Any citizen whose birth has taken place in Portugal can request a birth certificate. The certificate is a document intended to prove recorded entries contained in the registries or archives of any public office. Certificates are generally associated with a birth, marriage or death certificate.
The birth certificate, also known as a Seado de Nascimento (Birth Seat), is the first act of civil registration of one's existence as a citizen. This can be issued at the time of birth or when the person acquires nationality. The birth certificate contains your name and affiliation, date and place of birth, as well as basic citizenship information.
However, there are mandatory events such as marriage and death. It can - for the most part - be obtained by any citizen, except in the following situations:
- Adopted children;
- Pending the adoption process;
- Profiling seats;
- Entries where the sex change is recorded;
The certificates can be issued in three formats: narrative, integral copy and international model:
- Narrative certificates: state the content of the certificate in a synthetic way.
- Full copy certificates: the entire text of the certificates to which they refer and their endorsements are transcribed.
- International model certificates: intended for use abroad in a multilingual format.
The online birth certificate is requested via the Internet. This certificate may be consulted at any time for a period of 6 months by means of an access code. Delivering the certificate code online is the same as delivering a birth certificate on paper.
To request a birth certificate online, you must access the certificate request page on the Civil Online platform. To do this you will have to access the portal and authenticate yourself with the digital certificate of the Citizen's Card, or professional card (lawyers and notaries) or choose to make the request without authentication fill in the form with your details choose the type of certificate you want (birth) and pay by ATM or credit card.
Once the certificate has been paid, it is available within 24 hours, and an access code is sent to the mobile phone contact and email. The code sent is taken for all legal purposes as a valid certificate, not requiring any other recognition or formality.
The cost varies according to the purpose and format of the birth certificate. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic situation, paper orders will have to be made in advance in these spaces, the scheduling of which will depend on the influx of orders and the capacity of the services, making the use of the online platform much safer.
In the event of a newborn baby, birth certificate is a paperwork you may wish to leave in hands of expert English-speaking Portuguese lawyers so you can give all your attention to the new family member.
