Medical Certificate in Porto: Online, Same-Day from €34.99
- Certificate types covering every common Portugal use case
- Licensed physicians registered to assess cases in Portugal, reviewing every request
- Same-day delivery, usually within 30 minutes of doctor approval
- Full refund if the doctor cannot issue your certificate
- 🇵🇹 EUR pricing
- RGPD (Portugal's GDPR)
- Accepted by employers, schools & sports clubs
Yes — anyone in Porto can have a case assessed online by a registered doctor without booking an appointment. There is one flat price, €34.99, across all six certificate types. It states the doctor's findings for an employer, school, club or insurer in Portugal. It is not a CIT, which only a doctor inside the SNS can issue.
Last updated: 10 September 2026
Reviewed by Dr. Anjum Ilahi (MBBS, MS) GMC · Cardiology and MRCPI
✓ 150+ customers served in Porto
Getting a Medical Certificate in Porto
Porto is the north's largest city and a major business centre in its own right, with an economy built around trade, services and the tourism the historic centre and river draw in — alongside the Port wine industry the city is known for worldwide. That range of employer means sick-leave documentation gets handled quite differently depending on where in the city you work, even though Segurança Social's expectations underneath are national.
Universidade do Porto is one of the largest universities in the country, and illness affecting exams, coursework or a placement is normally handled through the institution's own process, with its own evidence requirements — worth reading before requesting anything.
This is not a Porto practice with a waiting room — the review happens online, and the doctor who looks at your case is registered to assess cases in Portugal generally, not tied to any address in the city. If getting across town to a surgery is the obstacle, that is exactly what this avoids.
Porto is split between two Unidades Locais de Saúde, and which one covers you depends on your freguesia rather than on the city as a whole. ULS São João, built around Hospital de São João in Asprela, covers Bonfim, Paranhos, Campanhã and Aldoar along with the municipalities of Maia and Valongo, and also acts as a regional referral centre for parts of the Porto, Braga and Viana do Castelo districts. ULS Santo António, around Hospital de Santo António, covers much of the rest. Both are well covered by national standards: SNS data for June 2026 shows 14,406 of 356,796 registered users without an assigned médico de família at ULS São João, about 4 percent, and 12,136 of 358,064 at ULS Santo António, about 3.4 percent — a fraction of the 15 percent national figure and a world away from Lisbon or the Algarve.
So the honest position in Porto is that most people do have a family doctor, and the reason they still look online is timing. Hospital de São João's referral role means its emergency and outpatient services absorb demand from well beyond the city, which makes it a poor route to a document even when it is the nearest large hospital. Porto's own demand pattern reflects an economy of trade, services, technology and a tourism sector that has grown substantially, with visitor numbers and hospitality staffing peaking in summer and around the São João festivities in late June. Shift and hospitality work, which is common across the city centre and the riverfront, produces steady requests for Return to Work documentation after longer absences and for General Fitness certificates before physically demanding roles.
The Port wine industry
A recognisable part of Porto's economy and a source of employment in the wider metro area, alongside general trade, services and tourism.
A major business centre
Porto has its own substantial employer base independent of Lisbon. Absence procedures follow the employer, not the city, so check your own contract or staff handbook.
Universidade do Porto
Handles illness affecting exams, coursework or a placement through its own process, with its own evidence requirements set by the institution.
A wide surrounding catchment
People commute into Porto from across the wider district. Being too unwell to make that journey is a reasonable reason to use an online assessment instead.
All Certificate Types Available in Portugal
Every certificate type is reviewed by a licensed physician registered to assess cases in Portugal before it is issued. Choose the certificate that matches your situation, or get in touch if you're unsure which one applies. Each type is priced separately because the questions a doctor needs to review differ: a sports fitness assessment, for example, covers different ground than a short sick-leave request.
Sick Leave Certificate (Atestado Médico)
For work absence in Portugal, including documentation that can support a subsídio de doença claim through Segurança Social. Reviewed against the details of your specific absence, with the aim of giving you something you can hand to your employer the same day.
From €34.99Sports Fitness Certificate
For Portuguese sports clubs, school sport, and competitions that request medical clearance before allowing participation, including many youth and competitive categories. Valid 12 months, so it can cover a full season rather than a single event.
From €34.99General Fitness Certificate
For gym membership sign-up and general fitness programmes in Portugal where a health declaration or medical clearance is requested before you begin, including for higher-intensity training programmes.
From €34.99General Medical Certificate
For insurance claims, education-related absence documentation, legal proceedings, and other general purposes in Portugal that require a doctor's certificate confirming a specific health matter.
