Two painting quotes for the same home can be far apart and both still be honest. What changes is what each one covers. This guide shows what to ask a painter, what a quote should list, how to check with IMPIC that the firm may legally do the work, and which documents you are entitled to: contract, invoice and access to the Complaints Book (Livro de Reclamações).
Updated 3 November 2026. General information, not a substitute for legal advice.
Key points
- Get at least three quotes after a visit to the home. A price given over the phone, without measuring, compares with nothing.
- Compare line by line: area, preparation, product, coats, ceilings, doors, protection, timing and VAT. The total on its own misleads.
- Anyone doing building work needs a licence or certificate from IMPIC (Lei n.º 41/2015). For jobs up to €40,000 excluding VAT, a certificate is enough. You can check it on IMPIC’s website.
- The firm must show its licence or certificate number on contracts and documents, and on a sign at the site entrance.
- Above €20,000 the contract must be in writing, with minimum content set by law.
- An invoice, always, for every service. Without one there is no proof of the work and no reduced VAT rate.
Before you ask: one list for everyone
A quote is only good if the painter has seen what is to be painted. Write a short list and give the same one to every painter: rooms, whether ceilings, doors and skirting are included, any change of colour, where there are stains, cracks or mould, whether the home will be furnished, and which dates suit you. If each painter prices something different, the figures cannot be compared.
If there is damp or mould, say so straight away. Painting over it does not fix it, and anyone offering just “a coat of anti-fungal paint” without asking about the cause is pricing a different job. Read damp in walls: how to tell which type and mould on walls first.
What a quote should list
| Item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Who they are | Name or company name, tax number (NIF), address, contact, IMPIC licence or certificate number |
| What is painted | Rooms, m² of wall and of ceiling, doors and skirting separately |
| Preparation | Covering floors and furniture, scraping, filling cracks, sanding, primer |
| Product | Brand and name of the paint, finish (matt, satin), colour |
| Coats | How many, on walls and on ceilings |
| Prior treatment | If there is damp, mould or salt: what they will do, or what is left out |
| Final clean | Included or not |
| Timing | Start date and number of days |
| Price | Labour and materials shown separately, VAT rate stated |
| Payment | How much at the start, how much at the end |
| Validity | How long the price holds |
| Guarantee | What the painter offers, in writing |
Splitting labour and materials is not a detail. It is one of the conditions for 6% VAT on an occupied home. The full rules are in what it costs to paint a home inside.
Check the areas. If one quote says 120 m² and another 80 m² for the same home, one of them measured wrongly. Do your own sum with the calculator and ask about the gap. Paint quantities are explained in how much paint do I need.
How to check the painter may do the work
Lei n.º 41/2015 of 3 June (the law on the construction trade) defines a “work” (obra) as construction, rehabilitation, repair, restoration and maintenance of buildings. It says carrying out this activity depends on permission from IMPIC (the public institute for public procurement, real estate and construction).
For private works there are two permits:
- Private-works contractor certificate (certificado, article 25): for jobs up to 20% of the class 1 limit. IMPIC says on its online services page that this is €40,000, VAT not included. It requires good commercial standing and workplace accident insurance for employees.
- Private-works contractor licence (alvará, article 24): for larger jobs, by class. It also requires financial capacity.
The old “registration title” (título de registo) from earlier law now counts as a certificate, under the law’s own transitional rule.
How to check:
- Ask for the certificate or licence number and the NIF.
- On IMPIC’s website, open the list of firms holding a private-works contractor certificate (or the list of licences).
- Search by number, NIF or name. Make sure the name matches whoever issues the invoice.
- Also look at IMPIC’s lists of firms with sanctions and of permits cancelled in the last year.
The law puts duties on both the firm and the client:
- The firm must show its name and licence or certificate number on contracts, accounting documents, advertising and correspondence (article 17(3)), and put up a sign at the site entrance (article 17(4)).
- For works exempt from municipal permission, the client must make sure the work is done by a qualified firm, checking on IMPIC’s website and keeping proof of that check (article 29).
We found no exception in the law for low-value jobs. A quote with no certificate or licence number is a reason to ask why.
Written contract
Under article 26 of Lei n.º 41/2015, private works contracts worth more than 10% of the class 1 limit must be in writing. With class 1 at €200,000, as IMPIC states, the threshold is €20,000 (our calculation). The contract must include:
- full identification of both parties;
- licence or certificate numbers;
- what is to be done;
- the price;
- the time allowed.
Below that value the law does not require a written contract, but a quote accepted in writing, dated and signed, is the best proof of what was agreed.
Insurance
Workplace accident insurance is a requirement for both the certificate and the licence. Also ask whether the firm has public liability insurance, which covers damage it causes in your home or a neighbour’s. The law does not require it for the certificate, so do not count on it until you have seen the policy.
Invoice
The VAT Code requires anyone supplying services to issue an invoice for every service (article 29), even if the client does not ask for one. The invoice must show the date, a number, both parties’ names and NIFs, a description of the service, the price before VAT, the rate and the VAT amount (article 36). As a rule, it must be issued by the 5th working day after the tax becomes due.
If the painter is under the article 53 small-business exemption, the invoice carries no VAT, but it must still exist.
Complaints Book
According to DECO PROteste (3 September 2026), service providers with premises or that operate through digital channels must give access to the electronic Complaints Book at livroreclamacoes.pt. Those without a website must have an email address to receive complaints made through the platform. The complaint also goes to the body that oversees the sector. We did not confirm the firm’s exact reply deadline: see the guide on the contract and warranty for the work. If the firm does not reply, you can report it to that body.
Warning signs
Be wary of a refusal to issue an invoice, a request for full payment before starting, no IMPIC number, a price given without a visit, and an offer to paint over mould as the fix. When the job is done, check the invoice against the quote. If you are painting to sell or let, see also painting before renting or selling.
What we could not confirm
- Amendments to Lei n.º 41/2015 after 2018. We read the consolidated version of 14 June 2018. We found no later changes to the articles cited, but we did not read the current consolidated text in the Diário da República.
- The class 1 value for private works. IMPIC’s table of private-works licences is shown as an image and we could not read it. The €200,000 comes from the public-works table and from the certificate’s €40,000.
- Whether a self-employed painter with no employees has special rules. We found no IMPIC answer on this case.
- Legal guarantee periods for a painting job. This guide does not cover them.
- The official text on the Complaints Book (Decreto-Lei n.º 156/2005 and amendments): cited through DECO PROteste, not read directly. We also did not confirm whether a painter with no shop and no website is always covered.
Sources (read on 3 November 2026)
- Lei n.º 41/2015, 3 June, legal regime for the construction trade, consolidated version of 14 June 2018 published by the Regional Government of Madeira (articles 3, 4, 17, 24, 25, 26, 29 and the transitional rule on registration titles). Law in the Diário da República.
- IMPIC, Empresa nacional, serviços online, acesso à atividade da construção, page dated 19/01/2023 (certificate limit of €40,000 excluding VAT; classes by reference to Portaria n.º 212/2022).
- IMPIC, Alvarás de empreiteiro de obras particulares, consultar (search fields; links to the lists of certificates, sanctions and cancellations).
- IMPIC, Atividade da construção, perguntas frequentes (parte 1) (requirements for licence and certificate).
- Portal das Finanças, Código do IVA, article 29 and article 36 (duty to invoice, deadline and content).
- Autoridade Tributária, Newsletter no. 39, January 2026 (article 53 exemption).
- DECO PROteste, Livro de reclamações online: como preencher e acompanhar uma queixa, 3 September 2026 (who must offer it, steps, reply deadline).