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Cancelling a Telecom Contract in Portugal

The lock-in period, the early termination penalty, porting your number, and the grounds that let you leave for free.

Cancelling a Telecom Contract in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have a phone, internet, or TV contract in Portugal and want to leave or switch.
  • You are still inside a lock-in period and want to know what leaving will cost.
  • You are moving home, leaving Portugal, or have lost your job.

Not for you if: you are choosing your first home broadband deal. Read Setting Up Home Internet in Portugal instead.

Updated September 2026. New number portability rules have applied since 10 November 2025, including automatic compensation when a switch goes wrong.

You can end any phone, internet, or TV contract in Portugal. If your lock-in period is over, leaving costs nothing beyond the bills for your notice period. If you are still locked in, the operator can charge an early exit fee, but the law caps it well below the monthly fees you have left. In some situations, such as emigrating or losing your job, you can leave for free. Keeping your number when you switch is free and normally takes one working day.

How the lock-in period works

Most offers come with a lock-in period (fidelização). You agree to stay for a set time in return for something up front: free installation, a discounted price, or subsidised equipment.

The rules for all consumers are:

  • A lock-in can be 6, 12, or 24 months. It can never be longer than 24 months.
  • The operator must also offer the same service with no lock-in at all. It will cost more each month, but it lets you see what the "free" extras really cost.
  • The contract and the contract summary must state the lock-in length and what leaving early would cost.
  • Every monthly bill must show how long the lock-in has left and what it would cost to leave today.

Check your latest bill first. That figure is your starting point.

What leaving early costs

The penalty is never simply "all the months you have left". The law sets a cap, and it depends on when you signed.

If you signed on or after 14 November 2022, the operator can charge the lower of two amounts:

  1. The value of the benefit you received, in proportion to the time left on the lock-in. For example, the share of the installation cost or discount you have not yet "worked off".
  2. A percentage of the monthly fees still due: - 50% if you leave in the first year of a new contract (or a renewal with new installation work). - 30% if you leave in the second year. - 30% at any point of a renewed lock-in with no new installation work.

ANACOM, the telecoms regulator, gives this example: a benefit worth €75 against 30% of remaining fees worth €90. You pay €75, the lower figure.

If you signed before 14 November 2022, the charge is the benefit you received in proportion to the time left, and it cannot exceed what the operator actually spent on installation.

If the quote you get looks like the full remaining fees, ask the operator in writing to show how it calculated the charge.

When you can leave for free

These free exits apply to consumers using the service for personal, not business, purposes.

You emigrate. You move your permanent residence abroad, and this was not foreseeable when you signed. Proof: a certificate of residence in the new country, or a copy of your work or service contract there.

You move to an area the operator does not serve. If the operator cannot provide the same or an equivalent service at your new home in Portugal, you can leave without penalty. If it can, the contract normally moves with you. The guide to Changing Your Registered Address in Portugal covers the other updates a move requires.

You lose your job. Your employer dismissed you through no fault of your own, and your monthly income fell by at least 20%. Proof:

  • a statement of unemployment from the job centre (IEFP) or Segurança Social
  • proof of the income loss, such as an employer statement, a job centre statement, or a bank document

The guide to Claiming Unemployment Benefit in Portugal explains how to get the job centre paperwork.

You cannot work. Your incapacity is permanent, or temporary and lasting more than 60 days, and your monthly income fell by at least 20%. Proof: medical or official evidence of the incapacity and proof of the income loss.

For these four situations, give at least 30 days' written notice. The operator can bill you for the service during the notice period, but not for the lock-in.

The operator changes your contract. If the operator changes the terms, it must warn you at least one month in advance. You then have 30 days to accept or to leave without paying the lock-in penalty. This applies even mid lock-in.

There is one catch. An annual price rise, usually linked to inflation, does not give you this right if your contract already sets out how prices are updated. Many operators announced such rises for 2026. Only a change that goes beyond what the contract allows counts.

Other free exits include the operator breaking the contract, and the death of the account holder.

How to cancel, step by step

  1. Find your end date and exit cost. Both are on your monthly bill and in the contract summary.
  2. Decide whether you are keeping your number. If you are switching operator, do not cancel first. Go to step 5 instead.
  3. Send your cancellation in writing so you have proof of the date. You can use: - the official contract cancellation platform (Plataforma de Cessação de Contratos) at cessacaodecontratos.pt, run by the Directorate-General for Consumers - the operator's customer area online - the contact address in your contract, ideally by email or registered letter - a shop, or the phone if the operator can confirm who you are
  4. Include your name, ID, the service or phone number, the date you want the contract to end, and any proof for a free exit. The operator cannot ask again for documents it already holds.
  5. Wait for confirmation. The operator must confirm a correct request within 5 working days, with the end date. If something is missing, it must tell you within 3 working days, and you have 30 days to fix it.
  6. Return any rented equipment, such as a router or TV box. If you bought the equipment, you keep it. Unreturned rented kit can be charged.
  7. Check the final bill. It can cover the notice period up to the end date, plus any lawful exit fee.

Once the lock-in is over, you can cancel at any time at no cost. On a contract that renewed automatically, the operator cannot require more than one month's notice.

Keeping your number when you switch

Number portability (portabilidade) lets you take your mobile or landline number to a new operator. The rules below have applied since 10 November 2025.

  • Start with the new operator. It runs the whole process and tells your old operator. You do not need to ask the old one for permission.
  • You will need a validation code (código de validação de portabilidade, CVP). Find it on your monthly bill or in the operator's customer area. On pay-as-you-go, the operator sends it by text within 24 hours on request.
  • It is free. Operators cannot charge you for the port itself.
  • It is quick. The number moves on the date you agree, or within one working day. If engineers need to work on the line, it moves one working day after they finish.
  • Expect a short gap. Service can be interrupted for up to 3 hours, with at least 12 hours' notice.

The port can only be refused if the number cannot be ported, another port request is already running, or the validation code is wrong. It cannot be refused because you owe money or are in a lock-in.

Two points trip people up:

  • Porting ends only the service linked to that number. If it was part of a bundle, cancel the rest separately, or you keep paying for it.
  • A port during a lock-in still triggers the capped exit fee.

After a contract ends, you have three months to port the number elsewhere. On pay-as-you-go, you can ask the old operator to refund your remaining credit within 10 working days. It can deduct no more than €1 for doing so.

If the switch goes wrong

The operators owe you compensation, per number:

  • €3 for each full day the port is late
  • €23 for each day without service after the deadline, up to €5,750 per request
  • €10 if a technician misses an agreed appointment

Compensation should be paid automatically within 30 days. If it is not, claim it from the operator in writing.

If the operator will not cooperate

  1. Complain to the operator in writing and keep the reference number.
  2. File a complaint in the official complaints book (Livro de Reclamações), online or in a shop. The guide to Filing a Consumer Complaint in Portugal (Livro de Reclamações) walks you through it. The complaint reaches ANACOM.
  3. Take the dispute to a consumer arbitration centre. Telecoms are an essential public service, so when you choose arbitration the operator must take part.

Two further rules protect you. An operator cannot enforce a lock-in unless it can show you agreed to it. And for charges on an essential service, the operator generally has six months from the service to bill you.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

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

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