From €34.99How It Works in Porto
Complete assessment
Takes about 3-5 minutes. Select the certificate type you need, confirm Portugal as your country, and answer the relevant health questions honestly and in detail: the more context you give, the easier it is for the doctor to assess your case. No payment is taken at this stage.
Licensed doctor reviews
A licensed physician registered to assess cases in Portugal reviews your answers against your stated situation, generally during business hours (WET/CET), Monday to Friday, and may contact you if more information is needed before deciding whether it's appropriate to issue a certificate.
Receive your PDF
If the doctor is able to issue your certificate, it's emailed the same day, usually within 30 minutes of approval, as a PDF showing the doctor's credentials and a reference number an employer, school, or club can use to verify it. If the doctor cannot issue it, you receive a full refund instead.
Who Asks for a Medical Certificate in Porto
Porto employers
A certificate from a doctor registered to assess cases in Portugal supports the documentation an employer generally expects for a sick-leave absence. It is not a CIT, so it cannot by itself open a subsídio de doença claim.
Your employer's own records
Supporting documentation for your employer's own absence-notification process. The statutory subsídio de doença route runs on a CIT issued inside the SNS, which this certificate is not. Confirm current requirements for your own case, since steps can vary.
Universidade do Porto and colleges
Commonly requested where illness has affected exams, coursework or a placement. Each institution sets its own evidence requirements.
Insurers and other bodies
General medical certificates for insurance claims and similar purposes. What matters to them is generally that a genuine assessment took place.
Portugal Pricing: All Certificate Types
| Certificate Type | Our Price | Typical Private Doctor Visit |
|---|---|---|
| Sick Leave Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Sports Fitness Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| General Fitness Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Fit to Fly Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Return to Work Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| General Medical Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
€30-60 is a typical range reported for a private in-person doctor consultation in Portugal and can vary by clinic, city, and whether it's a general practice or specialist appointment; public system costs differ and depend on your specific coverage. Our price is fixed and shown before you start, and you're only charged once the doctor has reviewed your case.
Portugal Legal Snapshot: What Applies in Porto
Sick-leave and certificate rules are set nationally, so what follows applies in Porto exactly as it does anywhere else in Portugal.
Yes — you can get a medical certificate (doctor's note) in Portugal online, reviewed by a registered doctor and usually issued the same day, from €34.99. In Portugal, an employee who is unable to work due to illness generally needs to notify their employer of the absence and, where the aim is to claim the statutory sickness subsidy (subsídio de doença) through Segurança Social, a medical certificate, the atestado médico or certificado de incapacidade temporária para o trabalho, is generally required and registered as part of that claim. Exact timing and documentation requirements can vary by employer and can be updated by Segurança Social, so treat this as general guidance rather than a substitute for checking the current process for your specific case. For sport, fitness, travel, or general purposes such as insurance, education, or legal matters, a separate certificate type applies: see the full list of certificate types below. In everyday English this is often just called a doctor's note for Portugal, even where the official local term differs.
| Local document name | Atestado médico / certificado de incapacidade temporária para o trabalho: commonly translated into English as "medical certificate" or "temporary incapacity for work certificate." |
|---|---|
| When it's generally needed | Generally required promptly for the specific absence, with the certificate registered through Segurança Social to support a sick-pay claim. Segurança Social's subsídio de doença also generally applies a 3-day "período de espera" (waiting period) before the subsidy itself is paid, with exceptions for cases such as tuberculosis, oncological illness, hospitalisation, and outpatient surgery; check current requirements as processes can be updated. |
| Who can generally issue it | A licensed physician in Portugal, following a genuine assessment of the individual case. |
| How it's typically used | Generally registered through Segurança Social as supporting documentation for a subsídio de doença claim, alongside your employer's own absence-notification process. |
| Governing framework | Segurança Social's rules on subsídio de doença (the statutory sickness subsidy), which are periodically reviewed and updated. |
| Data protection law | RGPD: the Portuguese name for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) itself, which applies directly in Portugal. |
Note on subsídio de doença: eligibility conditions, any waiting days, and payment levels for Portugal's statutory sickness subsidy are set and periodically reviewed by Segurança Social, and the exact documentation an employer expects can vary by sector and company policy. When a certificate is transmitted electronically by the issuing health service, no separate submission is generally needed; where a paper certificate is issued instead, Segurança Social has generally expected it to be delivered to your local Segurança Social service point within a few business days. Confirm current thresholds, deadlines, and required paperwork directly with Segurança Social, your employer's HR team, or a local adviser before relying on this page for a specific case.
