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Regulation of parental responsibilities, with the child at the centre.

We handle parental responsibilities with or without divorce, for parents who are married, in a de facto union or unmarried, in Porto, in Lisbon and by video call. The approved agreement (acordo homologado) or the court decision fixes residence, contact, child support and the matters of particular importance.

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Porto +351 222 084 267 · Lisbon +351 210 204 586

The essentials in 30 seconds

What you need to know before going ahead.

  • What it is. The regime that fixes where the child lives, how they spend time with each parent, child support and who decides the matters of particular importance.
  • When. When the parents no longer live together, with or without divorce, including parents who never lived together. It has to be applied for.
  • Where. With agreement, at any Civil Registry Office (Conservatória do Registo Civil). Without agreement, in the Family and Minors Court (Tribunal de Família e Menores) of the child's residence.
  • What it costs. There are official costs, different for each route, and our fees in writing, with a fixed fee wherever possible. The consultation is paid: 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
  • How long it takes. With agreement, the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público) has 30 days to give its opinion. Without agreement, there may be a provisional regime. We do not promise a date.

Reviewed by Jorge Ferraz, lawyer, bar licence 9398P, on 31 October 2026. The family practice is described on the family lawyer in Porto and Lisbon page.

What they are and when regulation is needed

Parental responsibilities are the powers and duties of parents regarding the safety, health, maintenance, education, representation and administration of the property of their minor children (article 1878 of the Civil Code). While the parents live together, they exercise them without a separate procedure. Regulation is the step that follows when that life together ends, or when it never existed.

Residence, contact and child support only become enforceable with an approved agreement or a court decision. The application can be made at any time by parents with minor children who do not live as a couple. In a divorce by mutual consent with minor children, the agreement is sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office before the divorce is granted. The test is the best interests of the child, article 1906 of the Civil Code.

Unmarried parents and parents who never lived together

Rights and duties towards the child do not depend on the parents having been married. Law no. 5/2017 created the procedure for regulation by mutual agreement at the registry office for de facto separation, for the dissolution of a de facto union and for parents who are neither married nor in a de facto union.

That initial procedure serves married parents who are separated but not divorced, de facto partners who have separated and parents who never lived together (articles 1909, 1911 and 1912 of the Civil Code). Divorced parents regulate parental responsibilities within the divorce proceedings themselves: at the registry office, when there is agreement (Decree-Law no. 272/2001), or in court, when there is not (article 1905 of the Civil Code and article 34 of the General Regime of Civil Guardianship Proceedings, RGPTC). Annulment of a marriage always runs in court, and that is where the agreement is approved or the regulation is applied for (article 34 of the RGPTC). Parents who are already divorced, or whose marriage was annulled, and who agree can also use the registry office procedure: article 274-A of the Civil Registry Code opens it to all parents, and the gov.pt page, updated on 2 September 2026, lists it for those cases. An agreement already approved by any of these routes can be amended by a new agreement at the registry office (article 274-A(1) of the Civil Registry Code) or, without agreement, in court (article 42 of the RGPTC). There is no need to prove that there was a shared home.

Without agreement, article 43 of the RGPTC, Law no. 141/2015, applies the court proceedings to these children. Children of a de facto union are regulated in the same way.

What gets decided

The four pillars of the regulation.

i

Residence

Who the child lives with: with one of the parents, or in alternating residence, according to the child's interests in the specific case.

ii

Contact

Days, times, transport, holidays and remote contact with the parent the child is not with. A vague regime cannot be enforced later.

iii

Child support

The child support, the day and the form of payment, updating and the sharing of health and education expenses.

iv

Important matters

School, significant health matters, change of residence and moving abroad are examples that the courts treat as matters of particular importance; the law does not list them. As a rule, they are decided by both parents, under article 1906 of the Civil Code.

The two routes: agreement or court

Where there is agreement, the parents apply for the regulation at any Civil Registry Office. Article 274-A of the Civil Registry Code, added by Law no. 5/2017, requires the agreement on parental responsibilities and child support to be attached. The registrar assesses it and can ask for it to be changed if it does not safeguard the children's interests. The competent Public Prosecutor's Office has 30 days to give its opinion. If it considers that the agreement does not safeguard the child's interests, it indicates the changes to be made, and the parents can change it or submit a new agreement. If they keep the agreement as it is, the registrar refuses approval and the case is sent to the court of the child's residence. It is also the Public Prosecutor's Office that arranges for the child to be heard. Without objection, the approval (homologação) has the same effects as a judgment. This route serves the standalone application and the amendment of an agreement already approved.

