RCBE regime (annex to Law No. 89/2017) · Chapter II · Declaration of the beneficial owner

Article 5 Duty to declare

Artigo 5.º · Dever de declarar

Lei n.º 89/2017 and the annexed Regime Jurídico do RCBE · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

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1. Without prejudice to the following paragraphs, the entities referred to in Article 3 have a duty to declare, at the times provided for and with the frequency laid down in this regime, adequate, accurate and current information on their beneficial owners, all circumstances indicating that status and information on the economic interest held in them.

1 - Sem prejuízo do disposto nos números seguintes, constitui dever das entidades indicadas no artigo 3.º declarar, nos momentos previstos e com a periodicidade fixada no presente regime, informação suficiente, exata e atual sobre os seus beneficiários efetivos, todas as circunstâncias indiciadoras dessa qualidade e a informação sobre o interesse económico nelas detido.

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2. With regard to the entities referred to in Article 3(1)(d) and Article 3(2), the duty provided for in the preceding paragraph falls on the natural or legal person acting as trustee or, where there is none, on the de jure or de facto administrator.

2 - Relativamente às entidades referidas na alínea d) do n.º 1 e no n.º 2 do artigo 3.º, o dever previsto no número anterior cabe à pessoa singular ou coletiva que atue na qualidade de administrador fiduciário ou, quando este não exista, ao administrador de direito ou de facto.

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3. The final part of the preceding paragraph applies, with the necessary adaptations, to the other entities referred to in Article 3(1).

3 - A parte final do disposto no número anterior é aplicável, com as necessárias adaptações, às demais entidades referidas no n.º 1 do artigo 3.º

What we checked in this article

The duty of the Article 3 entities to declare beneficial owners, indicating circumstances and economic interest, and its allocation to the trustee or, failing one, the de jure or de facto administrator (extended by paragraph 3 to the other Article 3(1) entities) are retained.

Need to file or update the RCBE declaration? Article 5 is where it starts.

We file initial RCBE declarations, updates and annual confirmations for Portuguese companies with foreign owners, and map the ownership chain so the beneficial owner is identified correctly. Fixed fee, done in English.

Unofficial English translation prepared by BCA Portugal for reference. Only the Portuguese text published in the Diário da República has legal force. Editorial notes are ours and are not part of the statute.

Applying the law

The RCBE declaration, filed correctly the first time

A missing or wrong declaration blocks dividend payments, public contracts and bank onboarding. Send us the ownership chart; we identify the beneficial owners, file the declaration and keep it current.

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