Our Portugal Medical Team
Every certificate issued for Portugal is reviewed by a licensed physician registered to assess cases in Portugal. Your doctor's credentials are shown on the certificate itself, so an employer, school, club, or airline can see who reviewed your case. A physician will only issue a certificate after genuinely assessing the details you provide and confirming it's clinically appropriate to do so for your specific situation; if it isn't, you receive a full refund.
We don't publish a single named "resident doctor" for Portugal, because your case is reviewed by whichever licensed physician on our team is available and appropriately qualified for the certificate type you've requested. This means review times stay fast even outside of peak hours, while every certificate still reflects an individual clinical judgment rather than an automated decision.
Registered practitioners, not a call centre.
Every doctor is independently verified against their national medical council before they see a single patient - including for patients in Porto.
Dr. Gonçalo D.
Reg. #Ordem dos Médicos: 53806Dr. Diogo F.G.
Reg. #Ordem dos Médicos: 53902GDoc Santarém
Reg. #Dr. Tarek A.
Reg. #Ordem dos Médicos: 67537Medical Certificates in Porto: Common Questions
No. The assessment is completed online by a doctor registered to assess cases in Portugal, so your location within the country makes no difference to the process or the price. This page exists because people search for their own city.
Our certificate is €34.99 flat, covering the doctor's review, the PDF and its verification reference. A private doctor visit in Portugal commonly falls somewhere in the €50-€120 range. A certificate is not a substitute for care, though — if you need to be examined or treated, see a doctor in person.
Not in the way people sometimes assume. Segurança Social's subsídio de doença generally applies a 3-day período de espera before the subsidy payment itself starts, with exceptions for cases such as tuberculosis, oncological illness, hospitalisation and outpatient surgery. That is about when the payment begins, not about when you need a certificate for the absence — the certificate is normally still needed promptly. Check current Segurança Social requirements for your specific situation.
Not on its own. That claim runs on a CIT — certificado de incapacidade temporária — which only a doctor inside the SNS can issue and transmit to Segurança Social. This certificate is supporting documentation for your employer, not that filing. Registration and submission steps can vary, so it is worth confirming current requirements before you submit.
Same day, usually within 30 minutes of the doctor approving your case during business hours. Some cases take longer where the doctor needs more information before deciding.
It depends on your freguesia: ULS São João covers Bonfim, Paranhos, Campanhã and Aldoar plus Maia and Valongo, while ULS Santo António covers much of the remainder of the city. It makes no difference to our assessment, which is online and national. It matters if you need something only the public service can provide — a statutory CIT, or actual treatment — because that is where you would go, and in Porto your chances of having a family doctor to start with are good, at around 96 percent of registered users in both units.
That is what it is for, at €34.99: a registered doctor's documented assessment that you are fit to resume the work you describe, after an absence. Two things to check first. If the absence was covered by a CIT, the SNS side of it has its own closing process that we are not part of. And larger employers, especially industrial ones, often require their own occupational health clearance before a return, in which case their assessment is the one that counts and ours is at best supporting paperwork.
Requests can be submitted at any time but are reviewed during business hours, so an overnight or late-evening submission is picked up the next working day. Approved cases then usually arrive within about 30 minutes. If you work nights or an early shift, submit as early in the working day as you can rather than immediately before you are due in. Anything that genuinely cannot wait is a clinical question, and SNS 24 or an urgência is the right route for that, not a certificate.
General Fitness, at €34.99, is the one aimed at general fitness for a role or activity rather than for a named sport. A registered doctor assesses what you describe and decides whether to confirm it. Be aware of the limit: where a role carries a legal occupational health requirement, Portuguese employers have their own medicina do trabalho obligations and an in-person examination by their appointed occupational physician is what satisfies those. A general certificate does not replace a statutory occupational health assessment.
For the Segurança Social side, no — that runs on the CIT, which only an SNS doctor can issue and which is transmitted electronically rather than handed over as a PDF. Some Porto employers will accept a private certificate for their own internal absence records, particularly for short absences with no benefit claim, and others will not accept anything but SNS documentation. The distinction is worth settling with HR before you pay, because no amount of verification detail on our PDF turns it into a CIT.
A certificate anyone can check - in seconds.
Every certificate is issued by a doctor registered with their national medical council, after a real assessment, and carries a reference code that resolves instantly - whether your employer is in Dublin, Berlin or Warsaw.
- ✓Issued only after a genuine clinical review
- ✓Unique reference code, checkable by anyone
- ✓Covers sick leave, fitness-to-work & carer's leave
- ✓Delivered as a signed PDF within the hour