What the agreement must contain is in the guide. We do not provide a template: an approved agreement governs years of the child's life.

Without agreement, the proceedings run in the Family and Minors Court of the child's residence. Article 35 of the RGPTC requires the parents to be summoned to a parents' conference (conferência de pais) within 15 days of the case being registered, and a child over 12, or younger with the capacity to understand, is heard, unless this would be against the child's best interests (article 35(3)). Without agreement, article 38 requires a provisional decision and referral to mediation, for a maximum of three months, or to a specialised technical hearing, for a maximum of two months.

Article 28 allows a provisional decision at any stage of the case. These time limits are not a date that can be promised. The online service of the Public Prosecutor's Office helps prepare the application, which is then printed and filed in court. That does not make the Public Prosecutor's Office the lawyer of either parent: the application can be filed by the parent, by a lawyer or by the Public Prosecutor's Office, which has standing of its own (article 43(3) of the RGPTC).

What it costs

There are two layers of cost: State costs, which depend on the route, and our fees, presented in writing before any work, with a fixed fee wherever the scope is defined.

At the registry office, the fee table of the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) sets €280.00 for divorce and legal separation (separação de pessoas e bens) by mutual consent (item 6.1), and it is in that procedure that the agreement on the children is assessed. The detail of divorce costs is in the article on divorce costs in Portugal.

Public family mediation costs €50 for each party, whatever the number of sessions. There is no payment when the judge refers the parties to mediation. Mediation does not replace approval.

In court, the court fee is calculated in units of account (UC) under the Court Costs Regulation (Regulamento das Custas Processuais). The unit of account is worth €102 in 2026. In the non-compliance procedure, the fine can reach twenty units of account, €2,040 in 2026. Decree-Law no. 164/2026 repeals, from 1 December 2026, the rule on automatic updating of the unit of account; the value stays until a new regulation sets it.

Those without means can apply to Social Security for legal aid (apoio judiciário) under Law no. 34/2004: in court proceedings, in the forms provided for in that law, and, in a divorce by mutual consent at the registry office, in the form of appointment of counsel (nomeação de patrono) provided for in Decree-Law no. 272/2001. The law does not expressly provide for legal aid in a standalone application for regulation at the registry office.

Alternating residence and "shared custody"

The law no longer speaks of custody or paternal power. There are two levels in article 1906 of the Civil Code. In decisions, the matters of particular importance are exercised jointly, even if the child lives with only one parent. In residence, the child can live with one parent or in alternating residence.

Paragraph 6 of that article, as worded by Law no. 65/2020, allows the court to order alternating residence when it serves the best interests of the child, even without the parents' agreement, and without prejudice to child support. The comparison, including income tax and family allowance, is in the article on alternating residence and shared custody.

Amendment of the regulation

The regulation is not frozen on the day it was approved. Article 42 of the RGPTC allows a new regulation to be applied for in two cases: non-compliance with the agreement or the decision by both parents, or by a third party to whom the child was entrusted; and supervening circumstances that make it necessary to change what was fixed, such as a move to another city or country, a change in income or in the child's needs. The mere wish to reopen a regime that still serves the child is not enough.

The application sets out the grounds and, if the regime came from an agreement, attaches a certified copy of the agreement and of its approval. The other parent is summoned to respond. If the judge considers the application unfounded, it is dismissed. If it is allowed to proceed, the case follows the steps of the initial regulation.

When both parents agree, Law no. 5/2017 allows the amendment of an agreement already approved to be applied for at the registry office, by the same route as the initial application. The gov.pt portal describes it this way: with agreement, a new agreement is made and the procedure is repeated; without agreement, the amendment goes through the court.

Changing things "in practice", without formalising it, leaves the old order in force. A change of school, home or country arranged only by messages does not replace the approved amendment. If the problem is non-compliance by one parent alone, and not a new circumstance, the proper route is the procedure under article 41, not the application under article 42. We prepare the amendment agreement, where there is one, and the court application, where there is not.

