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Court Fees Calculator (Portugal)

Filing a case in a Portuguese court pays a fee, the taxa de justiça, calculated in units of account (UC) from the tables of the court-costs regulation (RCP). Pick the type of procedure and enter the value of the claim to see the 2026 fee, with the UC at €102.

Value of one unit of account (UC) in 2026: €102.00, kept unchanged by the State Budget (article 242.º of Law 73-A/2025). Tables I and II of the court-costs regulation (RCP).

Court fee
€510.00
In units of account
5 UC
Each of the two instalments (half)€255.00

In court actions, each party pays this fee with its first pleading: the claimant with the claim, the defendant with the defence. It can be paid in two equal instalments; the second falls due 10 days after notice of the final hearing and is not due at all in several cases, for example when the case ends undefended (articles 13.º, 14.º and 14.º-A of the RCP).

The court fee is only one part of the costs: expert fees and other charges, the winner's recoverable costs (custas de parte), lawyers' and enforcement agents' fees, exemptions and legal aid, and the aggravated rates of special cases are all outside this calculator.

Educational estimate, not legal or financial advice. Official values: Regulamento das Custas Processuais.

What the taxa de justiça is and who pays it

The taxa de justiça is the price of moving a case forward: it is paid for filing a claim, contesting it, appealing, applying for an injunção or starting enforcement (article 6.º of the Regulamento das Custas Processuais). In court actions each party pays its own fee, the claimant with the initial claim and the defendant with the defence, and the amount comes from Table I-A based on the value of the action: 1 UC up to €2,000, 2 UC up to €8,000, 3 UC up to €16,000, and so on up to 16 UC for actions up to €275,000. The fee is expressed in units of account (UC), worth €102 each in 2026.

Instalments, appeals, injunções and enforcement

In court actions the fee can be paid in two equal instalments: the first with the pleading and the second within 10 days of the notice of the final hearing; if the case ends earlier, for example undefended, the second instalment is never due (articles 13.º, 14.º and 14.º-A of the RCP). Appeals use Table I-B, exactly half of I-A, on the value of the part of the decision challenged. Injunções pay 0.5 UC, 1 UC or 1.5 UC depending on the amount. In enforcement, when the steps are carried out by an enforcement agent, the normal case, the fee is 0.25 UC up to €30,000 and 0.5 UC above; carried out by a court bailiff it rises to 2 UC or 4 UC.

Above €275,000 and what stays out

In cases worth more than €275,000, on top of the initial 16 UC the fee grows by 3 UC per €25,000 or fraction above that ceiling (half of that on appeal). This remainder is only settled in the final account of the case, the judge can waive it with reasons, and it is not due if the case ends before the evidence phase concludes (article 6.º, n.os 7 and 8). Outside this calculator: the special-complexity column (Table I-C, a judge’s decision), the aggravated rates for mass litigants, interim measures, criminal cases, charges such as expert fees, the winner’s recoverable costs, exemptions and legal aid, which has its own rules.

Worked example

Say you sue to recover €30,000. Under Table I-A the court fee is 5 UC, that is €510 at the 2026 UC. The claimant pays it with the claim, and can split it into two instalments of €255; a defendant who contests pays the same. If the debt is backed by a contract or invoices and you use an injunção instead, the fee is 1.5 UC (€153); and if the injunção is not contested it moves straight to enforcement, where the fee with an enforcement agent is 0.5 UC (€51). At the other extreme, an action worth €430,500 pays 16 UC (€1,632) upfront plus a remainder of 21 UC (€2,142) at the end, €3,774 in total.

Frequently asked questions

What is the taxa de justiça?
It is the fee paid to the court for moving a case forward: filing an action, contesting it, appealing, applying for an injunção or for enforcement. It is set by the Regulamento das Custas Processuais and calculated in units of account (UC) on the value of the case. In 2026, 1 UC is €102.
How much is the unit of account (UC) in 2026?
It is €102. The regulation indexes the UC to the IAS, but successive State Budgets have frozen it; article 242.º of Law 73-A/2025, of 30 December, keeps it at €102 for 2026, the same value as in previous years.
How much does it cost to file a court action in Portugal?
It depends on the value of the action, under Table I-A: €102 (1 UC) up to €2,000, €204 up to €8,000, €306 up to €16,000, €510 up to €30,000, €918 up to €100,000 and €1,632 up to €275,000. Each party pays its own fee; above €275,000 a remainder is settled at the end. The fee is only the entry cost: lawyers’ fees, charges and the other side’s recoverable costs are separate.
Can the court fee be paid in instalments?
In actions under tables I-A and I-C, yes: two equal instalments, the first with the pleading (claim or defence) and the second within 10 days of the notice of the final hearing. In several cases the second never falls due, for example when the action ends undefended or before a hearing is scheduled (article 14.º-A of the RCP).
How much does an injunção cost?
Under Table II of the RCP: 0.5 UC (€51) for debts up to €5,000, 1 UC (€102) from €5,000.01 to €15,000 and 1.5 UC (€153) from €15,000.01. If the debtor opposes and the case proceeds as a court action, the amount already paid is credited against the action’s fee.
Does the winner get the court fee back?
As a rule yes: the losing party is ordered to pay costs and the winner claims its recoverable costs (custas de parte), which include the court fee it paid, in proportion to the win. Recovery is not automatic, it requires filing a costs note, and it is capped at what the law allows.
What if someone cannot afford the court fee?
They can apply for legal aid (apoio judiciário) at Social Security (Law 34/2004), in the form of a waiver or phased payment of court fees and other charges. Eligibility depends on a means test on household income. Recipients of minimum social benefits, such as the RSI, normally qualify.

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Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-08-03