How to Get Your Caderneta Predial (2026 Step-by-Step)
Quick answer: you can download your caderneta predial free from the Portal das Finanças in about two minutes. The PDF has exactly the same legal value as the version issued over the counter at a Serviço de Finanças, which costs money. It's valid for 12 months. If you're registering an Alojamento Local, this is the document the Balcão Único asks for — not the certidão permanente, which costs €15.
That last point is worth the price of admission. Plenty of hosts pay for a certidão permanente predial because they assumed it was the same thing. It isn't, and for AL registration it usually isn't what you need.
What the caderneta predial actually is
Think of it as the tax identity card for a property. The Autoridade Tributária issues it, and it describes the property as the tax authority sees it.
On it you'll find:
Location: distrito, concelho, freguesia and address
The artigo matricial — the property's registration number in the tax records
Property type: urbano, rústico or misto
Areas, both total and covered
Owners and their share of the property
The VPT (valor patrimonial tributário) — the value your IMI is calculated from
Date of the last valuation
One thing most guides skip: only the owner, or a legal representative with proper authorisation, can obtain it. If you manage property for someone else, you cannot pull their caderneta with your own credentials. You need a procuração or you need them to download it and send it to you. This trips up property managers constantly.
How to get it from the Portal das Finanças
The whole process is free and takes a couple of minutes.
1. Log in. Go to portaldasfinancas.gov.pt and click Iniciar Sessão. You can authenticate with your NIF and password (the same one you use for IRS), with Chave Móvel Digital, or with your Cartão de Cidadão and a card reader.
2. Find your property list. Navigate to Serviços → Prédios → Consultar Património Predial. If the menu doesn't look like that, don't hunt through it — the portal has been reorganised more than once and the item has appeared under Imóveis as well. Type "Consultar Património Predial" into the portal's search box and go straight there.
3. Pick the property. You'll see a table listing every property registered to your NIF, with freguesia, artigo matricial, year of registration and VPT.
4. Download. In the Caderneta Predial column, click Caderneta. The portal generates a PDF you can save or print.
That's it. No fee, no waiting, no appointment.
If the property isn't in your list
This happens more than you'd expect — with inherited property, recently purchased property where the transmission hasn't propagated, or property held through a company.
At the bottom of the property table there's an option to request the caderneta of a property that doesn't appear in your list. You'll need the artigo matricial and the freguesia. If you don't have those to hand, they're on any IMI notice for the property, or on the deed.
If the property genuinely should be in your name and isn't, the problem is upstream at the Conservatória, not at the AT. Ownership changes flow from the property register to the tax records, not the other way round. Sort the registration first and the matriz follows.
Getting it in person
You can request it at any Serviço de Finanças, or at a Loja do Cidadão with an AT desk. Bring your ID, and ideally the artigo matricial and freguesia so the clerk can find it quickly. Ask for a caderneta predial — some staff call it a certidão de teor matricial.
The only reason to do this is if you can't access the portal. The counter version costs money and does exactly the same job.
Caderneta predial vs certidão permanente vs certidão predial
Three documents, similar names, entirely different purposes. This is the single most common source of wasted money and rejected applications.
Caderneta predial | Certidão permanente predial | Certidão predial (AT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Issued by | Autoridade Tributária | IRN, via Registo Predial Online | Autoridade Tributária |
What it shows | Fiscal and physical situation of the property | Legal situation: ownership, mortgages, charges, seizures, pending registrations | That properties are registered in your name |
Cost | Free online | €15 online, €20 in person | Via Portal das Finanças |
Validity | 12 months | 6 months | — |
Who can request it | Owner or authorised representative | Anyone | Owner |
Needed to register an AL? | Yes — the urbana version | Not routinely | No |
The short version: the caderneta tells you what the property is and what it's worth for tax. The certidão permanente tells you who legally owns it and whether anything is registered against it. Buyers and lenders want the certidão permanente. The Balcão Único wants the caderneta.
The certidão permanente is renewable — you get a six-month access code, and you can renew it during the final month for less than a new request costs. Once it expires you can't renew; you pay for a fresh one.
