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Legal Aid Simulator (Portugal)

Whoever cannot afford a court case in Portugal can apply to Social Security for legal aid: a waiver or phased payment of court fees and a lawyer appointed and paid by the State. Enter your household’s annual net income and size to simulate the Law 34/2004 means test for 2026.

Add up the whole household's net income for a full year, after income tax and Social Security (for a monthly salary, count all 14 payments). The household is everyone living with you as one economic unit. The household's bank deposits and listed securities (shares, bonds, listed funds) only matter for the legal exclusion cap.

Simulation result
Full waiver
Relevant income (monthly)
€388.23

With relevant income up to 3/4 of the IAS you qualify for every legal aid modality: waiver of court fees and other case charges, appointment and payment of a lawyer, an enforcement agent, and free legal consultation.

2026 thresholds (IAS of €537.13): full waiver up to €402.85 of monthly relevant income; phased payment up to €1,342.83. Victims of domestic violence and of crimes against sexual freedom and self-determination are presumed economically insufficient (article 8.º-C).

The relevant income follows the formula annexed to Law 34/2004: basic-needs and housing deductions, with coefficients set per income bracket, are taken off the household's net income. Not modelled here is the implicit financial rent Social Security adds to the income when there are assets beyond the bank account (a second home, a main home worth over €100,000, cars): with relevant assets the real result can move up a tier.

Educational estimate, not legal or financial advice. The decision belongs to Social Security; official values: Law 34/2004 and the Social Security simulator.

What legal aid is and what it covers

Apoio judiciário is the part of Portuguese legal protection that deals with the costs of a case (Law 34/2004). Depending on the tier, it covers the waiver of court fees and other charges, the appointment and payment of a lawyer (the advogado oficioso), the phased payment of those expenses and the assignment of an enforcement agent. Legal protection also includes the consulta jurídica: a meeting with a lawyer to clarify a concrete case, free in the first tier and subject to a €30 fee in the second (Portaria 10/2008). It is requested from Social Security, online through Segurança Social Direta or at a service desk, and the decision is due within 30 days.

How the relevant income is calculated

Social Security does not look at the gross salary: it computes the “relevant income for legal protection” with the formula annexed to Law 34/2004. It starts from the whole household’s annual net receipts (after income tax and Social Security) and takes off two deductions: one for basic needs, which grows with the household size, and one for housing costs, both with coefficients set per income bracket in the annex tables. The result, divided by 12, is compared with the IAS: up to 3/4 of the IAS (€402.85 in 2026) everything is waived; up to 2.5 times the IAS (€1,342.83) payment is phased; above that there is no economic insufficiency. When the household owns assets beyond the bank account, the law also adds an “implicit financial rent” on those assets to the income, which this simulator does not compute.

Phased payment and the asset caps

In the middle tier you pay in instalments: the monthly instalment is 1/72 of the annual relevant income when it stays at or below 1.5 times the IAS per month, and 1/36 above that (article 16.º, n.º 2). Instalments falling due more than four years after the final decision are no longer payable, whoever has paid more than four times the initial court fee can stop, and instalments below €51 (0.5 units of account) are collected quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. There is also a hard asset cap: if the household’s bank deposits and listed securities exceed 24 times the IAS (€12,891.12), the law rules out economic insufficiency regardless of income. In borderline cases the district centre director can decide differently by reasoned order (article 8.º-A, n.º 8).

Worked example

Take a couple with no children netting €12,000 a year (about €857 a month over 14 payments). The annual income falls in the €9,000-€13,500 bracket, with coefficients of 0.288 (basic needs) and 0.207 (housing); with two people, the annex formula leaves a relevant income of €4,658.71 a year, that is €388.23 a month. Since that is below €402.85 (3/4 of the IAS), the couple gets the full waiver: no court fees, no charges, and a State-paid lawyer. A single person netting €10,000 a year lands at €420.83 a month: they pay in instalments of €70.14 a month (1/72 of the annual figure). And a single person netting €30,000 a year (€1,497.50 of monthly relevant income) sits above 2.5 IAS and does not qualify.

Frequently asked questions

What is apoio judiciário (Portuguese legal aid)?
It is the legal protection Social Security grants to whoever cannot afford a case: a waiver or phased payment of court fees and charges, the appointment and payment of a lawyer and an enforcement agent (Law 34/2004). Alongside it there is the consulta jurídica, to clarify doubts with a lawyer before any case exists.
Who qualifies for legal aid in Portugal in 2026?
Whoever is in economic insufficiency: with the household’s monthly relevant income up to €402.85 (3/4 of the IAS) everything is granted with a full waiver; up to €1,342.83 (2.5 times the IAS) payment is phased; above that there is no entitlement. The relevant income follows the annex formula, with basic-needs and housing deductions, so it lands well below the household’s actual net income.
How do you apply for legal aid with Social Security?
Online, through Segurança Social Direta (Social action > Social supports > Legal Protection), or at any service desk with form PJ 1. You attach identification and the household’s income documents (tax return, payslips). The district centre’s decision is due within 30 consecutive days; if a document is missing you get 10 working days to hand it in, or the request is refused.
Is the court-appointed lawyer free?
It depends on the tier. Under the full waiver, the appointment and payment of the lawyer are borne by the State and the beneficiary pays nothing. Under phased payment, the beneficiary pays the lawyer’s compensation in monthly instalments to the Ministry of Justice. The lawyer is chosen and appointed by the Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados), not by Social Security.
How much do you pay under phased payment?
The monthly instalment is 1/72 of the household’s annual relevant income, or 1/36 when the monthly relevant income exceeds 1.5 times the IAS (€805.70 in 2026). Instalments falling due more than 4 years after the case ends stop being payable, and whoever has already paid more than 4 times the initial court fee can stop paying the rest.
Do owning a home or having savings remove the entitlement?
Savings have an express cap: deposits and listed securities above 24 times the IAS (€12,891.12 in 2026) exclude legal aid whatever the income. The family home only enters the computation for the part of its value above €100,000, through the implicit financial rent the law adds to the income; a second home or other assets count in full.
What if the request is refused?
Social Security must warn you in writing before refusing, giving 10 working days to respond or add documents. The final decision can be challenged in court (impugnação judicial), filed at the Social Security service itself, which forwards it to the competent court. In borderline cases the district centre director can still grant the aid by specially reasoned order, when strictly applying the criteria would manifestly deny access to justice (article 8.º-A, n.º 8).

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Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-08-04