Prior information request (PIP): a guide to the new RJUE
The prior information request (pedido de informação prévia, or PIP) is the way to ask the municipality, before the design is drawn up, whether you can build what you intend on a plot or in a building, and on what conditions. A favourable reply binds the municipality for two years, and the full PIP even does away with the need for planning permission for the works. From 1 October 2026, with the revision of the Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building (RJUE, the Portuguese planning and building code), the PIP gains shorter deadlines, a two-year validity for the simple form as well, and clear rules for when the municipality does not reply in time.
This guide explains what the PIP is, its two forms, how long it takes, what it costs and when it is worth applying for one. It is written with the text of Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 (the decree-law that revised the RJUE) at hand, by people who prepare these applications for the municipality.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- The PIP asks the municipality, before the design, whether you can build and on what conditions; a favourable reply binds it for two years.
- The full PIP does away with planning permission: the works are carried out on the terms approved.
- Since 1 October 2026: 15 days to decide the simple PIP and 30 for the full PIP (45 for subdivisions), counted from the end of the preliminary check.
- The simple PIP is now valid for two years and an unfavourable reply must say how to correct the proposal.
- You do not need to be the owner to apply for a PIP.
What a PIP (prior information request) is
The PIP is provided for in Articles 14 to 17 of the RJUE. Any interested party may ask the municipality for information on the feasibility of a planning operation (building, extending, subdividing, altering a building) and on the constraints that apply to it: infrastructure, easements and public-interest restrictions, planning indices, building heights, setbacks and the plan’s other rules.
In practice, it is a formal question with a formal answer. Instead of interpreting the Municipal Master Plan (PDM, Plano Director Municipal) on your own and risking a full design, the applicant obtains from the municipality itself the reading it will apply. That is why the PIP is so often associated with buying land: a “plot with an approved PIP” is a plot whose building capacity has already been confirmed by the body that decides.
Simple PIP and full PIP: what is the difference
Article 14 provides for two forms, known in professional jargon as “PIP 1” and “PIP 2”, after the paragraph number of the article on which each is based.
| Simple PIP (art. 14(1)) | Full PIP (art. 14(2)) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is asked | Feasibility of the operation and the applicable constraints | In addition: volume and siting, architectural design, programme of use, infrastructure, planning charges and areas to be ceded (points (a) to (f)) |
| Documents to submit | Land registry certificate and caderneta predial (property tax record), location plan, brief descriptive report; drawings optional | The documents common to planning permission, including the architectural design |
| Decision deadline | 15 days after the preliminary check | 30 days after the preliminary check (45 for subdivisions), extendable once |
| If the municipality does not reply | Tacit approval | Tacit approval |
| Effect of a favourable reply | Binds the municipality in the subsequent planning permission or prior notification | Binds the municipality and exempts the works from planning permission or prior notification, with no need for new consultations |
| Validity | 2 years to apply for planning permission or submit the prior notification | 2 years to start the works |
Sources: RJUE, arts. 14, 16 and 17, as worded by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026; documents to submit in Annex V of Portaria n.º 320/2026/1.
The simple PIP answers the question “can I?”. The full PIP answers “can I do exactly this?”, and that is why it requires almost everything a planning permission application requires.
What changes in the PIP on 1 October 2026
Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 rewrote the PIP articles. It entered into force on 1 October 2026, together with Portaria n.º 320/2026/1 (the ministerial order that sets the documents to be submitted). One thing does not change: a favourable full PIP has exempted the works from planning permission since the 2024 Simplex Urbanístico (the planning simplification reform), and it still does, the operation being “carried out on the exact terms in which it was assessed”, now also without new external consultations (art. 17(2)). What changes is this:
Decision deadline
Until 30 September
20 days (simple) and 30 days (full), counted from submission or from the last opinion.
→
From 1 October
15 days (simple), 30 (full) and 45 (subdivisions), counted from the end of the preliminary check; the full PIP may be extended once.
Municipal silence
Until 30 September
Tacit approval under the general rule of the RJUE (art. 111).
→
From 1 October
Tacit approval written into the PIP article (art. 16(6)), with a defined title: proof of submission, application and fees paid (para. 8).