Non-compliance with parental responsibilities

There is non-compliance when one of the parents, or the person to whom the child was entrusted, does not comply with what was agreed or decided: does not hand over the child, prevents contact, does not pay child support or decides a matter of particular importance alone. Article 41 of the RGPTC allows the other parent, the Public Prosecutor's Office or the court itself to seek enforced compliance and an order against the defaulting party for a fine of up to twenty units of account and, where the requirements are met, compensation.

The step by step, the evidence and the specific remedies for child support are in the article on non-compliance with parental responsibilities and in the child support guide. Not paying child support does not authorise cutting off contact, and missing contact does not erase the support debt. Non-compliance by one parent alone is not, in itself, a ground under article 42: that article requires non-compliance by both, or a supervening circumstance.

International cases

When the child or the parents have links to more than one country, the first question is jurisdiction. Within the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, Brussels II-ter, as a rule gives jurisdiction to the courts of the State of the child's habitual residence. The text is on EUR-Lex.

Taking the child to another country, or keeping the child there, without the consent of the other person who also exercises parental responsibilities may be wrongful removal or retention under the 1980 Hague Convention, with a return procedure that is not the regulation proceedings. The law does not list the matters of particular importance (article 1906(1) of the Civil Code). The courts have treated as such a change of the child's residence that significantly alters the child's life, even within Portugal, depending on the circumstances of the case. We handle these cases from Porto and Lisbon and by video call, in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French.

Our work

From first contact to decision.

i

Consultation

15, 30 or 60 minutes, paid, in Porto, in Lisbon or by video call. It serves to choose the route and list the documents.

ii

Written quote

Before we start, the scope and the fee go in writing. A fixed fee wherever the work is defined.

iii

Agreement or court

We draft or review the agreement for the registry office, or represent you in the proceedings, the non-compliance procedure and the amendment.

iv

Follow-up

From the parents' conference to the decision, including cases with parents in different countries. Progress updates are given in writing.

Jorge Ferraz, lawyer

Who handles the case

Jorge Ferraz.

Lawyer admitted to the Portuguese Bar Association since 2002, bar licence 9398P. Managing partner of the firm that operates DefesaLegal.pt. He is the lawyer who handles parental responsibility cases, with or without divorce, in Porto, in Lisbon and by video call.

We work in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French. His profile is on the team page. We do not publish testimonials or case numbers.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the regulation.

