Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Portugal?

Registration: conditions apply, for the keepers covered below. The national keeping rule, and the bird-flu and welfare rules, follow.

Read from 12 official sources43 passages quotedChecked November 8, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Conditions apply

National keeping rule

Rule with conditions

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule with conditions

A sourced reading of national law in Portugal, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Portugal

Applies to: People keeping a small number of non-game livestock, including birds, as a domestic holding (detenção caseira) for leisure or their own supply (Decreto-Lei 81/2013, art. 2(j)).

What the checked sources say

  • A domestic holding is exempt from livestock-activity (NREAP) licensing but must be registered in SNIRA before it starts (art. 2(j), wording set by Decreto-Lei 85/2015; the 2021 amendment, Decreto-Lei 9/2021, art. 130, rewrote arts 46 and 49).
  • It counts as a domestic holding only up to 3 CN in total and 2 CN per livestock species (art. 5(1), wording set by Decreto-Lei 144/2026). DGAV's registration form gives 100 as the maximum number of birds.
  • Birds and rabbits from a domestic holding may be sold at local producers' markets (art. 2(j), which refers to the Annex II limits).
  • Where to register: DGAV's procedure page sends you to the regional food and veterinary service and asks for an IFAP beneficiary number first. A 2019 decree gives the town hall mayor the task of registering domestic holdings (Decreto-Lei 20/2019, art. 3(1)(b)), with gradual take-up (art. 21(2)). Ask both if unsure.
  • In the Azores and Madeira the regime applies subject to adaptations by regional decree (Decreto-Lei 81/2013, art. 1(8)).

Thresholds

  • Up to 3 CN in total and 2 CN per livestock species (art. 5(1)); DGAV's form lists 100 birds.

Exemptions and their limits

  • No NREAP licence for a domestic holding within these limits (art. 2(j)).

Authority: DGAV regional food and veterinary service, or your câmara municipal (see conditions)

Fee: 4,59€ according to DGAV's registration procedure page (citing Despacho 10481/2026); municipalities set their own fees for the registration they provide (Decreto-Lei 20/2019, art. 3(2)).

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-11-08

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Rule identified for the scope below

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence.

Jurisdiction: Portugal

Applies to: Avian-influenza measures set by DGAV notices (aviso) and edicts (edital).

What the checked sources say

  • DGAV says that when outbreaks are confirmed in domestic birds its services apply the control measures in force, including restrictions in health restriction zones set by publishing an edital.
  • DGAV's director-general issues avian-influenza notices under Decreto-Lei 39 209 of 14 May 1953 and Decreto-Lei 110/2007, as Aviso n.º 21 of 19 December 2025 states. That notice made outdoor keeping of poultry in its listed high-risk parishes subject to nets, roofs or other means that prevent contact with wild birds.
  • DGAV's Edital n.º 49 of 13 April 2026 revoked Edital n.º 48, whose point 1 had confined domestic birds kept in high-risk zones; it stated that in high-risk areas the preventive measures of Aviso n.º 21 had to be followed and that Aviso n.º 21 remained in force.
  • This page does not say whether Aviso n.º 21 or any other measure applies now, or where; check DGAV's avian influenza page.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

Small-flock welfare minimums

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Portugal

Applies to: Owners and keepers of animals bred or kept to produce food or for other farming purposes (Decreto-Lei 64/2000, art. 3(a)).

Outside this finding's scope

  • Animals in the wild; animals for competitions, shows and cultural, sporting or similar events; animals used for experimental or other scientific purposes; invertebrates (art. 2(1)).

What the checked sources say

  • Take all necessary measures for the welfare of the animals in your care, so they suffer no unnecessary pain, injury or suffering (art. 4(1)).
  • On livestock holdings, animals are kept under the conditions of Annex A (art. 5(1)): animals kept outdoors need, where possible and necessary, protection against bad weather, predators and health risks (point 14), and food at suitable intervals and enough water of suitable quality (points 18-19).
  • A 2019 decree gives the town hall mayor the task of checking the welfare and health of domestic holdings under this decree (Decreto-Lei 20/2019, art. 3(1)(d)), with gradual take-up (art. 21(2)).
  • Quoted from the 2008 republication; DGAV still cites Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as amended by Decreto-Lei 155/2008. Whether hens kept only as pets are covered was not established.

