How to read a Portuguese caderneta predial
The caderneta says what the tax authority has on record about a property and what it is worth for tax. It does not say who owns it. Below is an illustrative model, field by field, with what each line means and what on it tends to stop a purchase.
The caderneta predial is the property's tax portrait: what the Portuguese tax authority has on its register. It sets the IMI you pay every year and supplies the VPT, which is half of the IMT calculation base. It does not prove who owns the property — that is the certidão permanente. This model describes the same fração «F» of artigo U-00000 as the certidão permanente and energy certificate models, and differs from them deliberately at the points where real documents differ — starting with the holders. That is exactly the divergence you meet in the market, and it is explained below.
How to use this page
Tap a field on the model to jump to its explanation; the full explanation of every field is also written out below, in order, and reads straight through as ordinary text. Fields marked with a gold dot are the ones where problems most often turn up.
The field names are kept in Portuguese because that is how they appear on the document — each one is glossed in English below it.
Caderneta Predial Urbana — Fração Autónoma
What each field means
Freguesia / Serviço de Finanças
999999 — União das Freguesias de Vale Fictício e Modelo · Serviço de Finanças 9999 — Exemplo
- What it is
- The parish the property is registered in and the tax office responsible for it. The parish code, the artigo number and the fraction letter together form the property's unique tax identity — that trio is what goes on any filing, not the street address.
- What is ordinary
- Parishes merged in the 2013 administrative reform often appear as "União das Freguesias de X e Y" while older documents cite only "X". It is the same parish. The street address on the caderneta may also lag behind the road's current name.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The parish here must match the parish on the certidão permanente's description. When it does not, either you are looking at two different properties or there is a mismatch to correct before any transfer. This needs verifying before you commit.
Artigo matricial
U-00000
- What it is
- The property's number on the urban tax register. The "U" marks it as urban; a rural property would carry "R" and a section rather than a fraction letter. In a horizontal property the artigo belongs to the building and the letter picks out the fraction within it.
- What is ordinary
- Artigo numbers are reassigned when a building is demolished and rebuilt, when a building is divided into fractions, or when properties are merged. The caderneta usually names the previous artigo when that happens.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The artigo must be referenced in the certidão permanente's property description and point to the same building. A property on the tax register with no matching entry at the land registry, or the reverse, blocks a transfer until it is put right. This needs verifying before you commit.
Fração / Tipo de prédio
Fração «F» · Prédio em regime de propriedade horizontal
- What it is
- When a building is divided into autonomous fractions, each fraction has its own letter and its own caderneta. The letter is the fraction's legal identity — not the door number, not the floor as the seller describes it.
- What is ordinary
- The fraction's description ("second floor right, with garage in the basement") comes from the deed that created the horizontal property. Door numbers and a developer's marketing names often diverge from the registered letter.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The fraction letter, what it comprises and the extras attached to it — garage, storage, parking space — must agree across the caderneta, the certidão permanente and the constitutive deed. A garage the seller treats as included but which is a separate fraction, or a common part with exclusive use, changes what you are buying. This needs verifying before you commit.
Afetação
Habitação
- What it is
- The use the property is registered for: housing, retail, services, industry, storage. It is not a description of what is there — it is the tax classification, and it has to track the use authorised by the licence issued by the municipality.
- What is ordinary
- Buildings from before 1951 may have no licence at all, and the caderneta reflects that. Mixed-use fractions show the dominant use. A "Serviços" classification on a flat someone lives in is a common and non-trivial mismatch.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The classification drives the IMT and IMI treatment and conditions mortgage lending. Buying as housing a property whose tax classification and licence point to another use changes the taxation and can make financing impossible. This needs verifying before you commit.
Tipologia
T2
- What it is
- The number of bedrooms, in Portuguese notation: T2 means two bedrooms plus a living room. Kitchen and bathrooms do not count toward the tipologia.
- What is ordinary
- An attic or an enclosed balcony often appears in the listing as an extra bedroom without the tipologia on the register having changed. The register reflects the licensed plan, not current use.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- When the listing says T3 and the caderneta says T2, the difference is usually unlicensed work. That may not be curable, and it affects both value and registrability. This needs verifying before you commit.
Permilagem
45,0000 ‰
- What it is
- The fraction's share of the building's total value, in thousandths. It is fixed in the deed that created the horizontal property, and it is what determines the owner's share of condominium costs and the weight of their vote at the owners' meeting. A fraction at 45 ‰ pays 4.5 % of the common costs.
- What is ordinary
- The permilagens of every fraction in the building add up to 1,000. Larger fractions, or ones with a garage and storage attached, carry a higher permilagem — it follows relative value, not floor area.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The permilagem on the caderneta must be the one in the constitutive deed, and it is what your monthly condominium charge is calculated from — including your share of any works the owners vote through. A permilagem that diverges from the deed is an error that runs through every condominium account. This needs verifying before you commit.
