DL 96/2017 Art. 4 + Art. 19 · Mandatory vs. exempt

When electrical inspection is legally required in Portugal

Inspection required
These installations must be inspected
New commercial installations above power thresholdsEIIEL inspection before grid connection
Public venues, hospitals, schools, sports facilitiesMandatory 5-year periodic inspection (Art. 19)
Industrial and agricultural installations above 41.4kVA5-year periodic + technical manager
New residential installations above 6.9kVAEIIEL declaration before grid connection
Renovation/extension that substantially modifies installationNew certification required
No mandatory inspection
These installations have no periodic obligation
Standard residential properties (existing)No mandatory periodic re-inspection under DL 96/2017
New residential installations ≤ 6.9kVAOnly termo de responsabilidade required — no EIIEL
Installations pre-dating DL 96/2017 (pre-2018)Not retrospectively required to comply
Properties being sold without renovationNo verification triggered by the sale itself
The protection gap — confirmed by IEP
The IEP explicitly flagged that residential installations are excluded from mandatory periodic inspection, despite being the category most subject to informal modifications over decades by non-certified users. A property can be sold with an electrical installation last formally checked in 1985 — and no authority will flag this before the deed.
Sources: DL 96/2017, Art. 4 (grid connection), Art. 19 (periodic inspections) · Lei 61/2018 · IEP — Instituto Eletrotécnico Português · InspectOS, April 2026