To identify properties

Identification of your properties through BUPi — whether online or at a BUPi Desk with a qualified technician — is always free of charge.

To register property ownership

For properties that have never been registered at a Land Registry Office, or whose registration is not up to date, the registration is also free.

Both identification and registration are free until 31 December 2025.

Land Registry Office

After submitting the georeferencing request for your properties through BUPi, you must go to the Land Registry Office, which will already have all the information about the location and limits of your property, in order to complete the registration.

You can also submit the request online.

If your municipality has a cadastral system, you may be eligible for free registration if your property has a Geometric Configuration of the Property (CGP). For more information, visit the website of the Directorate-General for the Territory .

Property identification

To identify the location and limits of your properties, you can visit the BUPi Desk in the municipality where your property is located.

Property registration

You can schedule your land registration appointment using this link .

Online

You can identify the limits of your property online by logging in with your Citizen Card (requires a card reader and plugin) or with your Digital Mobile Key (CMD) and respective PIN codes.

BUPi Desks

If you need the support of an authorised technician or do not have electronic authentication, you can identify your properties at a BUPi Desk. Check the list of BUPi Desks in the municipality where your property is located.

Documents you must bring

Check here which documents are required based on your specific situation.

Documents that prove ownership
You must provide one of the following documents to prove that the property belongs to you:

• Deed of purchase and sale or donation
• Declaration of Heirs
• Court decision granting you the right of ownership
• Law or other legal document granting you that right

For more information, see the Documentation page.

If you own a property but do not have any document proving it belongs to you, you can initiate a justification of rights (through a court process, special registration procedure, or notarial deed of justification) to demonstrate that you live on or make use of the property under conditions that allow it to be registered in your name.

For more information, contact the nearest Land Registry Office.

Online

To identify the location and limits of your property online, you must log in using your Citizen Card and PIN codes. Alternatively, you can use your Digital Mobile Key (CMD), with access to the associated phone.

You must also have your Tax Authority Land Certificate, which contains the matrix numbers of the properties you wish to georeference.

If you already have a GPS file with your property's coordinates, you can upload it to the BUPi platform. If not, you can identify your property directly on the map.

BUPi Desk

When visiting a BUPi Desk, you should bring your Citizen Card and the Tax Authority Land Certificate showing the matrix numbers of the properties to georeference. Alternatively, you can provide the matrix number and your NIF so that the authorised technician can retrieve the certificate via the Tax Portal.

You should be able to locate your property on the map and, if possible, bring a GPS survey of the property’s limits. If you're unable to identify your property, our technicians at the BUPi Desk can assist you.

For more information, visit the Documentation page.

To carry out the identification or registration, you must have the Tax Authority Land Certificate for your property. In some cases, the BUPi Desk or the Land Registry Office may be able to access this information, but it is always preferable to have the document with you.

Check the Documentation page to see all the required documents.

To register a rural property in the matrix, located in a municipality without a cadastral system and already covered by BUPi, you must first go to a BUPi Desk and fill out a declaration to initiate the process for registering an unlisted property and creating a provisional RGG.

Next, you must go to the Tax Office with the request to register the unlisted property in the matrix, along with a declaration of acceptance from at least one adjoining property owner.

Once the matrix article is assigned, you must return to the BUPi Desk to finalise the RGG and proceed with registration at the Land Registry Office.

• The taxpayer listed in the matrix (the person named in the Tax Authority Land Certificate)
• The registered holder (the person with a registered ownership or usufruct right)
• An interested party who is entitled to request registration acts at the Land Registry Office (for example, the buyer and seller in a public deed of purchase and sale; the donor and the donee in a public deed of donation; those legally required to promote the registration, such as notaries, solicitors, or lawyers; the surviving spouse or heir in relation to assets forming part of an undivided estate; any co-owner)
  An interested party who holds powers of representation, granted through a power of attorney

For more information, see the Step-by-step page .

