Regulation explainerJuly 6, 2026

Mandatory liability insurance for AL: what the law requires

Liability insurance is mandatory — and since 2025 the câmaras actually check. What the law requires (€75,000 minimum capital), where to submit proof on gov.pt, and how not to lose your registration.

Liability insurance is one of those AL requirements that everyone knows exists — but few people stop to check whether what they have actually meets the standard. And when something goes wrong, that's not the moment you want to find out it didn't.

Let's work through it calmly.

Updated 13 July 2026 — with the 2025/26 proof-of-insurance crisis and the gov.pt submission rules.

Half the registrations at risk: the proof-of-insurance crisis

If there were doubts about whether this gets enforced, 2025 settled them. In June, Diário de Notícias reported — echoed by CNN Portugal and ECO — that of roughly 124,000 active AL registrations, only 50,000 had submitted proof of the mandatory insurance: close to 70,000 registrations at risk of cancellation. The câmaras moved from words to action: Lisboa, Cascais and Sintra began notifying operators, giving 10 working days to submit the proof on the gov.pt portal; by year's end, nearly 50,000 registrations were still missing and the cancellations began — Porto announced the cancellation of 1,413 establishments in May 2026.

Some of those registrations were long-inactive "ghost licences" — the sector association estimated only around 20,000 belonged to properties actually operating. But the lesson applies to everyone: proving your insurance stopped being theoretical. And it repeats — the proof is required again at every policy renewal. Whoever handled this once and forgot is back in breach a year later.

What the law says

The legal framework governing alojamento local requires AL operators to hold a liability insurance policy covering damage caused to guests and third parties in the course of the activity. It's not optional, it's not a recommendation — it's a legal condition for operating.

The consequence isn't vague: lack of valid insurance is grounds for cancelling your registration (article 13-A(6) of the AL legal regime), decided by the mayor, with a prior hearing. And since Decree-Law 76/2024, the municipality can demand documentary proof of your insurance at any time — you have three days to provide it, on pain of cancellation (paragraph 7 of the same article).

What the policy must cover

The law sets a clear floor: the insured sum cannot be below €75,000 per claim (article 13-A(3) of the AL legal regime, as currently worded). The remaining conditions — cover, deductibles, exclusions — are regulated by Portaria no. 248/2021 of 29 June. Beyond the number, what matters is understanding the scope of cover:

Bodily injury caused to guests during their stay
Material damage to third-party property occurring on the premises
Civil liability towards third parties who aren't guests but are affected by the activity

Some standard home insurance policies include exclusions for commercial activity — which means your household policy may cover nothing related to AL. It's worth reading the policy carefully or asking your insurer directly.

What isn't the same as liability insurance

It's easy to mix up different types of cover. To keep it clear:

What it is	What it isn't
AL liability insurance (mandatory)	Multi-risk home insurance
Covers damage to guests and third parties	Covers damage to the property itself
Required by the AL legal framework	Required by your bank or condominium

You can hold both — and in many cases it makes sense to — but they're different products serving different purposes.

How to check you're actually covered

Three questions to put to your insurer:

Does the policy explicitly cover alojamento local activity? Ask for written confirmation.
What is the insured sum for civil liability? Compare it against the legal minimum of €75,000 per claim.
Are there any exclusions that could affect guests or commercial activity? Read the specific conditions, not just the general ones.

If the answer to any of these is vague or negative, that's your cue to review the policy.

Where (and when) you submit the proof

Submission happens on the official gov.pt service — "Entregar comprovativo de seguro do Alojamento Local", run by Turismo de Portugal: you authenticate (Chave Móvel Digital or Cartão de Cidadão), enter your RNAL number and upload the policy as a PDF. The right moments, per the service itself:

After your RNAL number is assigned, before starting activity — just registered? it's the next step;
Whenever you renew, pay or change the policy — it's not a one-time upload; every renewal requires proof again;
Whenever the câmara demands it — and then the deadline is the three days mentioned above.

A note on rigour: the platform-submission duty comes from the administrative service (gov.pt/RNAL), not from an article with an annual calendar — but the legal lever is real: missing insurance, or missing requested proof, is direct grounds for cancellation (article 9(1)(d)).

Documentation: the detail that makes the difference

Having the insurance is half the job. The other half is being able to prove you have it — and that it was valid — at the moment it matters.

Always keep:

The full policy (general and specific conditions)
The most recent premium receipt
Any correspondence from your insurer confirming AL cover

In the event of an inspection or a claim, this is the documentation that counts. Insurance you can't prove you have is, in practice, insurance you don't have.

Renewals: the silent risk

Policies renew annually — and that's precisely where many hosts find themselves unprotected without realising it. The policy lapses, a direct debit fails, the insurer changes the terms. Without a system to flag it, you only find out when it's too late.

Keeping a centralised record with the renewal date and an advance reminder is one of the simplest ways to avoid gaps in cover. It's not bureaucracy — it's basic risk management.

Liability insurance isn't the most glamorous part of running an AL. But it's one of the areas where the consequences of getting it wrong can be most serious — for your guests and for you.

This is where ALerta comes in

The 2025 crisis didn't happen because hosts had no insurance — in most cases, they did. It happened because the proof didn't reach the right place at the right time. That's exactly the kind of failure ALerta eliminates: we track your policy's validity, alert you ahead of renewal, and remind you to re-submit the proof on gov.pt — before the câmara notifies you with a three-day deadline. Join the waitlist. And if you're also juggling SIBA and tourist tax across several concelhos, all the more reason.