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Legal

The Balcão dos Registos counter at the Campus de Justiça in Lisbon, with a row of people waiting on chairs to the left and staff serving behind the curved reception desk on the right.

Changing Your Name in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the Six-Word Limit, the 200 Euro Process, the One Official in Lisbon Who Decides, and the Seven Changes That Need No Permission at All

Portugal lets you give a newborn six words of name and then makes an adult apply to the conservador dos Registos Centrais to alter one letter of it. What article 104 exempts, what marriage and divorce do to surnames, the free route under Lei 38/2018, and why foreign residents cannot use any of it.
The Portugal Brief
Riders in traditional Portuguese dress on grey Lusitano horses in the sand arena of the Feira Nacional do Cavalo at Golega, with spectators behind.

Keeping a Horse or Donkey in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the Compulsory DIE Passport, the Microchip in the Left Side of the Neck, the 7.92 Euro Fee, and the Paper Route That Closed on 1 July

Every horse, donkey, mule and zebra held in Portugal must carry a lifetime identification document. Who issues it, when it is due, what the blue and green books mean, the holding mark you need first, the four days you have to register a sale, and the fines that start at 250 euros.
The Portugal Brief