The official wording

  • a) «Animal» qualquer espécimen vivo da fauna, criado ou mantido para a produção de géneros alimentícios, lã, pele com ou sem pelo, ou para outros fins agro-pecuários;

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished by Decreto-Lei 155/2008, art. 3(a) · Checked

  • 1 — Excluem-se do âmbito de aplicação deste decreto-lei: a) Os animais em meio selvagem; b) Os animais destinados a concursos, espectáculos e manifestações ou actividades culturais, desportivas ou outras similares; c) Os animais utilizados para fins experimentais ou outros fins científicos; d) Os animais invertebrados.

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished by Decreto-Lei 155/2008, art. 2(1) · Checked

  • 1 — O proprietário ou detentor dos animais deve tomar todas as medidas necessárias para assegurar o bem-estar dos animais ao seu cuidado e para garantir que não lhe sejam causadas dores, lesões ou sofrimentos desnecessários.

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished by Decreto-Lei 155/2008, art. 4(1) · Checked

  • 1 — Nas explorações pecuárias, os animais são criados e mantidos nas condições fixadas no anexo A do presente decreto-lei,

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished, art. 5(1), opening words · Checked

  • 14 — Os animais criados ao ar livre devem dispor, na medida do possível e se necessário, de protecção contra as intempéries, os predadores e os riscos sanitários.

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished, Annex A point 14 · Checked

  • 18 — Todos os animais devem ter acesso à alimentação a intervalos apropriados às suas necessidades fisiológicas. 19 — Os animais devem ter acesso a uma quantidade de água suficiente e de qualidade adequada ou poder satisfazer as necessidades de abeberamento de outra forma.

    Decreto-Lei 64/2000 as republished, Annex A points 18-19 · Checked

  • d) Assegurar o controlo do bem-estar e sanidade animal dos efetivos ou populações da classe 3 e detenção caseira, nos termos, designadamente, do Decreto-Lei n.º 64/2000, de 22 de abril, na sua redação atual.

    Decreto-Lei 20/2019, art. 3(1)(d) · Checked

  • O Decreto-Lei n.º 64/2000 , de 22 de abril, alterado pelo Decreto-Lei n.º 155/2008 , de 7 de agosto, estabelece as normas mínimas relativas à proteção dos animais nas explorações pecuárias,

    DGAV, Bem-Estar em Bovinos, general-law paragraph · Checked

National rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Portugal

Applies to: Keeping a small number of livestock, including hens, as a domestic holding (Decreto-Lei 81/2013, arts 2(j) and 5(1)).

What the checked sources say

  • National law sets a domestic-holding category for keeping a small number of livestock for leisure or your own supply: up to 3 CN in total and 2 CN per species, with SNIRA registration before you start (arts 2(j) and 5(1)).
  • A 2019 decree gives the town hall mayor the tasks of registering domestic holdings and checking that they meet the requirements (Decreto-Lei 20/2019, art. 3(1)(b)-(c)), with gradual take-up (art. 21(2)); DGAV's procedure page still sends applicants to its regional food and veterinary service, so ask both (see keeper registration).
  • In the Azores and Madeira the regime applies subject to adaptations by regional decree (Decreto-Lei 81/2013, art. 1(8)); those regional rules were not read.
  • Other municipal rules on keeping hens at home were not read; ask your câmara municipal.

The official wording

Selling eggs in Portugal? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Registration

More countries we've checked

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Portugal?
Registration: conditions apply. The finding covers: People keeping a small number of non-game livestock, including birds, as a domestic holding (detenção caseira) for leisure or their own supply (Decreto-Lei 81/2013, art. 2(j)). Up to 3 CN in total and 2 CN per livestock species (art. 5(1)); DGAV's form lists 100 birds. Exemptions and their limits: No NREAP licence for a domestic holding within these limits (art. 2(j)). Authority: DGAV regional food and veterinary service, or your câmara municipal (see conditions).
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Portugal?
The national sources we read set the limits shown under “National rules on keeping poultry” on this page, and don't settle the rest. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Portugal?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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