Renewing Your Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão) in Portugal
Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides
How to renew a Portuguese Citizen Card online, by phone, automatically, or at a counter: who can use each route, the fees, delivery, and lost cards.
Last verified: October 2026.
Who this is for
- You are a Portuguese citizen, including a dual national, and your Citizen Card is expiring, lost, or damaged.
- You are renewing a card for a child or another family member.
- You are a Brazilian citizen with a Citizen Card under the equal rights status.
Not for you if: you are a foreign resident with an AIMA residence card. Read Renewing Your Residence Permit with AIMA in Portugal instead.
If you are Portuguese and aged 25 or over, you can renew your Citizen Card online, in the gov.pt app, by phone, or at a counter. You can start up to six months before it expires. A standard renewal costs €16.20 online or €18 at a counter. If you live in Portugal, the card may even renew itself: you get a letter with a payment reference. The new card arrives by post within 30 days. If you are under 25, or a Brazilian card holder, you renew at a registry office (IRN) counter.
When to renew
You should renew your card when:
- it expires within six months, or has already expired,
- your name, surname, photo, signature, sex, or parents' names need to change,
- it is lost, stolen, or damaged, including a chip that no longer works.
You do not need a new card if you only change address. Use the free online address change instead. See Changing Your Registered Address in Portugal. You also do not need one if you marry, divorce, or are widowed, unless your surname changes. The registry updates your civil status for you.
How long a card lasts
- Under 25: five years.
- 25 and over: ten years.
Check your card if it was issued between 13 August 2021 and 9 June 2024. New EU security rules for identity cards apply to them. These cards are valid only until 3 August 2031, even if the printed date is later. Cards issued since June 2024 use the new model and last the full ten years for adults.
For Brazilian citizens with equal rights status, the card lasts as long as your residence permit, up to five or ten years by age. See Getting Equal Rights Status as a Brazilian in Portugal.
Which route you can use
| Route | Who can use it |
|---|---|
| Automatic renewal | Portuguese, 25 or over, living in Portugal, card expiring within 60 days |
| Online, or in the gov.pt app | Portuguese, 25 or over, card expiring within six months or expired less than 30 days ago |
| By phone (Linha Cidadão) | Portuguese, 25 or over, card valid or expired less than 30 days ago |
| Espaço Cidadão counter | Portuguese, 25 or over, card valid or expired less than 30 days ago, no change to the data on the card |
| Registry (IRN) counter or Loja do Cidadão | Everyone, including under 25s and Brazilian card holders |
| Consulate | Portuguese citizens living abroad |
For every remote route, your fingerprints and photo must already be on the registry's system. You also cannot renew remotely twice in a row. If your last card was renewed online or automatically, this time you go to a counter so they can take a new photo.
Automatic renewal
If you are Portuguese, 25 or over, and live in Portugal, the registry may renew your card for you. This happens when:
- the card expires within 60 days,
- your fingerprints and photo are on file,
- nothing printed on the card needs to change (name, signature, photo, or address),
- you are not under a legal support arrangement for adults (maior acompanhado).
How it works:
- You get a letter at home with your PIN codes and a Multibanco reference.
- You pay €16.20 within 60 days. If you do not pay, the card is not made, and you renew another way.
- The card comes by registered post to your card address.
If you renew online while an automatic renewal is under way, you may get two PIN letters. Use the one without a Multibanco reference. Ignore the automatic renewal letter.
Renewing online or in the app
- Log in to the "Renovar o Cartão de Cidadão" service on gov.pt. Use your Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital) or your card with a card reader. In the app, only the Digital Mobile Key works.
- Fill in the form.
- Choose delivery and speed. Post to your home, or pick up at a counter, at normal or urgent speed.
- Pay within 3 days, by Multibanco reference or credit card. If you miss that window, you must start again.
If your card expired less than 30 days ago, you can still log in with the Digital Mobile Key. It stays active for 30 days after the card's expiry date. After that, you cannot use or activate it, and you must go to a counter.
You can also renew a card online for your children or dependants through the gov.pt service for another person. For a child under 12, or an adult under legal support, the legal representative must apply in person, with that person present.
Renewing by phone
Call the Linha Cidadão on 300 003 990 and choose "Realizar serviços por telefone". It is open on working days, 09:00 to 18:00. You need an active Digital Mobile Key and the gov.pt app on a phone with face or fingerprint recognition. You approve the request in the app during the call. You pay by Multibanco reference within 3 days.
Renewing at a counter
Book a registry (IRN) counter through the Siga booking portal or app, or go to a Loja do Cidadão. Some counters only see people with an appointment. Espaço Cidadão desks can also renew cards for people aged 25 and over who do not need to change any data. Bring your current card, even if it has expired.
After the counter visit, you choose to collect the card or have it posted to you.
What it costs
Online, app, phone, and automatic renewal
| Reason | In Portugal | Collected abroad |
|---|---|---|
| End of validity | €16.20 | €20.70 |
| Lost, stolen, or damaged, new card valid under five years | €13.50 | €18 |
| Lost, stolen, or damaged, new card valid over five years | €16.20 | €20.70 |
At a counter
| Applicant | In Portugal | Living abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | €15 | €18 |
| 25 and over | €18 | €23 |
Faster options
| Speed | Under 25 | 25 and over |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent, collect at a counter in about 3 working days | €30 (€45 abroad) | €33 (€48 abroad) |
| Very urgent, same or next day, at the Campus de Justiça in Lisbon or the Loja do Cidadão in Porto | €50 | €53 |
| Same-day provisional card, if a card cannot be ready that day | €70 | €70 |
The very urgent service is not available to people living abroad. At a counter you can pay by card, cash, or certified cheque from a Portuguese account.
