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Using a Pharmacy in Portugal

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

How to fill a paperless prescription, how long it lasts, how to find a pharmacy open at night, what you can buy without a prescription, and pharmacy vaccines.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Using a Pharmacy in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have a prescription from a doctor in Portugal and want to collect your medicines.
  • You need a pharmacy at night, at the weekend, or on a public holiday.
  • You are new here and want to know what a pharmacy can sell and do without a prescription.

Not for you if: you want to know how much the state pays towards your medicines. Read Paying Less for Prescription Medicines in Portugal instead.

Most prescriptions in Portugal are paperless (receita sem papel). You get a text message, or a treatment guide, with a prescription number and an access code. You can collect your medicines at any pharmacy (farmácia) in the country. A prescription for a short treatment lasts 30 days. One for a long-term treatment lasts 12 months, but the pharmacy hands over at most two months of medicine at a time. Every area has a pharmacy on duty after hours, though some only answer urgent calls.

How a paperless prescription works

When a doctor prescribes electronically, you receive the details in one of these ways:

  • By SMS, to the mobile number on your SNS user record, with the prescription number and codes.
  • As a treatment guide (guia de tratamento), printed, sent by email, or shown in your personal area on the SNS 24 portal or app.

The treatment guide shows two personal codes:

  • Access and dispensing code (código de acesso e dispensa). The pharmacy needs it to open your prescription and record what it hands over.
  • Right of choice code (código de direito de opção). You use it only if you choose a different equivalent medicine from the one the pharmacy offers. See the section on price below.

The guide also shows the most the prescription should cost you, unless you choose a dearer medicine.

To open your prescription, the pharmacy uses either the prescription number with the access code, or your Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão) with the access code. If you lose the text message, open the SNS 24 app or portal to see your prescriptions again. To set up access, see Registering with the SNS in Portugal and Activating the Chave Móvel Digital.

Keep your codes private. Anyone with the prescription number and access code can open the prescription.

How long a prescription lasts

The time limit depends on the type of treatment, which follows the medicine's classification.

TypeHow long it lastsHow much per line
Short or medium treatment30 days from the day after it was issuedUp to 2 packs (up to 4 single-dose packs)
Long-term treatment12 months from the day after it was issuedEnough for 12 months of treatment
Handwritten prescription30 days from the day after it was issuedUp to 4 packs in total, 2 per medicine

For a long-term treatment, the pharmacy can only hand over enough for two months at a time. To avoid gaps, you can collect the next two months every 45 days.

Collecting in stages

Each paperless prescription can have several lines. You can collect different lines at different pharmacies, or on different days at the same pharmacy. You do not need to collect everything at once.

If a medicine is out of stock and your prescription expires, the pharmacy can still hand it over later, if it records the shortage.

Filling a prescription anywhere

A paperless prescription is not tied to one pharmacy or town. You can fill it at any pharmacy in Portugal while it is valid.

Collecting for someone else

The pharmacy opens the prescription with the number and access code. In practice, a family member can collect for you if you give them both.

Controlled medicines are stricter. For medicines classed as narcotics or psychotropics, such as strong painkillers and some sleeping tablets, the pharmacy must record the identity of the patient or the person collecting. That means name, date of birth, and the number of an identity document. Foreign citizens show a passport.

What you pay, and choosing a brand

The state pays part of the price of most medicines prescribed through the SNS. The pharmacy deducts the state's share at the counter. You pay the rest. There are no forms for you to fill in.

At the counter, the pharmacist must:

  • tell you about the cheapest similar medicine on sale;
  • give you one of the three cheapest options it keeps in stock, unless you choose otherwise.

You have a right of choice (direito de opção). You can choose any equivalent medicine, but if it costs more, you pay the difference. You use the right of choice code to do this.

For the payment bands, the pensioner rate, and special schemes for long-term conditions, see Paying Less for Prescription Medicines in Portugal.

Finding a pharmacy at night or on a holiday

Pharmacies must open at least 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 19:00 on weekdays. Many open longer. Each pharmacy must display its opening hours where you can see them.

