How to become a real estate agent in Portugal

Portugal regulates real estate brokerage nationally, but the licence sits with the agency, not with each salesperson. Most people who sell homes in Portugal work as consultants under an agency’s licence, often as self-employed workers. Your nationality then decides whether, and how, you can work at all. Here is how it fits together in October 2026.

The short version

1. Mediation can only be done by a licensed firm under a written contract (Law 15/2013). The licence comes from IMPIC and is known by its AMI number.
2. The licence is held by a company or a sole trader. Salespeople work under it as consultores imobiliários, with no licence of their own.
3. To get a licence you need good commercial standing and liability insurance of at least €150,000. IMPIC charges €100 for the licence and €265 a year in regulation fees.
4. Every January, licence holders must prove again that they meet the requirements and pay the annual fee.
5. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work freely. Non-EU nationals must get the right visa before travelling since Law 61/2025.
6. Everyone needs a NIF (tax number) and a NISS (Social Security number). Most consultants work on recibos verdes (self-employed).
7. Pay is mostly commission: a share of the agency’s fee, which Ekonomista put at 40% to 50% in September 2026.

The AMI licence

Article 3 of Law 15/2013 says real estate mediation in Portugal can only be carried out by a licensed mediation firm. Any provider established in Portugal needs a licence from IMPIC (Instituto dos Mercados Públicos, do Imobiliário e da Construção), whether it is a company or an individual trading in their own name (empresário em nome individual). The trade calls it the AMI licence. The law itself still names IMPIC’s predecessor, InCI.

The law sets only two conditions:

• Commercial good standing (idoneidade comercial). It is lost, for example, after an insolvency without a court-approved plan, or when a legal representative has a final prison sentence from the last five years for fraud, breach of trust, corruption or money laundering.
• Civil liability insurance of at least €150,000, or an equivalent financial guarantee.

idealista reported in 2013 that the new law dropped two older requirements: positive equity and proof of clean tax and Social Security status.

According to IMPIC’s FAQ, checked in October 2026:

• The fee is €100 for the licence and €265 for the annual regulation fee, prorated in the first year.
• IMPIC must decide within 20 days. If it does not, the licence is tacitly approved.
• Applicants must have their domicile or head office in a country of the European Economic Area. The test is where you are based, not your nationality.

Doutor Finanças lists the documents a sole trader shows IMPIC, including the tax office declaration that opens a self-employed activity.

The annual check

A licence has no expiry date, but it is not permanent either. Every January the holder must pay the annual fee and prove again that it meets the requirements: a criminal record certificate for each legal representative, valid insurance and, for companies, the commercial registry code. For 2026, IMPIC set the payment deadline at 20 February 2026. Failing to pay or to prove the requirements leads to cancellation of the licence.

Firms from elsewhere in the EEA

A mediation firm already licensed in another EEA country can register with IMPIC to set up in Portugal, or notify IMPIC within 60 days of a first occasional service.

Consultants and angariadores

Most people never apply for a licence. Ekonomista explained in September 2026 that a consultant who joins an agency works under the agency’s licence and needs a collaboration contract with it. A guest author on Doutor Finanças estimated in June 2024 that Portugal has somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 agents, the vast majority working this way. There is no individual register, so treat that as an estimate.

Law 15/2013 recognises two kinds of staff in a licensed firm:

• Mediation technicians (técnicos de mediação imobiliária), who carry out the mediation work in the firm’s name. In job ads they are usually called consultants.
• Angariadores, who help prepare and carry out mediation contracts, typically by winning listings.

Neither needs an AMI licence. But each must carry an identification card issued by the firm, with their name, photo and the firm’s details, and the firm must keep a file of their contracts. Only the firm’s legal representatives receive IMPIC identity cards.

Rules you work under every day

• The mediation contract with the client must be in writing and must state the property, the deal sought, the fee, how it is paid, the VAT rate, the insurance policy and any exclusivity. With no term, it lasts six months. See Real estate agent commission in Portugal.
• Every office, contract, advert and letter must show the firm’s name and AMI number, and each office needs a complaints book (Livro de Reclamações).
• Under anti-money laundering Law 83/2017, IMPIC says firms must identify clients, keep records, train staff, report the start of their real estate activity to IMPIC, and file quarterly reports on every sale they handle and every lease with a rent of €2,500 or more a month.

Mediating without a licensed firm behind you is an offence under Law 15/2013. Never show a home on your own account.

Work rights: EU and non-EU

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. You can work in Portugal as an employee or self-employed with no work visa. After three months you register your residence at the city council (câmara municipal) where you live. The Porto council explains that the deadline is 30 days after those first three months, and that you bring your ID or passport, proof of address and a sworn statement that you meet a condition, such as working in Portugal.

Non-EU nationals. The rules tightened in 2025. According to M|B Advogados, Law 61/2025, in force since 23 October 2025:

• Ended the expression of interest (manifestação de interesse) route. You can no longer enter as a visitor and regularise later.
• Requires you to obtain the right visa in your country of origin before you travel.
• Replaced the generic job-seeker visa with a 120-day visa for skilled work.