Áreas da fração
Área bruta privativa 96,5000 m² · Área bruta dependente 22,0000 m²
- What it is
- The two areas that belong to the fraction, both defined in article 40.º of the IMI Code. The área bruta privativa (n.º 2) is the total surface measured by the outer perimeter and the centre lines of the walls or other separating elements, including enclosed private balconies and private cellars and attics in like use — that is, the outer face on façade walls and the centre line on walls shared with another fraction; it enters the calculation at a coefficient of 1. The área bruta dependente (n.º 3) is covered, enclosed space in exclusive use, even where it is a common part and even where it sits outside the building, in accessory use — garages, parking spaces, storage, accessible attics or cellars, and balconies not counted in the privativa; it enters at a coefficient of 0.30. Added together they come, on this model, to 118.5000 m².
- What is ordinary
- The number listings publish is nearly always the sum of the two, or a usable area measured inside the walls, which is smaller than the bruta privativa. A few square metres of difference between the caderneta and the floor plan is ordinary.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- These areas must reconcile with the ones on the fraction's entry at the land registry and with the licensed plan. A material divergence usually points to unlicensed work or an uncorrected register error, and both have to be resolved before the deed. This needs verifying before you commit.
Áreas do prédio
Área total do terreno 480,0000 m² · Área de implantação do edifício 160,0000 m²
- What it is
- These two areas are printed on the fraction's caderneta but are NOT the fraction's: they belong to the whole building it sits in. The terreno is the plot the building stands on and the implantação is the building's footprint on it. In a horizontal property the plot is a common part belonging to all the owners, in proportion to their permilagens.
- What is ordinary
- Every fraction in the same building repeats these two numbers, because they describe the same plot. Seeing 480 m² of land on the caderneta of a second-floor flat is normal and does not mean the flat comes with a garden.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- This is where the commonest misreading of this page starts: adding the building's plot to the fraction's area and concluding that you are buying 480 m². What you are buying is the fraction, plus an undivided share in the common parts. Any exclusive use of a yard, terrace or parking space has to be documented, and is not implied by the land recorded here. This needs verifying before you commit.
Ano de inscrição na matriz
2004
- What it is
- The year the property, in its current configuration, entered the register. On a fraction, this is usually the year the building was divided into fractions, not the year it was built.
- What is ordinary
- A recent inscription on a visibly old building indicates reconstruction, extension or division into fractions — all ordinary changes that restart the entry.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- When the inscription date is well after construction, it is worth establishing what change caused it and whether that change was completed and licensed. This needs verifying before you commit.
Valor patrimonial tributário
€ 92 480,00 — determinado no ano de 2019
- What it is
- The value the tax authority assigns to the property. It is the base for annual IMI, and it matters for IMT because the tax falls on the higher of the declared deed price and the VPT — not on the price, if the VPT is above it. The date beside the figure matters as much as the figure.
- What is ordinary
- The VPT is usually below market price, on older properties by a wide margin. The law provides for revaluation every three years, but in practice many assessments are several years old. Works, extensions or the sale itself can trigger a new assessment.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- A VPT above the agreed price lifts the IMT and stamp duty base above what you are paying, and a badly out-of-date VPT can be revised on top of the transaction. Model both figures before fixing your budget. This needs verifying before you commit.
Titulares
MARIA EXEMPLO DA SILVA · NIF 000 000 000 · Propriedade · 1/2 — JOÃO MODELO EXEMPLO · NIF 000 000 000 · Propriedade · 1/2
- What it is
- Who the tax authority has recorded as the holder, and in what share. The rights column separates full ownership from bare ownership or usufruct. This is tax information, not proof of ownership.
- What is ordinary
- The caderneta often lags the land registry, especially after inheritance, divorce or a division of assets. Updating the tax register depends on the parties filing, so the gap is common and not in itself a sign of anything improper.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- On this model the divergence is in plain sight: the tax register still shows the 2011 buyers, MARIA EXEMPLO DA SILVA and JOÃO MODELO EXEMPLO, at 1/2 each, while the land registry has already recorded the 2021 succession on JOÃO's death — three heirs holding in common and a life usufruct. That is exactly the lag described above, and who can sell is the registry's holders, not the tax register's. This needs verifying before you commit.
Data de emissão
23-09-2026
- What it is
- The caderneta is a document pulled on a given day. It shows the tax register as it stood at that moment and does not update afterwards — unlike the certidão permanente, which is a subscription giving online access to the live register. This is the most important practical difference between the two documents.
- What is ordinary
- Pulling a caderneta is free and immediate on the tax portal for the holder, and a seller can take a fresh one at any time. A two-year-old caderneta is not irregular; it is simply old.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- A revalued VPT, a change of classification or an update to the holders after this date do not appear on this sheet. Ask for a caderneta pulled on the day, and do not settle for the one that came with the listing. This needs verifying before you commit.
What the document does not tell you
Título urbanístico (a partir de 1 de outubro de 2026)
- What it is
- The use recorded on the tax register has a counterpart at the town hall: the urbanistic title that authorises that use. From 1 October 2026 that title can no longer go unmentioned. Article 4.º-A n.º 14 of the RJUE, as enacted by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 of 29 May, requires whoever draws up the transfer — registrar, notary, lawyer or solicitador — to write one of three things into the document: the title exists and was produced to them; the seller declares they hold it without producing it; or the seller declares they hold none.
