{"id":5207,"date":"2026-05-29T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/tmp-en-4684\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:17:25","slug":"planning-permission-or-prior-notification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/planning-permission-or-prior-notification\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning permission or prior notification? How to know which applies to your works"},"content":{"rendered":"
Legislation<\/strong><\/span>4 min read<\/span>Updated June 2026<\/span><\/div>\n

The choice between planning permission and prior notification determines the waiting time, the allocation of risk and how the works begin. With Decree-Law n.\u00ba 108\/2026 \u2014 in force on 3 August 2026 \u2014 the border between the two routes became clearer: where planning parameters are defined, the route is prior notification.<\/p>\n

What distinguishes the two routes<\/h2>\n

Planning permission (licen\u00e7a)<\/strong> is the procedure with municipal assessment: the council analyses the design and decides. It remains the route for operations with more room for appraisal \u2014 construction in areas without defined parameters, listed buildings or buildings undergoing classification, subdivisions without a covering plan.<\/p>\n

Prior notification (comunica\u00e7\u00e3o pr\u00e9via)<\/strong> is the route for areas where the rules of the game are already written \u2014 detailed plan, subdivision permit, parameters defined in the PDM. The designer assumes conformity through a statement of responsibility; from 3 August, the preliminary-check phase ceases to exist: fees paid, works under way, and successive municipal control within one year.<\/p>\n

Side-by-side comparison<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Criterion<\/th>\nPlanning permission<\/th>\nPrior notification<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
When it applies<\/strong><\/td>\nOperations without defined parameters; listed heritage; subdivisions without a plan<\/td>\nAreas with defined parameters (PP, subdivision, PDM)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Municipal control<\/strong><\/td>\nPrior \u2014 the council assesses and decides<\/td>\nSuccessive \u2014 inspection up to 1 year after the start<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Start of works<\/strong><\/td>\nAfter approval (express or tacit) and title<\/td>\nWith fees paid and the start date notified<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Decision deadlines<\/strong><\/td>\n30 days for the architecture (+30); deliberation in 20<\/td>\nNo prior decision \u2014 the procedure is declaratory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where the risk sits<\/strong><\/td>\nShared with municipal control<\/td>\nIn the rigour of the design and the statement of responsibility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: DL n.\u00ba 108\/2026<\/a> and consolidated RJUE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Technical<\/div>\n

Two routes, one design: the difference lies in who verifies conformity \u2014 and when.<\/p>\n

Three questions to decide<\/h2>\n

1. Does your area have defined planning parameters?<\/strong> If the plot is covered by a detailed plan, a subdivision permit or clear PDM parameters, prior notification is, as a rule, the route. 2. Is the building listed or in a protection zone?<\/strong> Then the route is planning permission, with the applicable external consultations. 3. Is the operation exempt?<\/strong> Works of minor planning relevance and interior alterations without structural impact require neither route.<\/p>\n

\n

Listed building or in a protection zone?
\nincludes buildings undergoing classification<\/p>\n

yes<\/p>\n

PLANNING PERMISSION<\/p>\n

no<\/p>\n

Does the area have parameters defined in a plan?
\nPP, subdivision or PDM<\/p>\n

yes<\/p>\n

PRIOR NOTIFICATION
\nwhere there are none, the route is planning permission\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Two questions resolve most cases \u2014 the third (exemption) is confirmed in article 6 of the RJUE.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen in doubt, the answer is not to gamble on the wrong route \u2014 it is to request a prior information request (PIP): it fixes the rules of your case before you spend a euro on design.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Tiago R. Correia<\/h3>\n

Architect<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Want the full picture \u2014 exemptions, deadlines, tacit approval and what changes on 3 August? It is in the 2026 building permitting guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What if the works are exempt?<\/h2>\n

There is a third path that is neither permission nor prior notification: exemption from prior control, for works of minor planning relevance and interior alterations that do not touch the structure, the fa\u00e7ades or the building height. Mind the detail many people ignore: exemption from procedure is not exemption from rules \u2014 the PDM and the technical standards still apply, and in listed buildings the exemption disappears. The full framework is in the 2026 permitting guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens if I use the wrong route?<\/h3>\n

The application is rejected at the preliminary assessment \u2014 losing weeks or months. It is the plot\u2019s planning assessment, done at the start, that avoids that cost.<\/p>\n

Is prior notification cheaper?<\/h3>\n

Fees vary from municipality to municipality and with the size of the operation. The relevant difference is not in the fees: it is in the time to start and in who carries the conformity risk.<\/p>\n

Can I start the works as soon as I pay the fees?<\/h3>\n

Under prior notification, from 3 August 2026, yes \u2014 fees paid and start date notified. Until then, the current regime\u2019s 20-day tacit admission applies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Not sure which route your project takes?<\/span><\/p>\n

We send you the planning assessment of your plot \u2014 route, deadlines and constraints \u2014 before any commitment.<\/p>\n

Request an assessment<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legislation4 min readUpdated June 2026 The choice between planning permission and prior notification determines the waiting time, the allocation of risk and how the works begin. With Decree-Law n.\u00ba 108\/2026 \u2014 in force on 3 August 2026 \u2014 the border between the two routes became clearer: where planning parameters are defined, the route is prior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislation-permitting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5307,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207\/revisions\/5307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tiagorcorreia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}