AI calling in Portugal: the rules
Portugal is stricter than the UK. Individuals and sole traders need to have agreed before a marketing call; companies can be called unless they have objected to you or are on the DGC list.
This is not legal advice
This guide quotes the law and the regulators’ own pages and says where they are silent. It cannot tell you whether your campaign is lawful: that depends on who you call, where your list came from and what you say. For a decision that matters, ask a solicitor (UK) or an advogado (Portugal). Every source below was read on 4 October 2026; laws and guidance change, so check the date before you rely on it.
Portugal in four lines
- Individuals, including sole traders: prior, express consent before a marketing call (Lei 41/2004 art. 13.º-A(1), and the CNPD’s Diretriz 2022/1 for calls made by people too).
- Companies (pessoas coletivas): you may call until they refuse (to you directly, or by joining the list), and you must check the DGC’s list of companies that refuse marketing, updated monthly (art. 13.º-A(2), 13.º-B).
- Consumers: no calls before 09:00 or after 22:00 in their time zone unless agreed; say who you are, for whom and why, at the start (Decreto-Lei 134/2009 art. 7.º).
- Recording: tell the person and get their consent (Lei 41/2004 art. 4.º(3)). Since 2 August 2026, say it is an AI at the first interaction (EU AI Act art. 50).
Individuals need consent, even when a person makes the call
Article 13.º-A(1) of Lei 41/2004 requires the “consentimento prévio expresso” of subscribers who are natural persons for unsolicited marketing, naming automatic calling devices among the means. The CNPD’s Diretriz 2022/1 (25 January 2022) reads the rule as covering calls made “através de intervenção humana” too, and says that without a prior relationship marketing is allowed “apenas com o consentimento prévio e expresso do titular”. An existing customer can be contacted about similar products (the soft opt-in in art. 13.º-A(3)) only if they were given a clear chance to refuse when their details were collected and are given it again in every message.
For hospitality this matters: a café, bar or small restaurant run by an empresário em nome individual is a natural person under this rule. Check the legal form before you call.
Companies: the DGC list
Calls to companies are allowed until they refuse, either to you directly or by registering on the list kept by the Direção-Geral do Consumidor (DGC) under article 13.º-B(2). Marketers must consult that list, which the law says the DGC updates monthly, and keep their own list of who consented and who objected (13.º-B(1)). We found no official do-not-call list for consumers in the law; the DGC list covers legal persons only.
Calling hours for consumers
Decreto-Lei 134/2009 article 7.º(1) says calls to consumers must respect normal rest periods and are “nunca antes das 9 horas nem depois das 22 horas do fuso horário do consumidor” unless agreed in advance. The rule is written for call centres serving consumers; calls to companies are arguably outside it, but 09:00 to 22:00 is a sensible limit for any call.
Who enforces it, and the fines
The CNPD enforces the consent, list and recording rules (Lei 41/2004 art. 15.º). For unlawful marketing communications the fines range from €1,500 to €25,000 for individuals and from €5,000 to €5,000,000 for companies (art. 14.º).
In FoxEra Calls
Unless a different language is set on the contact or its company, calls to +351 numbers are made in European Portuguese, and the agent switches if the person answers in a full sentence in another language. Calling hours, the one-call-a-day rule and opt-outs apply to every country. The DGC list check and the consent records are yours to keep: FoxEra does not check the DGC list for you.
Sources (read 4 October 2026)
- Lei n.º 41/2004, consolidated (Diário da República) (read 4 October 2026)
- CNPD Diretriz 2022/1 on direct marketing (read 4 October 2026)
- DGC: list of legal persons who refuse unsolicited marketing (read 4 October 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 134/2009, consolidated (read 4 October 2026)
- Lei n.º 58/2019 (GDPR implementation) (read 4 October 2026)
- EU AI Act, Article 50 (AI Act Service Desk) (read 4 October 2026)
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I cold call businesses in Portugal?
Companies (pessoas coletivas) can be called until they refuse, to you directly or by registering on the DGC list, which you must consult. Individuals and sole traders need prior express consent.
What hours can you call consumers in Portugal?
Not before 09:00 or after 22:00 in the consumer’s time zone, unless agreed in advance (Decreto-Lei 134/2009, art. 7.º).
Who enforces marketing call rules in Portugal?
The CNPD, for consent, the DGC list duty and call recording. Fines for companies range from €5,000 to €5,000,000.