Type of refusal
Non-payment with a counterparty in Portugal
The counterparty in a Portuguese non-payment dispute is usually a company; sometimes it is a person who signed a personal guarantee. Before any non-payment claim moves forward, two things can be checked without touching Portugal's internal procedure. The public record shows who you actually dealt with. The enforcement question shows where a judgment would eventually need to go.
Who is actually on the other side
The other side is typically a sociedade por quotas or a sociedade anónima, occasionally an individual under a personal guarantee. Portugal's commercial registry, covered on our Portugal jurisdiction page, records incorporation, directors, registered capital, and charges filed against the company. It does not show whether the entity still holds the assets it represented when the investment was made, or whether money later moved to a related structure. When several investors put money into what looks like one scheme, the entities behind it are not always the same one; see how one claim can involve several investors. A registry extract confirms who signed and who controls the entity now. It does not confirm solvency.
What to secure before the counterparty reacts
Before approaching the counterparty, gather what proves the investment happened and what it was meant to buy, including the original subscription or loan agreement, the payment instructions used, confirmation the transfer completed, and every message promising redemption or repayment. Record the exact wording of every missed deadline as it was written. Note which entity received the funds and which one made the promises; a payment and redemption default often involves more than one entity, and they are frequently different. Some non-payment situations carry a criminal dimension alongside the civil one; that line is covered separately in when non-payment of private debt becomes criminal. None of this material is filed anywhere yet. It exists only if you keep it now.
Where a judgment would have to be enforced
Portugal is an EU member state. A judgment from another EU member state is recognised here without a separate exequatur procedure. A judgment from outside the EU depends on whether both states are bound by the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention; the EU joined it for its member states on 29 August 2022, in force from 1 September 2023. Foreign public documents generally need an apostille; Portugal has filed a reservation on this, position 13, in force since 4 February 1969. Domestic steps depend on the case file and are not set out here. Enforcing a Portuguese decision abroad follows its own route; see enforcement from Portugal to the UK and enforcement to Portugal. This work is billed as a fixed assessment. It does not carry a share of recovery as a fee. The firm's registration is checkable in the public register; see how to verify a law firm.