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Company Secretarial Compliance in Portugal

Company secretarial services in Portugal keep a Portuguese company's resolutions, director changes and annual accounts in order at the Conservatória do Registo Comercial. We work to the statutory calendar: the accounts-registration filing falls due by the 15th day of the seventh month after year-end.

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Praça do Comércio seen from above with its arcades, the Rua Augusta arch and the equestrian statue

Who Needs Company Secretarial Compliance in Portugal

  • Your company needs approved resolutions, director changes or beneficial-owner information filed for registration.
  • Your board needs annual accounts, management reports and approval dates organized around the year-end.
  • Your company needs its registered-office, company-name or representation records updated at the registry after an amendment.
  • Your corporate-services team needs RCBE, AML, source-of-funds and document-retention controls in one file.

Bookkeeping-only work, payroll administration and nominee arrangements that conceal the real director or beneficial owner are outside the offer.

What's Included in Company Secretarial Compliance

This section sets out the registry, accounts, RCBE and AML work your Portuguese company requires.

  • Corporate filings. Approved accounts and corporate changes are routed through the competent Conservatória do Registo Comercial, and the two-month general registration deadline applies where Article 15(2) governs the act.
  • Annual accounts. A specialist places the three-month approval period, five-month consolidated or equity-method extension and the accounts-registration date by the 15th day of the seventh month after year-end.
  • Directors and authority. Resolutions, representation powers and conflict disclosures are recorded. CSC Article 72 sets the director responsibilities that these records support.
  • RCBE records. A specialist organizes beneficial-owner information and the update material under the RCBE regime established by Lei n.º 89/2017 and the current AML framework.
  • AML file. The file records customer identification, beneficial ownership, source-of-funds evidence and the seven-year retention period where the provider is an obliged entity.
  • Registry costs. The official Empresa na Hora service lists EUR 360 for a normal incorporation, EUR 200 with one associated trademark class and EUR 44 for each additional class; other acts use the current IRN tariff.
Lifecycle showing annual accounts, approval, registration and seven-year AML retention.
Company secretarial compliance combines corporate filings with record retention.
Diagram text version

Prepare annual accounts. Approve them within three months. Register approved accounts. Retain AML records for seven years.

What Your Company Records Need

Company and ownership record
Articles, registered office, shareholders, directors, beneficial owners and representation powers.
Resolution and appointment file
Board or shareholder resolutions, minutes, appointment or removal decisions and conflict disclosures.
Accounts and year-end records
Management report, annual accounts, consolidated records, approval date and commercial-registration evidence.
RCBE and AML information
Beneficial-owner data, identity records, source-of-funds material and risk information.
Registry correspondence
Prior filings, certificates, rejection notices, requests for correction and Conservatória correspondence.
Tariff and authority access
Powers of attorney, payment evidence, portal access and the current IRN fee reference for each act.

How Company Secretarial Work Starts

A specialist prepares the corporate records and filings for the Conservatória do Registo Comercial and notes accounting, tax and beneficial-owner points along the way.

  1. Map the entity and filing event

    You provide the company form, ownership, directors, registered office and resolution or filing question.

  2. Collate the approved corporate records

    The record set collates the minutes, resolutions, appointment powers and supporting corporate records that you approve.

  3. Set registry deadlines

    The deadline list covers the Article 15 registration period, accounts deadline and competent Conservatória route.

  4. Update RCBE and AML records

    A specialist organizes beneficial-owner, identity, source-of-funds and retention evidence for the current file.

  5. File approved documents

    The commercial, accounts or RCBE material is submitted through the applicable official channel.

  6. Close the compliance cycle

    The closing file keeps receipts, certificates, authority correspondence and the next corporate dates.

Timing and Possible Delays

Set case by case

What delays it

The work takes longer when signatures are missing, beneficial ownership is unclear, registry corrections are requested or accounts are not approved.

What to prepare now

You prepare articles, ownership data, director records, resolutions, accounts, RCBE information and prior filing correspondence before the work begins.

Ongoing Corporate Compliance

Resolutions and registration order

The approved resolution, the directors’ appointment record, the ownership record and the registration request are collated before the filing is prepared. You provide signed minutes, powers, articles and prior certificates in the sequence the Conservatória requires. A specialist records the evidence of submission.

Accounts and beneficial-owner records

Approval, accounts registration and RCBE information are placed beside the financial year-end before the annual file is closed. You provide management reports, approved accounts, beneficial-owner updates and identity evidence in the order the records require. The accounts-filing receipts are kept with the annual file.

AML retention and director records

The approved director decision and conflict disclosure are filed with the source-of-funds records before the corporate-services file is closed. You provide client correspondence and transaction evidence for the retention schedule. A specialist preserves the records supporting the director decision.

Set out your company compliance needs

Describe your entity, directors, ownership, year-end and filings that need to be prepared.

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Common questions

What is the general commercial-registration deadline?
Código do Registo Comercial Article 15(2) sets a general two-month registration period for the acts to which it applies. A specialist checks the period that applies to the specific act.
When must annual accounts be approved?
CSC Article 65 gives three months after year-end for ordinary approval and five months for companies presenting consolidated accounts or applying the equity method.
When are approved accounts filed?
Article 15(4) of the Código do Registo Comercial sets the accounts-registration filing by the 15th day of the seventh month after the financial year-end.
Who can represent a Portuguese company?
Representation powers come from the company's articles, its resolutions and the applicable CSC rules. The authority and director decisions for the relevant act are recorded.
What does RCBE compliance require?
The current AML framework requires obliged entities to obtain satisfactory knowledge of the beneficial owners of legal persons according to the concrete risk. The exact RCBE update period and penalty depend on the declaration and current legislation.
How long must company-service AML records be kept?
Identification, client-file and transaction records are retained for seven years after identification, the end of the relationship or the transaction, as Lei n.º 83/2017 specifies where it applies.
What does incorporation cost through Empresa na Hora?
The official service lists EUR 360 for a normal incorporation, EUR 200 with one associated trademark class and EUR 44 for each additional class. Other registry and certificate acts use the current IRN tariff.
How is my company secretarial work handled?
A specialist handles the work and replies to you directly. The same person stays your contact through the case.

How the Service Works

  • One team for the whole case.

    The registry filings, accounts, RCBE and AML records stay with one case team.

  • English or Portuguese.

    English or Portuguese, whichever you are most comfortable in.

  • A written quote before work starts.

    You get a quote in writing before any work starts. Fees are set case by case.

  • A clear answer on scope.

    You are told plainly if your case falls outside the service.

Contact us

Your request is in

Every request is read in house. The requirements are assessed, and a reply by email sets out the appropriate next steps.

Every enquiry is read in house, and the aim is a reply within one business day.

Your company compliance

Every case starts with the form below. Describe your company, ownership, resolutions and filing calendar, and a specialist replies in English or Portuguese.

Describe the entity, directors, ownership, resolutions and filings that need attention. Replies arrive within one business day, and the first conversation is free.

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