the municipality, among other territorially applicable plans.
The developer must, at the outset, observe the zoning maps, which represent the spatial organisation model of an area according to its land classification and qualification, along with the constraint maps, which identify administrative easements and public utility restrictions listed in the Municipal Master Plan (PDM) of the municipality, inventory the types contained therein, and check the guidelines specified by the regulations for each of them.
The land use regime establishes the rules for the land's occupation, transformation, and use. It is defined in inter-municipal or municipal plans through the classification and qualification of the land. While the classification of the land is based on the distinction between urban land and rustic land, the qualification defines, respecting its classification, the content of its use, concerning the development potential of the territory, establishing the respective dominant uses and, when permissible, the buildability index of a specified area. The criteria for defining the classification and qualification of the land are set out in Decree-Law No. 15/2015 of August 19.
The National Ecological Reserve (REN) and the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) are examples of constraints that assume the character of public utility restrictions. In these situations, the regulations of the PDM generally refer to their respective legal regimes. If there is a project incompatibility regarding these restrictions, they are addressed within the scope of their respective legal regime.
However, if the project's incompatibility is due to land use, there are legal mechanisms that can allow it to be overcome.
B) Environmental Licensing
Portuguese Environment Agency's (APA) website states, "The instruments of environmental assessment and management seek to ensure a high level of environmental protection, from air, water, and soil protection to the prevention or reduction of noise pollution and waste production".
These instruments implement measures to minimise adverse environmental impacts associated with the operations, notably by setting limits for pollutant emissions to the air, water, and soil, including the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (PCIP) regimes, Single Environmental Licensing (TUA), environmental responsibility, together with actions related to soil contamination prevention and remediation.
The APA is the entity responsible for developing, monitoring, and implementing these instruments, as well as the National Authority for Environmental Impact Assessment, which coordinates the AIA process and, depending on the project, that entity may be the APA or the territorially competent Commission for the Coordination of Regional Development (CCDR).
Procedures related to environmental licensing are processed through SILiAmb – the Integrated Environmental Licensing System - to serve as a platform where citizens and companies can submit licensing requests and communicate data to the APA, fulfilling their obligations in the environmental area - all the procedures that must be processed (licensing or monitoring) are indicated here.
The Single Environmental Licensing (LUA) regime was designed to simplify, harmonise, and coordinate the various licensing regimes in the environmental domain following the principle of "one request, one permit, one fee."
This regime translates into a procedure for issuing a Single Environmental Title (TUA), which constitutes a single permit for all licensing acts in the environmental domain, condensing all information regarding the requirements applicable to the establishment or activity concerning the environment.
There are several legal regimes of an environmental nature that may apply to a particular project, the three main ones being:
- More information on the legal regime for environmental impact assessment (RJAIA) is available here. The applicable legislation is Decree-Law No. 151-B/2013, of October 31.
- Consult the legal regime for prevention and integrated pollution control (RJPCIP). Here and here.
- The legal regime that regulates the issuance of water domain use titles (TURH). The use of public and private water resources that may have a significant impact on water status and the rational and balanced management of resources requires a permit allowing such use, issued under the terms and conditions provided for in the Water Law and the Regime for the Use of Water Resources. More information here.
C) Urban Planning Licensing
Urban operations are the material operations of urbanisation, building construction, and use of buildings or land provided that, in the latter case, it is not exclusively for agricultural, livestock, forestry, mining, or public water supply purposes, with the legal regime for urbanisation and building (RJUE) covered in Decree-Law no. 595/99, of December 16.
The realisation of urban operations depends on a license or prior notification under the jurisdiction of the territorially competent municipality. By accessing Order No. 71-A/2024 of February 27, you will find the necessary documentation to accompany any application.
There is also the possibility of requesting, from the municipal council, in advance, information on the feasibility of carrying out a particular urban operation or set of directly related urban operations, as well as on their respective legal or regulatory constraints, including infrastructure, administrative easements, public utility restrictions, urban planning indices, building heights, setbacks, and other constraints applicable to the request. In these cases, the favourable prior information binds the competent entities in the decision on any licensing application and in the subsequent control of urban operations subject to prior notification.
