Data-center law in Portugal

National jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-07

Portugal has no data-centre-specific statute; a data-centre project is governed by four general regimes. Decreto-Lei n.º 15/2022 requires a production licence or prior registration from the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia before a facility may generate or store electricity or connect to the grid, and places the cost of the connection works on the licence holder; the sanctioning regime for breaches is set by a separate decree-law it does not itself carry.

Decreto-Lei n.º 151-B/2013, in its current consolidated wording, requires an environmental impact assessment before a project meeting Annex I or Annex II thresholds may be licensed. Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99 requires prior municipal administrative licence or authorisation before construction, extension or alteration works may proceed.

Decreto-Lei n.º 162/2014 approves the Código Fiscal do Investimento, whose Regime Fiscal de Apoio ao Investimento (RFAI) gives corporate taxpayers investing in eligible sectors an IRC tax credit and related exemptions. No adopted national diploma transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1791 Article 12's data-centre energy-performance reporting duty, and no data-centre-specific water-utilities statute, has been located in the sources checked.

01

Instruments on record

4 instruments on record, grouped by the family of approval each one governs.

Land use

Who decides whether a data center may occupy a site, and through what approval?

Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99, Legal Regime for Urban Development Operations (RJUE)

In force

Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99, de 16 de dezembro

Effective 2000-04-14 · Applies to both

Establishes Portugal's legal regime for urban development operations. As originally enacted, carrying out an urban development operation requires a prior administrative licence or authorisation. That requirement reaches construction, extension or alteration works outside an already-licensed subdivision (loteamento) operation. The competent municipal authority (câmara municipal) is the licensing entity.

Source: Full text of law

Environmental review

What impact review must precede approval, and who leads it?

Decreto-Lei n.º 151-B/2013, Environmental Impact Assessment Regime (RJAIA)

In force

Decreto-Lei n.º 151-B/2013, de 31 de outubro, na sua redação atual

Effective 2013-11-01 · Applies to both

Establishes the environmental impact assessment (AIA) regime for public and private projects capable of producing significant environmental effects. A project typified in Annex I is automatically subject to AIA; a project typified in Annex II is subject to AIA where it meets the fixed thresholds, sits wholly or partly in a sensitive area, or is otherwise determined case by case to be capable of significant environmental impact.

The licensing or authorising entity may not issue its decision until a favourable or conditionally favourable AIA decision has been obtained.

Source: Full text of law

Energy and grid

What authorizations govern grid connection and onsite generation?

Decreto-Lei n.º 15/2022, National Electricity System Organisation, Generation Licensing and Grid Connection

In force

Decreto-Lei n.º 15/2022, de 14 de janeiro

Effective 2022-01-15 · Applies to both

Transposing Directive (EU) 2019/944 and Directive (EU) 2018/2001, this decree-law organises Portugal's National Electricity System. Electricity production and storage activities need a production licence and operating licence from the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG), or a lighter prior-registration and operating-certificate track below set capacity thresholds. A self-consumption installation (UPAC) with an installed capacity above 30 kW and up to 1 MW falls on that lighter track.

The cost of building the connection from the reception point to the interconnection point falls on the licence holder. The sanctioning regime for breaches of this decree-law is set by a separate, dedicated decree-law. ERSE is the administrative authority competent for the energy sector's general sanctioning regime.

Source: Full text of law

Public agreements

What fiscal agreements attach a data center to its host jurisdiction?

Decreto-Lei n.º 162/2014, Código Fiscal do Investimento (Investment Tax Code, RFAI)

In force

Decreto-Lei n.º 162/2014, de 31 de outubro

Applies to private

Approves the Código Fiscal do Investimento, which sets Portugal's contractual investment tax-benefit regime and the Regime Fiscal de Apoio ao Investimento (RFAI). RFAI gives a corporate income tax (IRC) taxpayer carrying out an eligible investment in a sector the Code lists a tax credit against IRC due. The RFAI chapter applies to tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2014.

Source: Full text of law

Every entry cites the instrument it describes. None of it is legal advice: verify a citation before relying on it. Full sourcing: read the methodology. The rest of the record: all jurisdictions.