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Getting a Copy of Your Medical Records in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How to see or copy your clinical file from an SNS health centre, hospital, or private clinic, the reply deadlines, the costs, and where to complain.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Getting a Copy of Your Medical Records in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are treated by the SNS or a private clinic and want your clinical file or test results.
  • You are asking on behalf of a child, a relative who cannot act, or someone who has died.
  • You were refused, ignored, or asked to pay, and want to know your rights.

Not for you if: you want personal data held by a bank, shop, or employer. Read "Your Data Protection Rights in Portugal".

Your health information belongs to you. Hospitals and clinics only keep it for you. You can read your whole clinical file and get a copy without giving a reason. You ask the place that treated you, in writing. A public health centre or hospital must reply within 10 days. A private clinic has one month. Reading the file costs nothing, and copies sent by email from a public service are free. Many test results, prescriptions, and vaccines are already in the free SNS 24 app.

What you can ask for

The law calls your file the clinical process (processo clínico). It is any record, on paper or on a computer, that holds health information about you. It covers:

  • notes made by doctors and other health staff;
  • test and scan results;
  • diagnoses, treatments, and operations;
  • your clinical and family history.

Your right of access has three parts. You can read the information, you can get a copy, and you can ask for mistakes to be corrected or missing details to be added.

Every health provider, public or private, must create, keep, and store a clinical file for each patient. The file must always be available at the provider's premises.

A copy is not a medical report

A medical report (relatório médico) is different. It is a doctor's written assessment of your health, and it counts as a separate medical act. A provider may charge for a report. A report does not replace your right to see and copy the file itself.

See what is already online for free

Before you write to anyone, check the SNS 24 app or the SNS 24 portal. Anyone with an SNS user number (número de utente) can log in. You sign in with the Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital), your Citizen Card, or your user number. If you use the user number, the mobile phone or email on your SNS record must be up to date, because a code is sent there.

The portal and the app show clinical and administrative data that SNS providers record about you. The menus include:

  • exam results and exam requests;
  • prescriptions (receitas) and your usual medication;
  • your vaccine record (boletim de vacinas);
  • a health summary (resumo de saúde) and allergies;
  • operations, health records, and your own measurements;
  • sick notes, certificates, and your living will;
  • "Who has seen my information" (Quem viu a minha informação).

Exam results appear only when the laboratory or clinic that did the test has joined the SNS paperless exams project. These places show a "Disponível aqui" sign. When a new result arrives, you get an email alert, as long as you are registered in the personal area.

The SNS 24 app also lets you add other users, such as your children or parents. If you need help using the portal, call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24.

The app does not hold your whole file. For hospital notes, scans, or anything missing online, make a formal request.

How to ask for your file

You ask the provider that holds the information, which is the place where you were treated. The health regulator (ERS) does not hold anyone's records, so it cannot send you a copy.

  1. Find the provider's form. Each public local health unit (ULS) has an access officer (Responsável do Acesso à Informação) and usually a form on its website. For a private clinic, use the channel named in its privacy policy, if it gives one.
  2. Say what you want. Name the records, the dates if you know them, and whether you want to read them on site or get a copy. From a public service, a copy sent by email is free.
  3. Prove who you are. Bring your ID in person, or send a copy of your Citizen Card, passport, or residence card with the request. Some ULS also accept a form signed with a qualified digital signature.
  4. Send it. You can hand it in at the reception desk, post it, or email it. One ULS, for example, also takes requests at its family health unit (USF) desks and through its own app.
  5. Keep proof. Keep a dated copy of your request and every reply. You need these if you complain later.

You do not need to book a consultation or see your doctor to ask. The doctor is not the person who hands over the file. The provider must deliver it once you ask.

Do you need a doctor in the middle?

Only if you choose one. The law says you can see your file directly. You can also ask for the information to go through a doctor you name, for example if you would rather hear difficult news from your own doctor.

There is one exception. If nobody can find out what the patient wants, access always goes through a doctor. This is the usual route for a person who has died or who cannot express a wish. The hospital may then ask for the doctor's name, professional number (from the Ordem dos Médicos), and address, so it can send the file there.

How long they have to reply

Who holds your fileReply deadlineCan it be longer?
SNS health centre or hospital (public)10 daysUp to 2 months in exceptional cases, if the file is very large or complex. They must tell you why within the first 10 days.
Private hospital or clinic1 monthUp to 2 more months if needed. They must tell you, with a reason, within the first month.

Within the 10 days, a public service must do one of these things:

  • give you a date and place to read the file;
  • send the copy;
  • explain in writing why it refuses, and how you can challenge that;
  • tell you it does not hold the file. If it knows who does, it must pass your request on and tell you.

What it costs

  • Reading your file is free. A provider cannot make you pay anything, or meet any condition, before you consult it.
  • Copies by email from a public service are free. The law says no fee is due when a public body sends a copy by electronic means.
  • Paper copies or a CD may cost something. A public body may only charge for materials and the work involved, and it must publish its price list.
  • Data protection rights are free. A provider may only charge a reasonable fee if a request is clearly unfounded or excessive, for example repeated again and again.
  • Unpaid bills do not count. A provider cannot hold back your file until you pay money you owe it.

Asking for someone else

With their written permission

Another person can ask for your file if you give them a signed authorisation. It should include the full name, Citizen Card number, and address of both of you, and say which information they may see. The provider only releases what the authorisation covers.

Children and adults who cannot act

Parents and other legal representatives act for children. Older children may also act for themselves, depending on their age and maturity. If you ask as a legal representative or guardian, bring the document that proves it.

After a death

A relative can see the health information of a person who has died only by showing a direct, personal, and legitimate interest that is strong enough. For example, you may want to make a complaint or go to court. The access then usually goes through a doctor you name. Under data protection rules, rights over a dead person's health data pass to the person they chose, or to their heirs. A person can also leave instructions that nobody may use these rights after their death.

If you are refused

A provider can refuse only in exceptional cases. It must show clearly that seeing the information could seriously harm your health.

If you hit a problem, you have several routes:

  1. Complain to the provider. Use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações), on paper or online.
  2. Complain to the ERS. The health regulator covers public, private, and social sector providers. Its helpline is 309 309 309 (09:00 to 17:30).
  3. For a public service, complain to CADA. CADA is the commission on access to administrative documents. You have 20 days from the refusal, or from the missed deadline, to complain. It needs a written request from you. CADA asks the service to respond, then has 40 days to issue its report. The service then has 10 days to give a final decision, which you can challenge in the administrative courts.
  4. Complain to the CNPD. The data protection authority takes complaints if you get no reply within 30 days, if your request is ignored or refused without good reason, or if your data is misused.

Insurance, work medicine, and free check-ups

Some care is paid by an insurer or your employer. This includes occupational health checks (medicina do trabalho). The clinic must still give you your file, free of charge, when you ask. It cannot pass the decision to the insurer or the employer, and they cannot block it. The same goes for free tests offered in a clinic's advertising campaign. You get the results, even if you do not book a follow-up there.

This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice.

Sources

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

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

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