What is the CPCV? The Portuguese promissory contract every buyer must understand

If you buy a home in Portugal, there is a good chance the first thing you will be asked to sign is not the deed. It is the CPCV, the promissory contract. And once you sign it, you are committed.

Buyers coming from the US, UK or elsewhere often expect a single closing where everything happens at once. Portugal works in two stages instead. The CPCV comes first and locks both sides in. The deed, the escritura, comes later and transfers ownership. Understanding what the CPCV does, what it costs you if things go wrong, and why you should never sign one without your own lawyer is one of the most important pieces of the whole purchase. Here is the plain-English version.

What the CPCV actually is

CPCV stands for Contrato de Promessa de Compra e Venda, the promissory contract of purchase and sale. It is a written pre-contract in which the buyer and the seller both commit to signing the final deed under agreed terms. It is signed before the escritura, the definitive deed, and it creates a binding obligation on both sides to complete the sale (Montepio).

Think of it as the moment the deal becomes real. It sets out who is buying from whom, the exact property, the price, the deposit, the deadline to sign the deed, and any conditions, for example that the sale depends on your mortgage being approved. It does not, by itself, transfer ownership. That only happens at the escritura. But it does lock both parties in, which is why the terms inside it matter so much.

The sinal: how the deposit works

When you sign the CPCV, you pay a deposit called the sinal. This is customarily around 10% of the purchase price, though in practice it commonly ranges between 10% and 20%. On a 250,000 EUR property, that is somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 EUR handed over before you ever get the keys (Santander, ComparaJá).

The sinal is not a casual good-faith gesture. It is a legal guarantee recognised under the Civil Code, and it is later deducted from the final price you pay at the deed. So it is not an extra cost, it is the first slice of the purchase price, paid early. What makes it serious is what happens to it if the deal falls apart.

The sinal is paid at CPCV signing and counts toward the final price, not on top of it.

What happens if someone pulls out

This is the part every buyer needs to understand before signing. Under Article 442 of the Portuguese Civil Code, the default breach rule works like this (Cofidis):

• If the buyer pulls out without justification, the seller keeps the entire sinal.
• If the seller pulls out, they must repay the buyer double the sinal received.

These are the defaults, and they apply unless the CPCV itself agrees something different. In some cases the law also allows other remedies, such as asking a court to enforce the sale, but the forfeit-or-double rule is the one most buyers meet. The practical takeaway is simple: the CPCV is where you protect yourself. If your purchase depends on a mortgage, a clean survey, or a clear title, those conditions belong in the contract, so that if they fail you can withdraw without losing your deposit.

Rules can vary with the wording of your specific contract, so treat this as the general picture and get your own clauses reviewed.

Signatures, lawyers and the law

A CPCV for real estate is not just a private letter between two people. Article 410(3) of the Civil Code requires in-person notarial recognition of the promisors' signatures whenever the contract concerns property. Skip that step and the contract can be ruled null. Portuguese courts have generally held that clauses trying to waive this requirement are void, which is one more reason independent legal review before signing is strongly advisable (PRA law firm).

Here is where we will be direct with you. In Portugal, the estate agent works for the seller, and the notary is neutral, there to authenticate rather than to advise you. Neither is your advocate. Your own lawyer is the person who reads the CPCV in your interest, checks the property is free of debts and charges, confirms the licensing and registration are in order, and makes sure your conditions are written in before you commit a five-figure deposit. As of 2026 the signature-recognition rule stands, but laws and practice evolve, so always confirm current requirements and get advice for your own case.

From CPCV to the escritura

The escritura pública de compra e venda is the definitive contract, the one that actually transfers ownership. It is executed and authenticated before a notary, and it is a separate step from the CPCV, which only creates the obligation to sign it later. Between the two, you complete the conditions set in the CPCV, arrange your financing, and settle the taxes due. Importantly, IMT (the transfer tax) must be paid before the escritura, via a Documento Único de Cobrança (DUC) generated on the Portal das Finanças (gov.pt).

So the CPCV is the promise, and the escritura is the moment that promise is kept and the keys change hands. The gap between them is usually a few weeks to a few months, set by the deadline written into your CPCV.

Taxes and fees at the deed

The sinal counts toward the price, but there are real taxes and fees on top, and most fall due around the escritura. Here is the shape of it:

• IMT (Imposto Municipal sobre Transmissões): charged on the purchase using bands that run from an exempt first bracket through marginal rates rising to 8%, with flat rates (typically 6% or 7.5%) applying to higher values and to some second homes and non-resident buyers. What you pay depends on the price, property type, location and purpose. Paid before the deed (PwC Portugal).
• Stamp Duty (Imposto do Selo): 0.8% on the property transfer, applied to the contract price or the VPT (tax value), whichever is higher (CGD Saldo Positivo).
• Deed and registration: via the Casa Pronta service, 375 EUR for a single registration act, or 700 EUR when there is more than one act such as purchase plus mortgage, with 50 EUR per additional property. Notary offices may charge more, and these are separate from IMT and Stamp Duty (CGD Saldo Positivo).

There is relief worth knowing about too. As of 2026, IMT Jovem gives buyers up to 35 acquiring a first permanent home an exemption up to 330,539 EUR, up from 324,058 EUR in 2025, with only the excess taxed above the ceiling (Doutor Finanças). The general exemption for a permanent own home applies up to 106,346 EUR in 2026 (Portal das Finanças). These bracket limits are revised annually, so always verify the figure for your year of purchase.

Before you sign the CPCV

A short, honest checklist we run through with every buyer:

• Have your own lawyer read it first. Not the agent's, not the notary. Someone acting for you.
• Confirm the property is clean. No outstanding debts, mortgages or charges, and licensing and registration in order.
• Write your conditions in. Mortgage approval, a satisfactory survey, clear title. If a condition fails, you want your deposit protected.
• Check the deadline. Make sure the time set to reach the escritura is realistic for your financing and paperwork.
• Get the signatures recognised properly. In-person recognition is a legal requirement for property CPCVs, not an optional formality.

Do all of that and the CPCV stops being a leap of faith and becomes what it should be: a fair, binding agreement that moves you calmly toward the keys.