Getting Free School Textbooks in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• Your child is in years 1 to 12 at a state school in Portugal, or at a private school with a State association contract.
• You are the parent or guardian registered with the school (encarregado de educação).
• You are new to Portugal and want to know what to do before the school year starts.

Not for you if: your child does not yet have a school place. Read Enrolling Your Child in a Portuguese Public School first.

Every child in compulsory schooling in the public system gets their textbooks free, from year 1 to year 12. There is no income test. You get the books through vouchers on the MEGA platform (manuaisescolares.pt), using your tax number (NIF) and your Portal das Finanças password. Vouchers come out each summer, usually from late July to mid August. Children in years 1 to 4 keep their books. From year 5, you must hand the books back at the end of the year, or pay the cover price.

Who gets free textbooks

Covered: pupils in years 1 to 12 at:

• state schools
• private or cooperative schools with an association contract (contrato de associação), a funding agreement with the State

Not covered: pupils at other private schools and international schools without an association contract. If you are unsure, ask the school whether it has one.

Children taught at home under the official home education scheme are covered too. They get the textbooks adopted by the state school where they are enrolled. See Homeschooling in Portugal.

Only the guardian registered with the school (encarregado de educação) can collect the vouchers. A parent who is not the registered guardian cannot.

Before you start

You need three things:

1. To be registered at the school as your child's guardian, with your own NIF entered correctly in the school's records. The NIF must be the one given at enrolment.
2. Your NIF, the Portuguese tax number. See Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal.
3. Your Portal das Finanças password. MEGA uses it to check that the NIF is yours. If you do not have one, request it from the Portal das Finanças well before the summer. It is sent by post, so it can take some days.

How to get the vouchers

1. Register on manuaisescolares.pt, or in the Edu Rede Escolar app for Android or iOS. On your first visit, you confirm your NIF through the Portal das Finanças.
2. Wait for the email. MEGA emails you when your child's vouchers are ready. If you cannot see them yet, they are not out yet.
3. Check the school list. MEGA has a page showing which schools have issued vouchers.
4. Collect the books. Print each voucher or show it on your phone.

Where to collect. It depends on the voucher:

• A new book: at a bookshop that takes part in MEGA. The platform shows a list and a map. The bookshop scans the voucher and bills the State, not you.
• A reused book: at the school.

MEGA decides at random whether your child gets new or reused copies. Your child may get a mix.

Each voucher has a unique code and works once only. Keeping it safe is your responsibility.

No internet access? Go to your child's school and ask for paper vouchers. The school cannot charge you for them.

When the vouchers come out

Vouchers come out in stages by school year, each summer. For the 2026/2027 school year, MEGA released them from:

• 3 August for years 1 to 4
• 10 August for years 5 to 9
• 13 August for years 10 to 12 and other courses

The gov.pt service page gave different dates for the same year (28 July, 4 August, and 11 August). MEGA is the platform that issues the vouchers, so check its home page each summer.

Whatever the calendar says, nothing is issued for your child until the school has loaded the class lists. If you cannot see your child at all, check with the school that the class lists are published, that you are the registered guardian, and that your NIF is correct.

What is free and what is not

The scheme covers textbooks (manuais escolares), the main book for each subject. Some classes in a digital pilot get a digital voucher instead, which you activate on MEGA. The school then hands your child the login details.

The scheme does not cover:

• workbooks and exercise books (cadernos de atividades, livros de fichas)
• stationery, calculators, dictionaries, and sports kit
• books for schools outside the scheme

Workbooks can add up for a young child across several subjects, so budget for them.

Which books you keep and which you return

The rules are set by law and apply from the 2025/2026 school year:

If your child repeats a year, they can keep the books for that cycle or those subjects until they complete them.

If your child changes school during the year, return the books to the old school. The new school gives your child books from its own stock. If a transfer is pending and vouchers are already issued, do not use them. They are cancelled and new ones are issued for the new school.

Handing the books back

Return every book, whatever its condition. The school decides afterwards which copies can be reused. Do not throw away a worn book.

When you hand the books in, the school gives you a written declaration that you returned them. Keep it. The duty to return the books is yours as guardian, or your child's if they are 18 or over.