You can locate your properties in several ways:

• Drawing the property polygon directly on the digital map available on the BUPi platform
• Using the BUPi App, which allows you to physically walk the land and mark it on a map
• Drawing the polygon using Google Earth Pro
• Requesting support from an authorised technician at a BUPi Desk

If you use the BUPi App or Google Earth Pro, don’t forget to download the map/file so you can upload it later to the BUPi platform.
Accepted file formats are: KML, GPX, TopoJSON, and Shapefile with a *.zip extension.

Defining the location and limits of your property ensures that those limits can be restored, even if physical markers disappear. This provides effective protection of your property.

To correct or update the area of a rural property located in a municipality without a cadastral system and already covered by the Simplified Cadastral Information System, you must begin by initiating the RGG process using the correct area of the property.

Once the RGG process is complete, you should go to a Land Registry Office and request the correction/update of the area, stating that the area in the RGG should be considered for registration purposes, as it is the accurate one. This correction/update will follow the rules set out in the Land Registry Code, along with the provisions of Article 16 of Law No. 78/2017, of 17 August.

You do not need to go to the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority to request the area update in the matrix, as it will be processed automatically between the services.

Simplified land registration is a declarative process. Its main value lies in allowing the identification of property owners and the location of their properties. It is therefore natural that, during this gradual process, existing conflicts regarding property boundaries may come to light.

However, the simplified registration system contains information with varying levels of positional accuracy — from freely drawn polygons to, in many cases, traditional topographic surveys. There are also mechanisms in place to reduce the number of conflicts, including artificial intelligence algorithms and improved tools within the BUPi platform that help ensure compliance with current legislation on boundary adjustments and adjoining properties.

To avoid overlapping polygons, before starting to draw your property, check the following:

Whether the polygon overlaps with public domain areas (road network, hydrographic network, etc.). In such cases, please note that the authorised technician will reject the RGG.

Whether your property overlaps with or borders properties that have not yet been georeferenced. In these cases, you can still register your property, and the RGG will be validated with a reservation.

By following these steps, you help ensure that the RGG process will be smooth and efficient.

• Inform the promoter about the discrepancy in area.
• If the promoter confirms that the property has the identified area and limits, the RGG is submitted. The interested party must then be informed that they need to update the area in the land registry, in accordance with the Land Registry Code.

If the municipality where your land is located already has a Land Cadastre, you can register the property at the Land Registry Office.

If the municipality where your land is located already has a Land Cadastre, you do not need to carry out the identification (Georeferenced Graphic Representation — RGG). It is sufficient to present the Geometric Configuration of the Property (CGP).

You can check whether the CGP already exists using the viewer provided by the Directorate-General for the Territory.

Yes. If your property is located in a municipality without a Land Cadastre, you must identify its limits in BUPi.

There is no difference in the land registration procedure itself — the Land Registry rules are the same throughout the country.

For georeferencing in municipalities without a Land Cadastre, you must present the Georeferenced Graphic Representation (RGG); in municipalities with a Land Cadastre, you must present the Geometric Configuration of the Property (CGP) — but only if you wish to benefit from the exemption of fees.

To ensure that a property is legally yours, you must register it at the Land Registry Office.

Properties that are not identified in BUPi and not registered in the Land Registry may be subject to a procedure to recognise them as ownerless. In such cases, they will be provisionally registered in the name of the State.

In cases where the person concerned is neither the taxpayer listed in the matrix nor the registered holder, they must generally fill out a declaration of ownership legitimacy.

Although this declaration does not cover all possible legitimacy situations when the person is not listed in the matrix or as the registered owner (since Article 36 of the Land Registry Code allows registration by any person with a legitimate interest), it does cover most cases — particularly when the person has a document to register at the Land Registry Office or intends to initiate a justification of rights (at the Land Registry Office or a Notary Office, including through adverse possession).

This declaration also helps the authorised technician assess ownership legitimacy.

Download it here: Declaração sob compromisso de honra legitimidade para RGG.pdf

If the area stated in the Tax Authority Land Certificate is incorrect, you should begin by carrying out the RGG. In this case, the correct area of the rural property will be automatically communicated to the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority.

