Making a Living Will (Testamento Vital) in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• You live in Portugal, Portuguese or foreign, and are 18 or over.
• You want to say now which medical treatment you would accept or refuse if you could no longer decide.
• You want to name someone you trust to make health decisions for you.

Not for you if: you want to decide who inherits your money and property. Read Making a Will and Handling an Inheritance in Portugal instead.

A living will (testamento vital) is a written statement of the health care you want, or do not want, if you become unable to express your wishes. Its formal name is an advance directive (diretiva antecipada de vontade, DAV). You can also name one or two health care proxies to decide for you. Any adult who lives in Portugal can make one, including foreign residents. Registering it with the national registry, RENTEV, is free. It lasts five years and you can renew it.

What a living will is, and what it is not

A living will is a health document. It has nothing to do with your property or your heirs. That is a separate will made at a notary.

The law gives examples of what you can include. You can say that you:

• do not want artificial life support;
• do not want treatment that is futile or out of proportion to your condition, including artificial feeding and hydration that would only delay a natural death;
• want proper palliative care, including treatment for pain and other symptoms;
• do not want experimental treatments;
• agree, or refuse, to take part in research or clinical trials.

Your wishes must be clear and unambiguous. Vague wording may not count.

Who can make one

You can make a living will if you:

• live in Portugal, whatever your nationality, including refugees and stateless people;
• are 18 or over;
• are able to give free, informed, and conscious consent.

You do not need to be ill. The best time to make one is while you are well and thinking clearly. To register it, you need an SNS user number (número de utente). If you do not have one yet, see Registering with the SNS in Portugal.

Naming a health care proxy

A health care proxy (procurador de cuidados de saúde) decides on your care when you cannot. You can name one proxy and a second one in case the first cannot act.

The proxy must meet the same conditions as you: an adult able to give informed consent. These people cannot be your proxy:

• RENTEV staff or notary staff involved in your document;
• owners and managers of organisations that run or provide health care, unless they are a relative.

Doctors must respect your proxy's decisions, within the powers you gave them. If your written instructions and your proxy disagree, your written instructions win.

Choose someone who knows your values, and talk to them before you name them. A proxy can step down by telling you in writing. You can cancel the appointment at any time.

How to make and register a living will

Registration is free. You cannot register a living will online. The document must be signed in person, or sent by post with a signature certified by a notary.

1. Get the form. Download the advance directive form from your personal area on the SNS 24 portal or app. Using the official form is recommended but not compulsory.
2. Fill it in. Write the care you want or refuse, and the situations in which your instructions apply. Add your proxy and a substitute proxy if you want them.
3. Choose how to sign and submit it. - In person: take the form to any RENTEV desk (balcão RENTEV), preferably the one for your area. You sign it there in front of a RENTEV official. - By post: sign the form in front of a notary, who certifies your signature. Send it by registered post to any RENTEV desk.
4. Wait for approval. The RENTEV desk has up to 10 days to approve it. You, and your proxy, get an email or SMS when it is approved. You can follow the process on the SNS 24 portal.
5. Tell people. Let your proxy, your family, and your family doctor know that it exists.

A doctor can help you write it. If you both agree, the doctor's name and signature can go on the document.

The list of RENTEV desks is on the Ministry of Health's shared services (SPMS) website, linked from the gov.pt service page. A notary charges a fee for certifying a signature. See Using a Notary and Certifying Documents in Portugal.

What to have ready

• Your SNS user number.
• The completed advance directive form.
• Your proxy's details, if you name one.
• For the postal route, the notary's certification of your signature.

Does it have to be registered?

No. Registration is optional. A living will made in the legal form is valid even if it is not on the registry. A paper document certified by a notary can be shown to the medical team.

In practice, registration helps. When a person cannot express their wishes, the doctor in charge must check whether a living will or proxy is registered with RENTEV. Doctors can then see it through the health records system. You get an email or SMS each time someone views your living will.

You can view your own living will at any time in the SNS 24 app or portal.

How long it lasts, and how to change it

A living will is valid for five years. gov.pt counts the five years from the date it is activated on the registry. You get an email or SMS 60 days and again 15 days before it expires.

• Renewing. You renew it by confirming it, signed in the same way as the original. Each renewal gives you another five years.
• Changing it. You can change it, in whole or in part, at any time. A change follows the same signing rules, and restarts the five years.
• Cancelling it. You can cancel it at any time. In a care setting, you can also change or cancel it simply by telling the health professional in charge. They must note it in your medical records and tell RENTEV and your proxy.
• If you lose capacity. If you become unable to decide during the five years, the document stays in force.

When doctors do not follow it

As a rule, the medical team must respect your living will. The law sets limits.

Your instructions have no effect if they:

• go against the law, public order, or good medical practice;
• would deliberately cause an unnatural and avoidable death;
• do not express your wishes clearly.

Doctors should also not follow it when:

• there is proof you would no longer want it;
• it is clearly out of date because treatments have improved since you signed;
• the situation is not the one you had in mind when you signed.

In an emergency, the team does not have to consult your living will if finding it would cause a delay that puts your life or health at greater risk.

Conscientious objection. A health professional may refuse to carry out your instructions on grounds of conscience. They must say which instructions they object to. The hospital must then arrange for your wishes to be followed, for example through another professional or another unit.

Any decision based on your living will, or a reason for not following it, is written in your medical records.

Your rights

No one can treat you differently because you have, or do not have, a living will. This applies to access to health care and to taking out insurance.

Everyone who sees your living will in their work must keep it confidential.

Practical tips

• Language. The form and the registry work in Portuguese. If your Portuguese is limited, ask someone fluent to help, so the form says exactly what you mean.
• Other countries. A living will made abroad is not automatically on the Portuguese registry. If you spend long periods in another country, check that country's own rules.
• Keep it current. Review it when your health or views change, and before the five years end.
• Plan the rest. A living will sits alongside a property will and, later, funeral wishes. See Funerals and Death Registration in Portugal. For organ donation, which works differently, see Opting Out of Organ Donation in Portugal.

This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Talk to your doctor about your health choices, and check the official source before you act.

Sources

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

• gov.pt, Registar o Testamento Vital (updated 30 March 2026): https://www.gov.pt/servicos/registar-o-testamento-vital (who can make one, residence in Portugal, SNS user number, form from SNS 24, one or two proxies, in person at a RENTEV desk or by registered post with a notary-certified signature, no online registration, free, 10 days to approve, five years from activation, alerts at 60 and 15 days, viewing in SNS 24, notification when viewed, model form preferred but optional under Portaria n.º 104/2014, RENTEV organised under Portaria n.º 96/2014, SPMS responsible), checked 2 October 2026
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Lei n.º 25/2012, of 16 July (advance directives and RENTEV), consolidated: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=1765&tabela=leis (article 2 content; article 3 written form signed before a RENTEV official or notary, doctor's signature optional, optional model; article 4 capacity; article 5 limits; article 6 duty to respect, cases where not followed, emergencies; article 7 five years, renewal, stays in force on incapacity, 60-day notice; article 8 changes and oral revocation; article 9 conscientious objection; article 10 non-discrimination; articles 11 to 14 proxies; article 16 registration optional, in person or by registered post with certified signature; article 17 doctor must check RENTEV; article 18 confidentiality; amended by Lei n.º 49/2018 and Lei n.º 35/2023), checked 2 October 2026

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