Outside normal hours, each area has a duty roster (escala de turnos). The health authorities approve it each year, after asking the town hall. There are two kinds of duty:

  • Permanent service (serviço permanente). The pharmacy stays open without a break from opening time until closing time the next day. After normal hours, it may serve you through a hatch (postigo) instead of opening the door.
  • On call (regime de disponibilidade). A pharmacist or qualified assistant is available to serve you in an urgent case. The pharmacy is not open in the usual way. This is more common in small towns.

The law sets how many pharmacies must be on permanent service, based on population and on whether the area has an SNS emergency service. In smaller places, the duty pharmacy may be on call instead, or in the next town.

How to find the one on duty

  1. Search online. INFARMED, the medicines regulator, has a pharmacy search on its website.
  2. Phone the Medicines Line (Linha do Medicamento) on 800 222 444.

The after-hours charge

A duty pharmacy may add up to €2.50 per person for serving you after hours. It cannot add this charge for medicines on a prescription dated that day or the day before.

If you feel very unwell, call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24 for advice, or 112 in an emergency. See What to Do in a Medical Emergency in Portugal.

Medicines without a prescription

Medicines are either prescription-only or non-prescription (medicamentos não sujeitos a receita médica, MNSRM). A medicine you buy freely at home may need a prescription here. If you take a medicine regularly, bring a prescription or a doctor's letter when you move.

Where you can buy them. Only pharmacies sell prescription-only medicines. Non-prescription medicines are also sold in shops registered with INFARMED, such as parapharmacies (parafarmácias) and some supermarkets. A pharmacist or pharmacy technician must supervise these sales. Some non-prescription medicines can only be sold in pharmacies.

The pharmacist can advise you, and may tell you to see a doctor instead.

Delivery and online orders

Pharmacies, and shops that sell non-prescription medicines, can take orders in person, by phone, by email, or on their own website. They can then deliver to your home.

  • A pharmacist supervises delivery. For a shop, a pharmacist or pharmacy technician does.
  • Prescription rules still apply. You still need a valid prescription for prescription-only medicines.
  • Delivery has local limits. A pharmacy can only deliver within its own municipality (concelho) and the neighbouring ones.
  • Websites must show key details. Before a business sells online, it must tell INFARMED its web address. Its site must show delivery prices, payment methods, the area covered, the likely delivery time, and the name of the pharmacist in charge.

Vaccines at the pharmacy

From 30 September 2026 to 31 March 2027, the free flu vaccine is available at pharmacies taking part in the campaign, as well as at SNS health centres. At a pharmacy, it is free for:

  • people aged 60 to 84;
  • people aged 18 to 59 with a listed risk condition, who show a valid SNS eligibility message.

Bring a valid identity document. People 85 and over, and children, get the free vaccine at SNS health units. If you are under 60 and not eligible, a pharmacy can still vaccinate you with a doctor's prescription, but you pay for the vaccine. See Getting Vaccinated in Portugal.

Many pharmacies also offer simple checks, such as blood pressure. Prices are set by each pharmacy, so ask first.

If you have a prescription from another EU country

A prescription from a doctor in another EU country is valid in Portugal. The pharmacy applies Portuguese rules, so it may limit the amount or refuse in some cases. The medicine may also have a different brand name here.

Ask your doctor for a paper copy that shows:

  • your full name and date of birth;
  • the date;
  • the doctor's full name, qualification, contact details, work address with country, and signature;
  • the medicine's common name (not the brand), form, quantity, strength, and dose.

Prescriptions from outside the EU are not covered by this rule. See a doctor in Portugal for a new one.

Quick checklist

  • Keep your SNS 24 app set up, so you can find your codes.
  • Use the cheapest equivalent unless you have a reason not to.
  • Note when long-term prescriptions run out, and book your doctor in good time.
  • Find your nearest duty pharmacy before you need one.
  • Bring ID if you collect controlled medicines for someone else.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Ask your pharmacist or doctor about your own medicines, and check the official source before you act.

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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