Free renewal. If you cannot afford the fee, you may renew for free. Ask Social Security, your parish council (Junta de Freguesia), or a social support charity for a certificate of economic insufficiency.
Getting your new card
By post. CTT, the postal service, delivers within 30 days. The postman only hands the card to you. Show the PIN letter, so the QR code can be read, and an official photo ID. Your old card, even if expired, a passport, or a driving licence will do. If you are out, CTT leaves a notice for you to collect it. After 10 days, an uncollected card goes to the IRN counter named in your PIN letter.
At a counter. Once your PIN letter arrives, go and collect the card. Bring the PIN letter and your old card, if you have it. Book the visit by phone on 210 990 111 or through Siga.
For counter collection, the registry quotes these average times for a normal request:
- mainland Portugal, Madeira, and the main Azores islands: 7 working days,
- the smaller Azores islands and other European countries: 9 working days,
- the rest of the world: 9 to 11 working days, depending on the country.
You have one year to collect the card. After that, you must apply again.
Abroad. If you live abroad, you collect the card at the consulate. Ask your consulate whether it can post it to you.
You can track your renewal on the justica.gov.pt "Consultar estado da renovação" service.
If your card is lost or stolen
- Cancel the card first. Cancelling is free. It stops anyone using the chip or your digital signature. - Online on gov.pt, logged in with your Digital Mobile Key or card. - Online without logging in, using your card number, the cancellation code from your PIN letter, and the email or mobile number on file. - In the gov.pt app. - By phone on 210 990 111, which takes cancellations 24 hours a day, every day. - In person, at an IRN desk in a Loja do Cidadão.
- Renew for the same reason. Choose "loss" or "theft" when you renew, matching the reason you gave when you cancelled.
- Check the expiry date. If the card had more than 60 days left, the new one keeps the same expiry date. If it had less than 60 days, renew for "end of validity" instead.
If you no longer have the PIN letter, you can ask for a second copy by email to [email protected].
Travelling with your card
Your Citizen Card is a national identity card. You can use it to travel within the EU and the Schengen area. It must be valid on the day you travel, so renew before any trip. Outside Europe, you need your passport.
If you cannot leave home
If you have reduced mobility, are in hospital, or have proven special needs, the registry's outreach service can come to you. It takes the application and delivers the card. Book it through the gov.pt "Pedir o serviço externo do Cartão de Cidadão" service.
For the rules on becoming Portuguese, see Getting Portuguese Citizenship by Naturalisation.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees and procedures change; check the official source before you act.
Sources
This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.
- gov.pt, Renovar o Cartão de Cidadão (updated 3 September 2026): https://www.gov.pt/servicos/renovar-o-cartao-de-cidadao (who can renew and where, six-month window, validity by age, cards issued 13 August 2021 to 9 June 2024 valid until 3 August 2031, Brazilian card holders, online, app, phone, Espaço Cidadão and counter conditions, no remote renewal twice in a row, automatic renewal conditions and €16.20 fee with 60 days to pay, all fees, 3 days to pay, CTT delivery in 30 days, 10 days at CTT, one year to collect, average collection times, free renewal for economic insufficiency, two PIN letters, Linha Cidadão 300 003 990, Citizen Card line 210 990 111), checked 1 October 2026
- gov.pt, Cancelar o Cartão de Cidadão (updated 13 March 2026): https://www.gov.pt/servicos/cancelar-o-cartao-de-cidadao (cancellation free, channels, 24-hour phone line, Digital Mobile Key active 30 days after expiry, matching reason), checked 1 October 2026
- gov.pt, Pedir o serviço externo do Cartão de Cidadão: https://www.gov.pt/servicos/pedir-o-servico-externo-do-cartao-de-cidadao (outreach service), checked 1 October 2026
- gov.pt, Alterar a morada do Cartão de Cidadão: https://www.gov.pt/servicos/alterar-a-morada-do-cartao-de-cidadao (address change without a new card), checked 24 September 2026 (carried from verified guide W21)
- Ministry of Justice, Consultar estado da renovação do Cartão de Cidadão: https://justica.gov.pt/Servicos/Consultar-estado-da-renovacao-do-Cartao-de-Cidadao (tracking a renewal), checked 1 October 2026
- Your Europe (European Union), travel documents for EU nationals: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/eu-citizen/index_en.htm (national ID card as a travel document, valid on the day of travel), checked 1 October 2026
- Diário da República, Lei n.º 7/2007, of 5 February (Citizen Card law), as republished by Lei n.º 32/2017: https://data.dre.pt/eli/lei/7/2007/02/05/p/dre/pt/html (validity, issue, and use of the card)
- Diário da República, Portaria n.º 291/2017, of 28 September: https://data.dre.pt/eli/port/291/2017/09/28/p/dre/pt/html (Citizen Card fees, reductions, and exemptions)
- Diário da República, Portaria n.º 287/2017, of 28 September: https://data.dre.pt/eli/port/287/2017/09/28/p/dre/pt/html (online cancellation)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 (security of identity cards): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1157 (the EU rule behind the 3 August 2031 end date)
Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.