Suppose the request for prior information concerns a subdivision operation in an area not covered by a detailed plan or the construction, expansion, or alteration work in an area not covered by a detailed plan or subdivision operation. In that case, the interested party may request that the prior information specifically address aspects listed in paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the RJUE, which results in an exemption from previous control of the urban operation. The same conclusion applies if the prior information concerns an area subject to a detailed plan or a subdivision operation.
Urban operations related to prior information issued under the terms above must be initiated within two years after its favourable decision.
D) Industrial Licensing
The Responsible Industry System establishes the necessary procedures for access and exercise of industrial activity, applying to industrial activities referred to in Annex I of the Legal Regime of the Responsible Industry System, established by Decree-Law No. 169/2012, of August 1.
Access and processing of the procedures provided for in the SIR are carried out electronically, directly or in an assisted manner through the Entrepreneur Desk.
Industrial establishments are classified, according to the degree of potential risk inherent in their operation for human health and the environment, into three types, depending on the scope of specific legal regimes or circumstances. More information here.
The identification of the coordinating entity, which is responsible for the whole direction of the installation and operational procedures of industrial establishments, is based on the economic classification of the industrial activity and the establishment's classification, according to applicable legislation.
Regarding administrative procedures, industrial establishments must obtain digital titles, which allow for the installation and operation of industrial establishments. These are issued by the Entrepreneur Desk when all licenses, authorisations, approvals, prior notifications with deadlines, mere prior notifications, registrations, opinions, and other permissive or non-permissive acts required for the installation or operation of the industrial establishment under the SIR have been submitted, issued, or approved, expressly or tacitly.
Any licensing application is always initiated on the SIR Technological Platform and automatically forwarded to the LUA simulator in SILiAmb: the applicant initiates the licensing application via the SIR Platform, selects the type of licensing they wish to apply for – new, alteration, or renewal, fills in a set of information regarding industrial licensing, then redirecting to the environment simulator in SILiAmb, for alignment with the environmental legal regimes covered by the LUA.
The standard information provided by the applicant in the industrial licensing framework automatically transitions to the LUA simulator, such as the CAE of the installation, the type of licensing desired (new or alteration), and the nominal thermal power.
At the end of the environmental simulation through SILiAmb, after presenting the results in terms of alignments, the applicant is automatically redirected to the SIR platform to continue filling out the SIR framework form and obtain the respective result under Decree-Law No. 73/2015, namely, establishment typology, coordinating entity for the licensing of economic activity, applicable environmental regimes, applicable fees, etc. After completing the licensing process, a Single Billing Document (DUC) will be generated, including the fees due for environmental licensing.
The following public entities express their opinions within the scope of their respective responsibilities and competencies in the SIR:
1. Portuguese Environment Agency
2. Authority for Working Conditions
3. Regional Coordination and Development Commission
4. Directorate-General of Food and Veterinary Medicine
5. Directorate-General of Energy and Geology
6. Portuguese Institute for Quality
7. Competent local authorities
8. Other public entities
Another issue worth noting is the articulation between the SIR and the RJUE, briefly mentioned here:
i) Regarding industrial establishments of type 1 or type 2 whose installation or alteration involves carrying out urban planning operations subject to prior approval under the RJUE, the digital installation or installation and operation title, as applicable, cannot be issued without submitting the following elements: a) Approval of the architectural project; or b) Favourable prior information, requested under paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the RJUE;
ii) For industrial establishments of type 3 whose installation, expansion, or alteration involves carrying out urban planning operations subject to prior approval, a permit for use or a certificate proving its tacit approval must be obtained before submitting a prior notification under the SIR.
iii) The commencement of operations of an industrial establishment of type 1, 2, or 3 that involves carrying out urban planning operations subject to prior approval depends on the previous issuance by the competent municipal council of a permit for use or a certificate proving its tacit approval. On the other hand, the license permit cannot be issued, nor can a prior notification be submitted for an urban planning operation that foresees industrial use without issuing the digital installation or installation and operation title, as applicable.