The school judges each book on:

• how many times it has already been used
• your child's age and school year
• whether it has blank spaces meant to be filled in
• whether the wear is what you would expect from normal, careful use, or damage beyond that
• any other circumstances the school thinks relevant

Normal wear from careful use is accepted. A worn book is not the same as a damaged one.

Each school sets its own return dates and writes them in its internal rules (regulamento interno). Books for exam subjects are usually due back soon after the exam. Ask the school for its dates.

If a book is lost, kept, or damaged

• You keep a book you should return: you pay the school the book's full cover price.
• You return a book in poor condition: you may have to pay the cover price, unless the book had already reached the end of its useful life.
• You do not pay: your child cannot get that free book the following year.
• Not all books are returned: new vouchers are not issued until all books are handed in.

The school can still give free books the next year if it accepts there were good reasons for a book's condition. Books you bought yourself never need to be returned.

Common problems

• MEGA shows nothing. The school has an old, mistyped, or different NIF, or the class lists are not published. Fix it with the school office.
• Some vouchers are missing. The class may not be complete yet, which is needed for reused books. Or a book from last year was not returned or was not fit to reuse. Keep checking MEGA.
• Enrolling in September. Vouchers are issued once the school loads your child's data, so a late enrolment just means later vouchers. Ask the school.
• Leaving Portugal. Hand the books in and keep the declaration before you go.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change often; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• MEGA (Ministry of Education platform), home page: https://manuaisescolares.pt/ (2026/2027 voucher dates of 3, 10, and 13 August, registration on the site or Edu Rede Escolar app, NIF confirmed with Portal das Finanças credentials, email when vouchers are ready, check with the school if your child is missing, print or show on phone, paper vouchers at the school, bookshops bill the Agência para a Gestão do Sistema Educativo), checked 2 October 2026
• MEGA, frequently asked questions: https://ajuda.manuaisescolares.pt/ (no charge for paper vouchers, guardian responsible for vouchers, only public schools and association contract schools, guardian's NIF, one use per voucher, return rule except 1st cycle, full price if kept, school judges condition, random new or reused, mid-year transfer, missing vouchers, digital voucher, bought books not returned), checked 2 October 2026
• gov.pt, Receber vales para manuais escolares gratuitos (updated 17 August 2026): https://www.gov.pt/servicos/receber-vouchers-para-manuais-escolares-gratuitos (years 1 to 12, association contracts, only guardians can request, email notice, different 2026 dates of 28 July, 4 August, and 11 August), checked 2 October 2026
• Diário da República, Decreto-Lei n.º 111/2025, of 9 October: https://files.diariodarepublica.pt/1s/2025/10/19500/0000300005.pdf (amends article 5(4) of Lei n.º 47/2006: 1st cycle books not returned, return rules for years 5 to 12, exam subjects, vocational courses, effect from the 2025/2026 school year), checked 2 October 2026
• Ministry of Education (DGE), Despacho n.º 921/2019, Manual de Apoio à Reutilização de Manuais Escolares: https://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/ManuaisEscolares/despacho_921_2019_manual_reutilizacao_manuais.pdf (free provision replaces school social support, return of all books whatever their state, return declaration, duty of guardian or adult pupil, repeating pupils keep books, reuse criteria, penalties, internal rules set dates, workbooks excluded), checked 2 October 2026
• Ministry of Education (DGE), Lei n.º 96/2019, of 4 September: https://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/ManuaisEscolares/lei_96_2019_gratuitidade_manuais_escolares.pdf (free textbooks for all pupils in compulsory schooling in the public network), checked 2 October 2026
• Ministry of Education (DGE), Lei n.º 47/2006, of 28 August: https://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/ManuaisEscolares/2006_lei_47.pdf (definition of a textbook as distinct from other teaching resources), checked 2 October 2026
• Ministry of Education (DGE), Ensino Individual e Ensino Doméstico: https://www.dge.mec.pt/ensino-individual-ensino-domestico (home educated pupils in public schools are entitled to free textbooks adopted by their school), checked 2 October 2026

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.