Deed day (escritura) in Portugal: what happens at completion

In Portugal, ownership passes when the deed is signed. It is called the escritura, and for most buyers it is a short, formal appointment: documents are read, the price is paid, signatures go down and the keys change hands. If the preparation is right, it takes about an hour.

This guide walks through deed day from the buyer's side: who is in the room, the documents that must be ready, how the money is paid, what it costs, and the jobs that follow, from registration to utilities and IMI. It picks up where our guide to the CPCV promissory contract leaves off.

Three ways to sign the deed

"Escritura" is the word everyone uses, but there are three legal routes to the same result:

• A public deed at a notary. The classic escritura pública, prepared and read by a notary in their office.
• Casa Pronta. A state one-stop counter, usually at a land registry office, that signs the sale, handles the tax formalities and registers the property in one sitting, per gov.pt.
• An authenticated private document (DPA). A lawyer or solicitor drafts the contract and authenticates the signatures, then submits the registration online. Many buyers with their own lawyer use this route, per Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

All three are equally valid. The choice usually comes down to who is preparing the file, where the parties are, and, if you are borrowing, what the bank prefers.

Who attends

• The official who titles the sale: the notary, the Casa Pronta registrar, or the lawyer or solicitor authenticating the document.
• The seller, or the seller's attorney.
• You, or your attorney under a power of attorney if you are abroad.
• The bank, if you have a mortgage. A bank representative signs the loan and mortgage in the same sitting and brings the loan funds. If the seller has a mortgage, their bank attends too, to be paid off and cancel its charge.
• Your lawyer, if you have one and they are not the person authenticating the deed, and often the estate agents.

If you do not speak Portuguese well, the official needs to be sure you understand what you are signing, so ask in advance whether an interpreter should be arranged rather than discovering the need on the day.

The weeks before

Almost everything that can go wrong on deed day is fixed, or caused, beforehand. The usual checklist:

1. Date and place. The CPCV normally sets a deadline for the deed. Book the notary, Casa Pronta or lawyer early, especially around August and December.
2. Mortgage approval and the bank's own deed slot, if you are borrowing. Banks often book their own notary.
3. Final legal checks. Your lawyer requests fresh copies of the registry certificate and tax record, to confirm the seller still owns the home and no new charges have appeared since the CPCV.
4. Taxes. IMT and stamp duty are assessed and paid before the deed. As a non-resident you pay a flat 7.5 percent IMT since 25 May 2026, per Andersen, plus 0.8 percent stamp duty. Our guide to the cost of buying covers the numbers.
5. Funds in place in your Portuguese account, with time to spare for transfers and bank cheques.
6. A last visit, in person or by video, to check the property is as agreed and anything promised in the CPCV has been done.

The documents on the table

The official will not sign without a complete file. Most of it comes from the seller's side, gathered by the lawyer or agent, but as a buyer you should know what each item is:

Three of these deserve a closer look, because the rules have moved:

• The licence to use the building. Since 1 January 2024 the licença de utilização no longer has to be shown at the deed, and the same applies to the ficha técnica da habitação, the technical file required for newer homes, per Doutor Finanças. But since 1 October 2026 the deed must state one of three things: that the planning title exists and is shown, that the seller declares they have it, or that there is none. Leaving this out makes the sale open to annulment, per idealista. A home can still be sold without a licence, so it is up to you, and your lawyer, to insist on seeing it. Banks often require it anyway.
• The energy certificate must exist when a home is sold, per Santander, and is the seller's responsibility.
• The condominium declaration. For an apartment, the seller must get a statement of charges and any debts from the building administrator, who has ten days to issue it. You can waive it in the deed, but then you accept responsibility for any debt the seller owes the condominium, per the Madeira regional government's guide to Lei 8/2022. Do not waive it.

How the price is paid

The deposit you paid at the CPCV is deducted, and the balance is paid at the deed. The usual means are a bank cheque, made out to the seller, or a bank transfer confirmed before or during the signing. If you have a mortgage, the bank pays its part directly, and if the seller has a mortgage, part of the price goes straight to their bank to clear it.

Since 2017 the deed must record how and when the price was paid: cheque numbers and the issuing bank, or the accounts used for a transfer, and the official can refuse to sign without it, per idealista and Cofidis. Cash is not a realistic option, as Portuguese law caps cash payments at small amounts. Have your payment arranged and tested in the days before, since international transfers and cheque requests can take longer than expected.

On the day, step by step

1. Identification. Everyone shows ID, and the official checks the powers of any attorney.
2. Reading. The deed is read aloud, or its contents explained, in Portuguese. Ask questions now. Check names, the property description, the price and the payment details.
3. Payment. Cheques are handed over, or transfers confirmed, and recorded in the deed.
4. Signing. All parties sign, along with the bank if there is a mortgage.
5. Keys. The seller hands over the keys, usually right there. Agree beforehand on remotes, post box keys and the manuals for any equipment.

You leave with a copy of the deed, or it follows by email. Through Casa Pronta, the registration is done in the same sitting.

What the deed costs

Casa Pronta has fixed fees: €375 for a sale with a single registration act, and €700 when there is more than one, such as a purchase with a mortgage, per gov.pt. Caixa Geral de Depósitos quoted the same figures in July 2026, before taxes, per CGD.

A private notary or a lawyer's authenticated document is priced differently: the professional's fee is not set by a public table, and the registration fees are paid on top. CGD's advice is sensible: ask for an itemised quote that separates the deed, the registrations, the taxes and any certificates. All of this comes on top of IMT and stamp duty, which are by far the largest costs.

After the deed: registration, utilities and IMI

• Registration. The purchase must be registered at the land registry, which protects you against third parties. The legal deadline is two months from the deed, and in most cases the notary, solicitor or Casa Pronta does it on the same day, per idealista. Ask for the updated certidão permanente showing your name.
• Tax office. The tax record (caderneta predial) moves into your name. Check that it has, and keep your contact details and any fiscal representative up to date, so tax notices reach you.
• Utilities. Electricity, water, gas and internet are transferred into your name with your NIF, a Portuguese IBAN for direct debits, and meter readings taken on the day.
• IMI. The annual property tax is owed by whoever owns the property on 31 December of the year it relates to, and is billed the following year. So if you buy in November, that year's IMI is yours, per the Portal das Finanças. Any split with the seller is a private agreement and should be written into the contracts.
• Insurance and condominium. Buildings insurance from the day of the deed, and an introduction to the condominium administrator if you bought an apartment.