Unfavourable information
Until 30 September
The municipality indicates how to revise the proposal “whenever possible”.
→
From 1 October
Mandatory indication of the terms on which the operation, if feasible, may be revised (art. 16(5)).
Validity of the simple PIP
Until 30 September
No period expressly set in the law.
→
From 1 October
Two years to apply for planning permission or submit the prior notification (art. 17(5)).
Documents for the simple PIP
Until 30 September
No specific list in the regulations.
→
From 1 October
Short, fixed list: land registry certificate and caderneta predial, location plan, brief descriptive report; drawings optional (Portaria n.º 320/2026/1).
Change of holder
Until 30 September
No specific rule in the PIP article.
→
From 1 October
Registration of the new holder by the municipality, within 15 days (art. 16(10)).
Sources: RJUE as worded by DL 10/2024 (in force until 30 September) and by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026; Portaria n.º 320/2026/1.
And applications submitted earlier? The new regime applies to procedures started from 1 October and to those which, started earlier, are still at the preliminary check and screening stage; in those, the applicant may adapt the application (DL 108/2026, art. 12). For the rest of the reform’s timetable, see our article on the new RJUE on 1 October.
How long a PIP takes
The path of a PIP from 1 October 2026
01 · Submission
Day 0
application on the municipality’s platform
02 · Preliminary check
up to 20 days
the municipality may request corrections; 10 days to reply
03 · Decision
15 · 30 · 45 days
simple · full · subdivision
04 · No reply
Approved
tacit approval; the proof of submission serves as the title
05 · Validity
2 years
+ 1 year with the declaration that the grounds still hold
Where external bodies are consulted, the decision deadline runs from the last opinion. For the full PIP, the municipality may extend the deadline once in complex operations.
RJUE deadlines as worded by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 (arts. 11, 16 and 17).
Adding up the legal deadlines:
- Preliminary check and screening: up to 20 days from submission, during which the municipality may request corrections (art. 11). If it does, the applicant has 10 days to correct and the deadline is suspended.
- Decision: a further 15 days for the simple PIP; a further 30 days for the full PIP, or 45 for subdivisions.
- External consultations: when the operation depends on opinions from other bodies (heritage, roads, agricultural or ecological reserves, among others), the decision deadline only runs from the last opinion, or from the end of the period for it to be issued (art. 16(2)).
- Extension: for the full PIP, the municipality may extend the deadline once only, for an equal period, in operations of particular complexity (art. 16(7)).
Without external consultations, the legal deadlines add up to 35 days for the simple PIP and 50 for the full PIP (65 for subdivisions). With consultations, it comes to depend on the bodies involved. In practice, the time needed to prepare the application also counts: days for the simple PIP, weeks for the full PIP, because the full PIP requires a design.
Who can apply for a PIP
You do not need to be the owner. Article 14 opens the application to “any interested party”. When the applicant is not the owner, the application identifies the owner and the holders of other rights in rem over the property, by means of a land registry certificate, and the municipality notifies them that the procedure has been opened (art. 14(3) and (4)).
This is what allows a buyer to test a plot before acquiring it. And the favourable information can change hands: if the holder is replaced, the new holder provides proof to the municipality, which registers them on the file (art. 16(10)).
How much a PIP costs
The cost has two parts.
The municipal fee. Each municipality sets, in its fee regulations, the amount for the PIP and for the declaration that the grounds still hold. The amounts vary widely from one municipality to another; it is advisable to confirm them in the regulations in force before submitting. For the full PIP, the information also includes the estimate of the operation’s planning charges (art. 14(2)(e)), which gives the investor the municipal cost of the works before carrying them out.
The technical fees. They depend mainly on the form:
- Simple PIP: requires a descriptive report and, where it helps to demonstrate the proposal, study drawings. It is a piece of regulatory analysis and massing study work.
- Full PIP: requires the architectural design and the complete programme. The cost approaches that of a planning permission design, but it replaces planning permission: it is work done once.
As a reference, at our studio a simple PIP costs between €750 and €1,500 + VAT, depending on the complexity of the plot and the programme, and a full PIP costs from €2,500 + VAT, depending on the floor area and the programme. The municipal fee is extra.
