By Pascal Niggli · Co-founder of remodel · Last updated July 2026
The right questions to ask a Portuguese contractor cover four areas: licensing (alvará class and IMPIC status), insurance, payment structure, and permit responsibility. Foreign owners often skip these because the conversation happens informally, in a second language, or under time pressure to get a quote fast, and the gaps only surface once work is underway and there's no written answer to point back to. remodel structures this vetting into its matching process, so every contractor an owner meets has already answered these questions before the introduction happens.
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Question categories
16
Specific questions
IMPIC
Verify before you ask
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Pre-vetted matching
What's in this guide
Alvará class and IMPIC status should be confirmed before any other question is asked
Liability insurance (seguro de responsabilidade civil) protects the owner, not just the contractor
Payment schedules tied to milestones prevent the most common source of project disputes
Permit responsibility for câmara municipal filing must be assigned in writing, not assumed
remodel pre-answers all four categories before a contractor is matched to a project
Why the Right Questions Matter More Than the Right Answers
The questions an owner asks a contractor matter more than the answers received, because a written response to a direct question creates a record, a vague verbal reassurance does not.
For foreign owners, this distinction carries extra weight. A contractor may answer confidently in a rushed conversation, but confidence isn't documentation. If a dispute arises later over scope, payment, or timeline, what was actually said in that first meeting is rarely recoverable. The questions below are designed to produce answers an owner can hold a contractor to, a licence number, an insurance certificate, a payment schedule, not just a verbal assurance that "everything will be fine."
Licensing Questions: Alvará and IMPIC Status
The first question to ask any Portuguese contractor is their alvará class and whether it covers a project of this scope and value, since the licence is graded and a contractor authorised for small residential work isn't automatically authorised for a full structural renovation.
Specific questions to ask:
Q.What is your alvará class and category?
Q.Can you provide your alvará number so I can verify it against IMPIC records?
Q.Has your licence ever been suspended or revoked?
Q.Do you subcontract any trades, and are those subcontractors also vetted and verified?
A contractor who can't produce an alvará number, or answers vaguely about licensing, has already given the most important answer of the conversation.
Insurance and Liability Questions
Every contractor should be asked directly whether they carry current liability insurance (seguro de responsabilidade civil), since this is what protects the owner, not the contractor, if structural damage or a defect appears after the project is complete.
Specific questions to ask:
Q.Can I see your current liability insurance certificate?
Q.Does your coverage extend to subcontracted trades working on my project?
Q.What happens if damage is discovered after handover, does your insurance still apply?
Q.Do you carry separate coverage for structural work versus finishing work?
Insurance without a certificate to check is a claim, not a fact. This question should be answered with paperwork, not reassurance.
Payment and Timeline Questions
Payment structure should be confirmed in writing before signing, with releases tied to milestone completion and inspection sign-off rather than the contractor's own calendar or invoicing schedule.
Specific questions to ask:
Q.What percentage is due at each stage, and what triggers that payment?
Q.Is any payment due before work begins, and if so, how much?
Q.What happens to my payment schedule if the project runs over the agreed timeline?
Q.Who determines when a milestone is "complete", you, me, or an independent inspector?
A contractor requesting a large upfront payment with no milestone structure is asking the owner to absorb all the risk before any work is verified.
Permit and Scope Questions
Building permit responsibility, whether the contractor or the owner files with the câmara municipal, must be assigned explicitly in writing, since structural renovations can require licenciamento before work legally begins.
Specific questions to ask:
Q.Does this project require a building permit, and who is responsible for filing it?
Q.If a permit is required, what is the expected câmara municipal processing time?
Q.Is a licensed architect or engineer required for this scope of work?
Q.What happens if the câmara municipal requests changes to the plans mid-project?
AtençãoSkipping this question is one of the most common causes of stalled renovations for foreign owners, work begins before permit status is confirmed, and the câmara municipal halts it mid-project.
Don't ask these questions alone
remodel pre-answers licensing, insurance, payment, and permit questions before you're ever introduced to a contractor.
remodel verifies alvará status against IMPIC records, confirms current liability insurance, and structures payment around milestone inspection sign-off before a contractor is ever matched to a project, so an owner isn't the one asking these questions cold.
The four-step process, scope, a detailed quote, independent inspection, staged payment, is built specifically so that licensing, insurance, and payment structure are settled before an owner and contractor even meet. Permit responsibility is confirmed as part of project scoping, not left as an open question once work has started. See the full contractor vetting process for how each check works.
Kitchen refit
€8,000–€48,000
Bathroom rebuild
€12,000–€38,000
Full renovation
from €85,000
Every quote is benchmarked against the regional median so pricing sits alongside the same licensing and insurance baseline for every contractor in comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, requesting a licence number is standard practice in Portugal’s construction market, and a professional contractor will expect and answer the question without hesitation.
Liability insurance protects the owner regardless of project size; a contractor dismissing this question on a small job is a warning sign, not a cost-saving explanation.
Licensing and insurance questions should be asked before requesting a quote, since a quote from an unverified contractor isn’t worth comparing against others in the first place.
Yes, but a contractor unable to answer licensing, insurance, and payment questions in English or through a project manager may create communication gaps later in the project as well.
Conclusion
The questions that matter most when hiring a contractor in Portugal aren't about taste or timeline, they're about licensing, insurance, payment structure, and permit responsibility. Each one should produce a document, not just a verbal answer.
Check licensing and insurance before you hire
remodel personally matches you with a vetted local contractor and gets you a detailed, itemised quote, completely free.
Pascal is the co-founder of remodel. Originally from Switzerland, he has lived in Portugal for several years and has first-hand experience with the permit, VAT, and contractor issues property owners run into. He built remodel to be the resource he wished existed when he started.
This guide provides general information based on remodel contractor network data. Actual renovation costs and processes vary by property, scope, and location. Last updated: July 2026.
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