Why AL hosts need the caderneta predial
If you're registering an Alojamento Local through the Balcão Único Eletrónico, a simple copy of the caderneta predial urbana is one of the documents you attach to the comunicação prévia com prazo — when you are the owner of the property.
Beyond registration, it earns its keep in three more places:
Your accountant will ask for it. For IRS Categoria B and for anything involving the property's tax position, it's the reference document.
It's where your IMI comes from. The VPT on the caderneta is the base for your IMI calculation. If the property is older and hasn't been revalued in a while, the coefficients may be stale in a direction that isn't helping you. It's worth actually reading rather than filing.
It proves what the property is. The AL registration relies on the building or fraction being suitable for accommodation services. The caderneta is part of establishing the basic facts.
Once you submit the comunicação prévia, the câmara municipal has 10 days to oppose it — 20 days for hostels. If no opposition arrives, you get your RNAL number and you can open. The most common reason for opposition is an incorrectly assembled file, which usually means a missing or wrong document.
If you're not the owner
This is where registrations get rejected.
If you're operating the AL as a tenant rather than an owner, you don't attach the caderneta — you attach a copy of the lease or whatever other title gives you the right to run the activity. And critically: if the lease doesn't already authorise accommodation services, you need separate written authorisation from the landlord, and that goes in the file too.
A lease that's silent on short-term letting is not the same as a lease that permits it. If you're in this position, get the authorisation in writing before you submit anything. Full detail is in our guide to registering an Alojamento Local in Portugal.
Keeping it current
The caderneta is valid for 12 months, but validity isn't really the issue — accuracy is. Update it whenever:
You carry out works that change the areas or the property's characteristics
The property is divided into autonomous fractions
Ownership changes
The use of the property changes
Updating online through the Portal das Finanças is free. Doing it at the counter may involve administrative fees.
For a change of owner, remember the sequence: register the transmission at the Conservatória first, and the AT is notified and updates the matriz. Going to Finanças first won't work.
Frequently asked questions
Is the caderneta predial free? Free online through the Portal das Finanças. There's a cost if you request it at a Serviço de Finanças counter.
How long is the caderneta predial valid for? 12 months from issue, according to the Autoridade Tributária. Some sources claim there's no fixed validity — the AT's own taxpayer support page states 12 months.
Does the online PDF have the same legal value as the counter version? Yes. The AT is explicit that cadernetas issued online have the same legal value as those issued by the Chefes de Finanças. Use the free one.
Can I get someone else's caderneta predial? No. Only the owner or an authorised legal representative can access it. If you manage a property for an owner, you need a procuração or you need them to send it to you.
What's the difference between the caderneta predial and the certidão permanente? The caderneta is a fiscal document from the tax authority describing the property and its VPT. The certidão permanente is a legal document from the property register showing ownership, mortgages and charges. Different issuers, different purposes, different prices.
Which one do I need to register an Alojamento Local? The caderneta predial urbana, if you're the owner. If you're a tenant, you attach the lease or other title instead — plus written authorisation for accommodation services if the lease doesn't grant it.
The property isn't showing in my Portal das Finanças list. What do I do? Use the option to request the caderneta of a property not in your list — you'll need the artigo matricial and the freguesia. If the property should be in your name and isn't, the fix is at the Conservatória, not at Finanças.
Can my accountant or property manager get it for me? Only with proper authorisation. Otherwise, download it yourself and send them the PDF.
The short version
Log in to the Portal das Finanças, find Consultar Património Predial, click Caderneta, download the PDF. Free, two minutes, same legal value as anything you'd pay for at a counter. Check the VPT while you're in there.
And if you're registering an AL: it's the caderneta you need, not the €15 certidão permanente.
Last updated: August 2026. Sources: Autoridade Tributária — Certidões e comprovativos; Registo Predial Online; gov.pt — certidão permanente do registo predial; Decreto-Lei n.º 128/2014 as amended. Informational only — not tax or legal advice.
Related: How to register an AL in Portugal · Portugal Alojamento Local legal guide 2026 · SIBA/AIMA guest registration 2026 · Municipal tourist tax guide