To understand how architects’ fees are calculated in general, see how much an architectural project costs in Portugal.
What an “approved PIP” means and how long it is valid
“Approved PIP” is everyday language for favourable prior information, express or tacit. It is valid for two years (art. 17(5)):
- after a simple PIP, it is the period to apply for planning permission or submit the prior notification;
- after a full PIP, it is the period to start the works.
Once the two years have passed, the holder may apply, once only, for a declaration that the factual and legal grounds of the decision still hold. The municipality decides within 20 days; if the grounds are confirmed, or if there is no reply within that period, a further year opens up to go ahead (art. 17(6) and (7)).
There is also an important protection: procedures based on a PIP are not suspended when a municipal plan covering the area goes into revision or public consultation (art. 17(8)). Anyone holding a favourable PIP is not held hostage to new rules that are not yet in force.
Before the PIP: knowing whether it is worth applying for
The PIP gives an answer with legal force, but it has a cost and takes weeks. Many purchase decisions need a faster reading: what the PDM allows on this plot, which constraints exist, what floor area can be built. That is the stage LANDSCOPE, our feasibility study, is for: it tells you what you can build before you invest, in 48 hours for the simple study or in 5 working days when it includes siting and a massing study, and it helps decide whether the next step is a simple PIP, a full PIP or going straight to the design.
Where to start
If you need
To decide quickly whether to buy
↓
LANDSCOPE
Technical reading of the PDM and the constraints: 48 hours for the simple study, 5 working days with siting and a massing study.
Tells you what you can build and what the next step is
If you need
The municipality’s answer
↓
simple PIP
Feasibility question, with a descriptive report. Decision within 15 days after the preliminary check; valid for 2 years.
Then: planning permission or prior notification
If you need
A defined programme and a direct route to the works
↓
full PIP
Architectural design, programme, infrastructure, charges and ceded areas. Decision within 30 days (45 for subdivisions).
Then: works, without planning permission
Three different questions, three tools. Very often the sequence is exactly this: feasibility study, PIP, works.
A rule of thumb: if you are going to make an offer on a plot, start with the feasibility study; if you need legal certainty to buy, sell or finance, apply for the PIP. And if the plot is for building and the programme is already defined, the full PIP is the most direct route to the works, because it does away with planning permission; with the new deadlines and tacit approval, it also becomes more predictable. For the other steps before buying, see before buying a plot.
If the PIP is the first step towards a house, the full route to the use permit is in the guide to building a house in Portugal.
Frequently asked questions
What is a PIP?
It is the prior information request provided for in Articles 14 to 17 of the RJUE: an application to the municipality to find out whether a planning operation is feasible and on what conditions. A favourable reply binds the municipality for two years.
How long does a PIP take?
The law gives the municipality up to 20 days for the preliminary check and then 15 days to decide a simple PIP, or 30 days for a full PIP (45 for subdivisions). If other bodies are consulted, the decision deadline runs from the last opinion. If there is no reply within the deadline, the application is deemed tacitly approved.
How much does a PIP cost?
It is the sum of the municipal fee, set in each municipality’s regulations, and the technical fees. At our studio, a simple PIP costs between €750 and €1,500 + VAT and a full PIP from €2,500 + VAT; the full PIP requires the architectural design, but it replaces planning permission.
What is the difference between PIP 1 and PIP 2?
PIP 1 (simple) asks whether the operation is feasible and what the constraints are. PIP 2 (full) presents the specific operation, with architecture, programme, infrastructure, charges and ceded areas. Only a favourable PIP 2 exempts the works from planning permission.
What does “approved PIP” mean?
That the municipality has issued favourable prior information, either expressly or by tacit approval. It is valid for two years, extendable by one more through the declaration that the grounds still hold.
Do I need to be the owner to apply for a PIP?
No. Any interested party may apply; it is enough to identify the owner with a land registry certificate, and the municipality notifies them.
Have a plot or a building in mind?
Send us the caderneta predial and the location. We will tell you whether it is worth going ahead with a simple PIP, a full PIP or straight to the design, and what the PDM allows you to build.
Official sources: Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026 · Portaria n.º 320/2026/1.
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