Public Conduct — Portugal
What travelers need to know about public conduct in Portugal. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Public Conduct in Portugal: allowed only under specific conditions.
Everyone over 16 in Portugal must carry an identification document whenever they are in a public place, a place open to the public or a place under police surveillance (Law 5/95, Art. 2). For non-EU travellers the accepted documents are a residence permit, a foreigner's identity card or a passport; EU citizens may also use a national identity card. Portuguese and EU nationals who cannot produce one may instead show an original document, or a certified copy, bearing their full name, signature and photograph - that fallback is not written for third-country nationals, so carry the passport itself rather than a photocopy. Police may demand identification only where there is grounded suspicion of one of the listed offence classes or of irregular entry or stay, and only after showing proof of their own status and explaining the concrete reason.
Law 5/95 sets no fine. If you cannot or will not identify yourself, Art. 3 allows police to take you to the nearest police station for the time strictly necessary to establish your identity, which may in no case exceed two hours.
§ Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa - Lei n.º 5/95, de 21 de Fevereiro (Obrigatoriedade do porte de documento de identificação), versão actualizada, última alteração Lei n.º 49/98 de 11/08, Arts. 1 a 3Verified Oct 4, 2026