- What is ordinary
- The date moved: it takes effect on 1 October 2026, under article 2.º of Decreto-Lei n.º 155-B/2026 of 31 July, which amended article 13.º of the May diploma. Option c) is a valid statement — the law expressly allows the absence of a title to be recorded. What it does not allow is the subject going unaddressed.
- What stops or delays a purchase
- The rule itself sanctions a missing statement with anulabilidade — the transaction becomes voidable. And a statement under option c) satisfies the form without curing the substance: the property still has no urbanistic title, and the use shown on the tax register is left without the municipal backing that should match it. This needs verifying before you commit.
The other two documents on the same property
The caderneta is the property as the tax authority sees it. The certidão permanente is the same property as the land registry sees it — a different register, a different body, a different update rhythm, and the one that shows who can sell. The energy certificate is not a register at all: it describes the property as built. None of the three is read on its own.
How to read a Portuguese land registry certificate (certidão permanente) →How to read a Portuguese energy certificate →Where the three documents read differently
The three models describe the same fração «F» of artigo U-00000. Only the first of these points is a genuine mismatch between the registers — the rest are differences of scope, of currency and of measuring convention, where the documents say different things without contradicting each other. They are all here because they are exactly the points that trip people up on real documents.
Who is shown as the holder
Caderneta predial: MARIA EXEMPLO DA SILVA and JOÃO MODELO EXEMPLO, 1/2 each — the 2011 buyers.
Certidão permanente: Three heirs holding in common after JOÃO's death in 2021, with a life usufruct for MARIA.
On your own documents: This is the classic lag: the tax register only updates when the parties file, the land registry updates with the act. Who can sell is whoever holds title at the land registry. When you meet this divergence on your own documents, treat the certidão as the source and ask why the tax register was never updated. This needs verifying before you commit.
Which areas each register prints (not a mismatch)
Caderneta predial: The same fraction areas — 96.5000 + 22.0000 m² — and, IN ADDITION, the BUILDING's areas: 480.0000 m² of land and a 160.0000 m² footprint.
Certidão permanente: The same fraction areas — 96.5000 + 22.0000 m² — and nothing else. The 480 m² plot sits on the building's parent description, not on this entry.
On your own documents: Note that the fraction's areas agree across both documents: there is no mismatch here, there is a difference in scope. The caderneta prints, on the same page, figures that belong to the building; the certidão does not. The land on a fraction's caderneta is a common part of every owner and is not yours. Add only the privativa and the dependente to know what you are buying. This needs verifying before you commit.
How long each document stays reliable
Caderneta predial: A snapshot of the day it was pulled — on this model, 23-09-2026. It does not update afterwards.
Certidão permanente: A subscription with an access code, valid six months; it always shows the register as it now stands.
On your own documents: That is why you ask for a caderneta pulled on the day and check the certidão through the code rather than a PDF. A three-month-old document is not false — it is simply older than anything registered since. This needs verifying before you commit.
Three documents, three areas (none of them wrong)
Caderneta predial: Área bruta privativa 96.5000 m² plus área bruta dependente 22.0000 m², measured to the outer perimeter and the centre lines of the walls (CIMI art. 40.º).
Certidão permanente: The same fraction areas, 96.5000 + 22.0000 m², as entered on the register.
On your own documents: The energy certificate adds a third: 85.0000 m² of área útil de pavimento, measured internally and counting only heated space — which is why it is smaller than the área bruta privativa and leaves the garage out entirely. The three numbers describe the same fraction by different criteria. Be suspicious when the useful area approaches the área bruta privativa, not when it falls below it. This needs verifying before you commit.
Where reading the caderneta stops being enough
Knowing what each field says is the first step, and you can take it alone with this model beside you. What you cannot do alone is the next step: ask for a caderneta pulled on the day, set it against the certidão permanente, work out why the holders do not match, and establish whether the VPT is about to be reassessed.
That is work on a specific property, before any promissory contract exists, and it is what we do in Contract & Deed Representation, with no seller commission.
Sources
- Código do IMI, artigo 40.º — n.º 2 and n.º 3 give the wording used above for área bruta privativa and áreas brutas dependentes, and set the coefficients at 1 and 0.30. (Article 40.º-A is a different provision: the area adjustment coefficient.)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, de 29 de maio — its article 3.º gives the RJUE a new article 4.º-A, whose n.º 14 requires the urbanistic title to be mentioned on pain of the transaction being voidable.
- Declaração de Retificação n.º 29-A/2026/1 — checked against article 4.º-A: it corrects only article 1.º d) of the diploma and article 3.º n.º 3 c) of Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99, so n.º 14 above stands in its original wording.
- Decreto-Lei n.º 155-B/2026, de 31 de julho — its article 2.º amends article 13.º of the diploma above and sets it in force on 1 October 2026.
This page explains what the fields on these documents mean. It is not legal or tax advice, and no document shown here corresponds to a real property. Soverite is a buyer's agent licensed under AMI 27281.