RNAL registration — how to register an Alojamento Local in Portugal (2026)

Step-by-step guide to registering a property on the RNAL through Balcão Único do Turismo — who can apply, the documents you need, the mayor's opposition window, and what happens after you get your number.

Every short-term rental in Portugal that is offered to tourists must be registered in the Registo Nacional de Alojamento Local (RNAL). Without an RNAL number you cannot legally advertise on Booking.com or Airbnb, you cannot submit SIBA bulletins, and you cannot charge tourist tax. This is the first thing you do — everything else in Chave AL hangs off it.

Who can register

The applicant must be the person who will operate the property, not necessarily the owner. That can be:

the owner themselves;
a tenant with written authorisation from the landlord allowing sublet for AL;
a company (the NIPC is used instead of a personal NIF).

You need a Portuguese NIF in all cases. Foreign owners without one should read our guide on getting a NIF as a non-resident.

The documents you need before you start

1. NIF/NIPC of the operator, plus Citizen Card or passport.

2. Caderneta predial urbana (tax property record) for the fraction.

3. Proof of legitimacy: title deed, lease with AL authorisation, or condominium authorisation where required.

4. Multi-risk civil liability insurance — see AL insurance in Portugal.

5. Details of maximum capacity: number of rooms and beds.

6. Municipality-specific attachments (some councils ask for floor plans or a declaration of compliance).

Step by step on Balcão Único

1. Log into Balcão Único do Turismo (bu.turismodeportugal.pt) with your Portal das Finanças credentials or Chave Móvel Digital.

2. Open Alojamento Local → Novo registo and pick the modality: apartment, moradia (house), estabelecimento de hospedagem, or quartos.

3. Enter the address exactly as it appears on the caderneta predial. Mismatches are the number one cause of rejection.

4. Declare capacity — rooms and beds. This number is what INE/WebInq and the municipal tourist tax portals will later expect you to match.

5. Upload the documents and submit. You receive an RNAL number immediately, in the format NNNNN/AL.

6. The registration is provisional until the municipality's opposition window closes — the mayor has a legal period to oppose. Silence means approval.

After you have the number

Display the RNAL number in every advert and on the property's identification plate.
Register the establishment in SIBA — one SIBA registration per AL number, even inside the same building. See the SIBA complete guide.
Activate the electronic complaints book (Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico).
Check whether your municipality charges a tourist tax; if so, register on its portal.
File your insurance certificate with Balcão Único within 3 business days.

Where registration can be refused

Several municipalities operate containment zones where new AL registrations are suspended or capped. Funchal and parts of Santa Cruz, Lisbon and Porto are the best-known examples. Read AL containment zones before you buy a property with AL income in mind — a suspended parish means the numbers do not work.

How Chave AL helps

Once you have the RNAL number, add the property in Chave AL with its number, capacity and municipality. From then on SIBA bulletins, INE WebInq statistics and municipal tourist tax declarations all draw on the same record, so the numbers you file never drift apart.