Work-related residence visas include subordinate work (a job contract) and self-employment. Since most consultants are self-employed, ask an immigration lawyer which visa fits your real contract. Residence permits are then handled by AIMA, which took over that work from SEF and has, in principle, nine months to decide.

The digital nomad visa does not fit. It covers remote work for employers or clients outside Portugal. Selling homes for a Portuguese agency is not remote work for a foreign client.

NIF and NISS

• NIF (tax number): needed to sign contracts, issue receipts and pay tax. gov.pt says it is free. Residents apply at a tax office (Finanças). Non-residents from outside the EU and EEA usually apply through a tax representative.
• NISS (Social Security number): also free, requested online with your ID and proof of work, such as a contract or your self-employment registration. Non-EU nationals add their visa and residence authorisation.

gov.pt adds that foreigners with a Portuguese address can request the NIF, NISS and national health number together.

Self-employed or employee

Self-employed (recibos verdes). This is the usual model in the large networks. You open your activity with the tax office, then issue an electronic receipt (recibo verde) on the Portal das Finanças for each payment the agency makes you. Your income is taxed under IRS category B. Ekonomista and CRN Contabilidade set out the 2026 Social Security rules:

• You pay 21.4% on a “relevant income” equal to 70% of your service income.
• You declare it each quarter, by 31 January, 30 April, 31 July and 31 October.
• Your enrolment normally takes effect from the 12th month after you start, so the first year is contribution-free. Those months give you no benefits and do not count toward a pension.

Employee. Some agencies and most developers hire on a work contract with a salary, Social Security paid by the employer, and commission on top. The share per deal is usually smaller.

See Real estate agent commission in Portugal for VAT, IRS and worked figures.

How agents are paid

No law fixes the agency fee. Ekonomista reported in September 2026 that agencies usually charge 2% to 6% of the price, with 5% the rate most cited in the large networks, plus 23% VAT. The fee goes to the agency, which pays you a share. Ekonomista put that share at 40% to 50%, depending on the model. Shares fall when a deal is split with a colleague or another agency: in an example published by Postal in September 2026, a consultant who sold a house for €250,000 at 5% kept €3,125 of a €12,500 fee, about 25%.

Indeed’s page for consultor imobiliário, built from 314 reported salaries and updated on 16 October 2026, shows an average of about €2,890 a month, with most between €1,079 and €7,739. These are self-reported job board figures, not official statistics.

Deal flow matters more than the percentage. ECO’s figures for 2025 give the five largest networks 24,825 consultants and more than 140,000 transactions, an average of about 5.2 transactions per consultant in the year. A beginner will be below that, so plan savings for several months on commission only.

Who hires

• National networks and franchises. ECO reported in March 2026 that in 2025 RE/MAX had 11,350 consultants in 422 agencies, Century 21 had 5,086, ERA about 3,300 and Zome 2,064. KW gave no headcount but reported 14,429 transactions.
• Independent and boutique agencies, often focused on one city, coast or price band.
• Developers’ sales teams, who sell new projects on salary or per-unit fees.

Where the work is, and languages

INE data reported by ECO show that foreigners made 27.6% of family home purchases in 2025, led by buyers from Brazil, Angola and France. Each market has its own mix:

• Lisbon: Confidencial Imobiliário counted buyers from 64 countries in the city’s rehabilitation area in 2025, led by Americans, then Brazilians, French, British, Chinese and Germans (Dinheiro Vivo, May 2026).
• Algarve: British and Irish buyers lead in the Golden Triangle, with Germans, Dutch and Belgians prominent in Vilamoura (Engel & Völkers report, Postal, July 2026).
• Porto: Americans, French and Spanish lead foreign demand on the same report.

So:

• Portuguese is needed for deeds, banks, councils and most paperwork.
• English is the working language with most international buyers.
• French, German, Dutch or Spanish are a real advantage in the markets above.

How to choose an agency

• Ask for the AMI number and check it appears on the agency’s adverts and contracts.
• Ask whether you join as self-employed or as an employee, and get the split, targets, payment date and the treatment of deals that close after you leave in writing.
• Ask how it handles anti-money laundering checks and the quarterly reports to IMPIC.
• Ask who pays for portals, photos and marketing, and whether there is a monthly desk fee.
• Ask for your firm ID card before you meet clients.
• If you are non-EU, make sure your visa and residence status allow the contract you will sign before you start.

Red flags

• An agency that cannot show its AMI number, or whose number is missing from its adverts.
• A request to show homes or take listings before you have a signed contract and a firm ID card.
• Fees paid in cash or into a personal account.
• Mediation contracts that leave out the fee, VAT rate or insurance policy.
• A non-EU hire asked to start on a tourist stay or a digital nomad visa.
• Promises of earnings far above the ranges in this guide.

Portugal’s mediation rules apply nationally, but immigration rules changed in 2025 and taxes change every year. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with IMPIC or any Portuguese authority.

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