Terminology · the translation trap

Two documents English coverage treats as one

Both get rendered as "the licence" or "planning permission". They sit at different stages and answer different questions.

Título urbanístico
Urban-planning title
Was the building work legitimately authorised?
What it isA documentary set, not one permit. Composition changes with the procedure the works followed.
Under licensingProof of fee payment · last properly completed application with the summary of the urban operation · notification of approval, or proof of submission where approval was tacit.
Under prior communicationProof of fee payment · completed form · proof of submission. Plus a declaration of conformity in the timed variant where the municipality gave an opinion or inspected.
Where land was cededProof of the cedências forms part of the title.
From 1 Oct 2026Its position must be stated in the titling document.
Licença de utilização
Use or habitation licence
Is occupying the building authorised, and for what use?
What it isA single permit issued by the Câmara Municipal stating the authorised use.
Position in sequenceDownstream of the urban-planning title. This is the document a buyer is usually shown.
Since 1 Jan 2024No longer required at the deed, under DL 10/2024. Still required for the property to be lawful, financeable and resaleable.
On transferThe use title passes automatically with ownership. No fresh application is needed while the use stays the same.
The question that stops working on 1 October

Asking a seller for "the licence" no longer covers the ground. Ask which urban-planning procedure the property went through, and which documents make up its title under that procedure. A fee receipt on its own is not a título urbanístico.

Neither document answers the third question

Whether the building that stands corresponds to the one that was authorised. No stage of a Portuguese transfer asks it, before or after 1 October 2026.

Sources: RJUE, Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99, de 16 de dezembro, article 4.º-A, consolidated wording · Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio · Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2024, de 8 de janeiro · Portaria n.º 320/2026/1, de 31 de julho · Diário da República.
InspectOS · Simplex Safe · inspectos.pt/en/home-inspections