If another piece of information in the Tax Authority Land Certificate is incorrect — for example, a bordering property — you must first go to the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority before proceeding with the RGG.

The RGG can be initiated by any heir, who must present the following documents:

• The Tax Authority Land Certificate of the property and one of the following:
• Proof of the Tax Identification Number (NIF) of the undivided estate
• Declaration of Heirs
• Stamp Duty payment document
• Will with the death officially recorded

The RGG is submitted by the promoting co-owner, and all other co-owners listed in the Tax Authority Land Certificate must also be identified.

The RGG is submitted by the promoting spouse, using the ownership details as listed in the matrix. The ownership status will be addressed later during the registration process.

In addition to providing the corporate taxpayer number (NIPC), the following documents are required:

• If the entity is subject to commercial registration: the access code to the permanent commercial certificate
• If the entity is not subject to commercial registration: its statutes, the document appointing the governing bodies, and the statement of acceptance of office

If the promoter is acting as a representative, they must present a power of attorney granting them authority to carry out the RGG, issued by the person who is legally allowed to submit it.

This can be a simple power of attorney, requiring only the grantor’s signature and identification document reference. The simplified power of attorney template available on the BUPi platform grants representation powers exclusively for the RGG procedure.

If the grantor cannot write or sign, the required RGG documents must be signed on their behalf by another person at their request. In such cases, the signature must be certified by a registry office, notary, or another authorised entity or professional (such as lawyers or solicitors).

You can consult the available templates below: Modelo Tipo Procuração Simplificada

To install the BUPi App, you only need a mobile phone or tablet. For the App to function properly, the device must be equipped with GPS and have internet access.

No. The App offers that possibility — meaning, if you’re unable to locate your land on the map, you can go to the site and use GPS to identify it. However, you can also locate your property directly on the map within the App, without needing to travel to it physically.

No. The platform is a convenient way to complete the process entirely online, but you can also go to a BUPi Desk in person.

Select your municipality to find the nearest BUPi Desk .

No. To use the BUPi platform, you only need to log in using your Digital Mobile Key or, if you prefer, your Citizen Card (Portuguese national ID card). In the latter case, you will need a card reader and the corresponding plugin installed. This authentication ensures the security of your data.

You have several options:

BUPi App — You can use the BUPi App to physically walk the land and locate it that way.

BUPi platform — The BUPi platform includes a feature that can help you deduce the location of your property.

BUPi Desk — At the BUPi Desks, authorised technicians are available to help you locate your property. You can also use the deduction feature, which relies on available data — such as neighbouring properties — to help determine where your land may be located.

After you complete your Georeferenced Graphic Representation (RGG) in BUPi, the land registration will include a note stating that an RGG exists.

Registration of rural and mixed-use properties is free of charge until the end of 2025. After that, it may incur a fee.

To register your rural or mixed-use property, you must first identify it in BUPi — unless your municipality already has a Land Cadastre.

Check this page to see whether your municipality has a Land Cadastre or if identification in BUPi is required.

Registration at the Land Registry Office is almost always mandatory, particularly in the following situations:

• When you purchase land
• When you create a usufruct or easement over the land
• When you justify ownership of land (for example, through adverse possession)
• When you lease land for more than six years

Your ownership rights and other property rights are only fully guaranteed when they are registered at the Land Registry Office. Only land registration offers legal certainty about who owns the property.

To find out whether your properties are registered at the Land Registry Office, you can:

• Check through a Tax Authority Land Certificate
• Go to a Land Registry Office and provide your matrix article number, parish, and municipality

If your land is already properly registered at the Land Registry Office in your name, you should still identify it in BUPi by submitting an RGG. This ensures that there is no doubt about the location and limits of your property.

The aim is for all plots of land across the country to be identified either in BUPi or in the Land Cadastre, so that land can be better managed and forest fires can be prevented.

If you own land that is not yet registered or has outdated information at the Land Registry Office, you can register it free of charge until 31 December 2025.