Fax a Portuguese contact online
The +351 to dial, nine digits to copy: your PDF heads to a Portuguese landline without leaving the browser. One page free, PDF delivery receipts if you want them.
Nine digits and no leading zero to dial: that's the Portuguese number. Landlines all start with 2 — 21 for the capital, 22 for Porto, then a three-digit block elsewhere: 239 in Coimbra, 289 in Faro, 291 in Madeira. A line starting with 9 belongs to a mobile: no point faxing it.
Fax is used there whenever a written record matters: conservatórias — property, civil and commercial registries — notary and law offices, and accountants dealing with the tax authorities still accept documents this way. Private clinics and laboratories too. And in the Algarve as in Madeira, hotels and travel agencies keep a line dedicated to group bookings.
In the form, select Portugal, then copy the nine digits from your recipient's letterhead, without adding the +351 or 00351. This is the fastest route for delivery of a signed power of attorney or another required document, with no wait for the mail.
One page, zero euros; from the second page on, the whole document costs €3.99 including VAT. PDF delivery receipts are €2.99 including VAT, billed only once the transmission has succeeded.
Portugal: the number format to enter
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| International dialling code | +351 |
| ISO code | PT |
| Accepted format | Nine digits starting with 2, area code included; numbers starting with 9 are mobiles |
| Line example | 213456789 |
| Region | Europe |
Portugal: sample numbers, accepted or rejected
| Number tested | Verdict | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 21 345 6789 | Valid | Lisbon |
| 22 123 4567 | Valid | Porto |
| 253 123 456 | Valid | Braga |
| 912 345 678 | Rejected | Mobile number: beyond the reach of a fax |
| 0213 456 789 | Rejected | Extra zero: no prefix here |
| 21 345 678 | Rejected | Missing digits |
Area codes of the main cities
| City or line type | Dialling code |
|---|---|
| Lisbon | 21 |
| Porto | 22 |
| Braga | 253 |
| Coimbra | 239 |
| Faro | 289 |
| Funchal | 291 |
Portugal: organisations that still receive faxes
- Tax authorities (AT), Segurança Social and câmaras municipais often direct you to their portals; however, some local service desks still keep a fax for an occasional document.
- Clinics, laboratories and pharmacies still circulate reports and requests by fax, although the receita sem papel — the paperless prescription — is now the norm within the SNS.
- On the legal side, filings go through Citius; conservatórias — land, civil and commercial registries — and notaries still accept faxed documents in certain cases.
- Insurance companies, banks and contabilistas certificados sometimes accept faxes for an authorization or a signed form.
No organisation number is published here: take the one from your latest letter, or from the official website.
The official digital channel
Overview of tools: Segurança Social Direta, the Portal das Finanças and its e-Balcão for requests, the ePortugal / gov.pt portal accessible via Chave Móvel Digital or citizen card, the single digital address that receives state notifications, and Citius, reserved for legal representatives.
Portugal: time difference and office hours
| Time zone | Mainland Portugal and Madeira are on UTC+0 (WET), moving forward one hour in summer; the Azores are on UTC−1, switching to UTC+0 during the summer months. |
|---|---|
| Difference from Paris | One hour behind Paris for the mainland and Madeira; in the Azores, the difference doubles. |
| Usual hours | Public services are generally open from 9 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. local time, with a common lunch break between 1 and 2 p.m. A fax sent at 5 p.m. from Brussels reaches Lisbon at 4 p.m. |
Portugal: questions about sending
- Should I add a zero before a Portuguese number?
- No, that zero doesn't exist in Portugal: simply dial the nine digits as they are, 21 345 6789 for Lisbon. As for +351, it remains optional.
- A number starting with 9: why the rejection?
- That leading 9 indicates a mobile phone, and no mobile phone accepts faxes. Portuguese landlines invariably start with 2: ask your contact for the landline fax number.
- What's the best time window to fax Portugal?
- Subtract one hour from Brussels time, two for the Azores. A fax sent at 9 a.m. from Brussels reaches Lisbon at 8 a.m., often before opening: it will wait. For a same-day response, aim for the 10 a.m.–4 p.m. window, Brussels time.
Send a fax to Portugal
The other six countries
Countries covered
This topic
- Countries covered
- Dial code +1 — Ten digits in total: three for the region, seven for the subscriber, without the leading 1
- Dial code +33 — Ten digits in total, beginning with 01 through 05 or with 09; numbers beginning with 06 or 07 are mobiles
- Seven countries reachable over any connection, at the same rate for every destination.
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