Loss, theft or theft of documents: what to do?

If there is no Portuguese consulate or embassy in that country, you can contact an embassy or consulate in one of the European Union countries.

📌 Find out more information here about what you should do when traveling outside Portugal.

Lost or stolen bank cards: what to do?

As soon as you detect that your bank cards are lost, stolen or stolen, you must cancel them immediately. We advise you to do so promptly, to avoid card abuse, also because once the card issuer has been notified, the latter cannot be held responsible for amounts improperly moved.

However, if there have been improper transactions before notifying the card issuer, you will in principle have to pay amounts up to a maximum of 50 euros. Therefore, take action as soon as you discover it is missing. You can find the way to do this below, in this article, in How to cancel or block credit and debit cards.

Renewal of documents: what to do?

After reporting the loss, theft or theft of documents, it is necessary to arrange for their renewal.

Citizen card renewal

To renew your Citizen Card you can choose different ways:

1️⃣ Automatic renewal.
Valid for those who do not need to change the data on the Citizen’s Card (name, signature, photograph, address or contact details). This form is also subject to the following conditions:

• be a Portuguese citizen resident in Portugal;
• be 25 years old or older;
• having your Citizen’s Card expired, or expiring within 60 days, and without having requested its renewal using another method (online or in person);
• your fingerprints and photograph already exist in the service system of the Instituto dos Registos e Notariado (IRN) and have been updated in the latest renewal;
• not be included in the accompanied adult regime.

If you are in these conditions, you will receive a letter at home with the PIN codes of your citizen card, with a bank reference valid for 60 days. If you pay within this period, your citizen card will automatically renew. The new card will be sent to your home via registered mail at no additional cost.

2️⃣ Renewal online.
Valid for Portuguese citizens aged 25 years or older who need to change their surname, address and contact details, as long as one of the following conditions applies:

• if the validity of the card is about to expire or if it has expired less than 30 days ago;
• due to loss, destruction, theft or theft. Please notein this case the card should be valid for more than 60 days. The new card issued in this situation maintains the validity of the replaced card;
• In order to renew your Citizen Card online in the event of loss, destruction, theft or theft, you must request its cancellation.

3️⃣ Renewal of the Citizen’s Card in person.
This method allows any Citizen Card holder to renew at IRN service counters, in the Espaços Cidadão network with CC renewal service (this service is only available to citizens over 25 whose card details will not change), Lojas do Cidadão, at Lojas RIAC, in the Azores and at Portuguese consular offices, if you are outside Portugal.

AND We recommend making an appointment in advance via the Siga portal or the Citizen Card Line, (+351) 210 990 111 (weekdays, from 9:00 to 18:00).

4️⃣ Door I lost my wallet.
This is an in-person or telephone desk where you can request the replacement of documents due to loss, theft, theft or modification of personal data (name and address). It works only by appointment (by calling 300 003 990), exclusively at the Lisbon Citizen Shop – Laranjeiras (weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00).

❗Important: The use is module from the Banco de Portugal to report the loss of identity documents. Its goal is to prevent fraud using lost documents by reporting such loss to the banking system.