The regulation does not arise automatically when the parents separate. It is the way to fix, with legal force, residence, contact and child support. With agreement, the application is filed at the Civil Registry Office. Without agreement, it runs in the Family and Minors Court. In a divorce by mutual consent with minor children, the agreement is required before the divorce is granted.
With agreement, the application is filed at any Civil Registry Office, under Law no. 5/2017. The Public Prosecutor's Office gives its opinion within 30 days. Without objection, the approval has the same effects as a judgment. Without agreement, the proceedings run in the Family and Minors Court of the child's residence.
In the same way. Law no. 5/2017 covers de facto separation, a dissolved de facto union and parents who never lived together. No divorce is needed. Without agreement, article 43 of the RGPTC applies the court proceedings to these children as well.
There is no deadline that can be promised. With agreement, the Public Prosecutor's Office has 30 days to give its opinion. In court, the law requires the parents to be summoned to a parents' conference within 15 days of the case being registered, and a provisional regime can be set while the proceedings run.
Yes. The child must be heard when they have the capacity to understand the matters under discussion, assessed by the judge according to age and maturity. From the age of 12, hearing the child is the rule, but a younger child with the capacity to understand must also be heard. The child's opinion is weighed, but does not bind the court. The hearing is dispensed with only when it would be against the child's best interests (article 35(3) of the RGPTC).
The official costs depend on the route. In a divorce by mutual consent at the registry office, the registry fee is 280 euros. Public family mediation costs 50 euros for each party. In court, the court fee is calculated in units of account; the unit of account is worth 102 euros in 2026. Our fees follow in writing, with a fixed fee wherever the scope allows it, and the consultation is paid: 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Those without means can apply for legal aid in court proceedings and, for the appointment of counsel, in a divorce by mutual consent at the registry office.
The law does not use the expression full custody. It distinguishes residence from the exercise of parental responsibilities. Residence can be with one parent only. Matters of particular importance belong, as a rule, to both. The court decides according to the best interests of the child, article 1906 of the Civil Code.
No. The law does not use the term custody. Joint exercise of matters of particular importance is the rule, even when the child lives with only one parent. Alternating residence means living periods with each parent. The court can order it without agreement, article 1906(6) of the Civil Code.
There are no automatic impediments: the court assesses case by case whether alternating residence serves the child's interests. Weighing against it, typically, are a great distance between the homes or from the school, an inability to cooperate and serious conflict between the parents, situations of domestic violence and specific needs of the child that are incompatible with alternation.
You can apply for the non-compliance procedure under article 41 of the RGPTC. The court can order compliance and impose a fine of up to twenty units of account and, where the requirements are met, compensation. Do not suspend contact just because child support was not paid.
The parent who does not pay is subject to enforced collection of the support owed, including by deduction from salaries, rents or other payments (article 48 of the RGPTC), and can be ordered to pay a fine and compensation in the non-compliance procedure. In specific situations, there may be criminal liability for breach of the obligation to pay child support, dependent on a complaint. The Guarantee Fund for Maintenance Owed to Minors is not triggered automatically: it requires non-payment, insufficient household income and a court decision, under Law no. 75/98 and Decree-Law no. 164/99.
Yes, but not for any disagreement. Article 42 of the RGPTC allows it when both parents fail to comply with the regime, or when supervening circumstances make it necessary. With agreement, you go back to the registry office. Without agreement, the court decides. Non-compliance by one parent alone is dealt with under article 41.
The law does not define a change of residence as a matter of particular importance, but the courts, as a rule, treat it as one when it significantly alters the child's life: in those cases it requires the agreement of both parents or a court decision, and the assessment depends on the specific circumstances. Taking the child abroad without the other parent's consent may be wrongful removal or retention under the 1980 Hague Convention. A temporary trip is not a change of residence.
At the registry office, Law no. 5/2017 allows the parents themselves to sign the application. A lawyer is not mandatory, but the approved agreement has the force of a judgment. In court, representation is advisable at first instance and mandatory on appeal (article 18(1) of the RGPTC). Those without means can apply for legal aid under Law no. 34/2004, in court proceedings and, for the appointment of counsel, in a divorce by mutual consent at the registry office. Legal aid for a standalone application for regulation at the registry office is not expressly provided for.

Guides

Articles that expand on this page.

Sources and dates

Reviewed by Jorge Ferraz on 31 October 2026. The sources used:

  • Civil Code, articles 1878, 1905, 1906 (including the wording of Law no. 65/2020), 1909, 1911 and 1912; Law no. 61/2008, which replaced "paternal power" with "parental responsibilities".
  • Law no. 141/2015, General Regime of Civil Guardianship Proceedings (RGPTC), articles 4, 5, 9, 18, 24, 28, 34, 35, 38, 41, 42, 43 and 48.
  • Decree-Law no. 272/2001, proceedings within the competence of the registry offices, articles 14 and 20.
  • Law no. 34/2004, access to the law and the courts, articles 16 and 17.
  • Criminal Code, article 250; Law no. 75/98 and Decree-Law no. 164/99, Guarantee Fund for Maintenance Owed to Minors.
  • Law no. 5/2017 and articles 274-A to 274-C of the Civil Registry Code.
  • gov.pt, application for registration of the regulation of parental responsibilities.
  • Family mediation and legal aid, on justica.gov.pt.
  • IRN fee table, for the fee for divorce by mutual consent.
  • Law no. 73-A/2025, article 242, for the value of the unit of account in 2026; Decree-Law no. 164/2026, which amends the Court Costs Regulation from 1 December 2026.
  • Normative Order no. 13/2018, for the exemption from family mediation fees on court referral.
  • Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 and the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

This page is general information. It does not replace advice on the specific case and does not guarantee an outcome.

Consultation

Book a consultation, in Porto, in Lisbon or by video call.

15, 30 or 60 minutes, paid consultation. The quote for the work follows in writing, with a fixed fee wherever possible.

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Regulate, amend or respond to non-compliance.

With or without divorce. Porto, Lisbon and video call.

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Porto +351 222 084 267 · Lisbon +351 210 204 586