Ordem dos Médicos: Registration, Exams and Fees

• Doctors (médicos): registration is compulsory to use the title and practise medicine.
• Doctors without autonomy: the initial status after registration, practising under supervision (medicina tutelada).
• Specialists: registration in the relevant college of specialty (colégio de especialidade) is compulsory for a specialist title to take effect.
• Subspecialties and competences: registration in the sections of subspecialty and colleges of competence.
• Doctors with EU, EEA or Swiss qualifications register under articles 11 and 12 of the registration regulation; third-country nationals under article 13.

• A medical degree with a certificate of equivalence or specific recognition issued by a competent Portuguese institution, which for non-EU degrees means recognition by a Portuguese public medical school.
• An identification document or certified copy, and a Portuguese tax identification number (NIF).
• A criminal record certificate less than 3 months old.
• A certificate of professional good standing (honorabilidade profissional) less than 3 months old from the body that regulates doctors where you trained or worked.
• A nationality certificate, which is not needed if you present a passport.
• A CV showing lawful and effective professional practice.
• A pass in the Prova de Comunicação Médica or a B2 Portuguese certificate from a certified Portuguese body, unless your training was taught in Portuguese.
• Foreign documents legalised by a Portuguese consulate or with a Hague apostille, with certified Portuguese translations of anything not in English, French or Spanish.

Check your route with the route finder

1. 1

   1. Apply for specific recognition of your medical degree

   Submit your request through the DGES online form to a Portuguese public medical school. For medicine the complete file, with any documents and fees the school asks for, must be in by 1 September to join that year's exam cycle. Late or incomplete files move to the following year.
2. 2

   2. Pass the CEMP recognition exam

   The exam has three components: a written exam, a practical or clinical exam and a final master's dissertation that you defend. For 2026/2027 CEMP has set the written exam for 16 November 2026 and the clinical exam for March to April 2027. All components are in Portuguese, and the medical school issues your recognition once you pass all three.
3. 3

   3. Reach B2 medical Portuguese

   Book the Prova de Comunicação Médica through one of the three regions (Porto, Coimbra or Lisbon) or obtain a B2 certificate from a certified Portuguese body. The test is held once a month in rotation between the regions, and the region tells you the date, time and place. Use the online demo of the e-assessment platform before the day.
4. 4

   4. Gather and legalise your documents

   Collect your diploma, recognition certificate, criminal record, good standing certificate, tax card, photograph and CV. Order the criminal record and good standing certificates last, because both must be under 3 months old. Documents sent straight to the Ordem by the issuing body, or verifiable online, do not need legalisation.
5. 5

   5. Submit your registration

   Apply to the region where you will be based and pay the charges it asks for. The regional council can ask for further documents where the regulation allows. Keep copies of everything you send.
6. 6

   6. Practise without autonomy

   Once registered, you may only practise accompanied by your supervisor or, in their absence, a doctor who can practise autonomously and takes responsibility for your acts. This applies even if you practised independently for years abroad.
7. 7

   7. Obtain autonomy

   The Ordem recognises autonomy when you show relevant professional experience at the level needed for independent practice. It says this usually follows the general training internship (formação geral or ano comum) or a positive opinion from the autonomy jury. Ask your region which evidence the jury will need from your past posts.
8. 8

   8. Register a specialist title, if you have one

   Specialist registration in a college of specialty is separate and not automatic, and has its own fee. The documents listed on the Ordem's page are for training completed in Portugal; if you trained as a specialist abroad, contact your region before you rely on that title in a job application.

• Prova de Comunicação Médica

  A specific-purpose Portuguese test aligned with CEFR B2, run with Camões, I.P. Part 1 (listening 30 minutes, reading 40 minutes) is computer-based and eliminatory; Part 2 (writing 30 minutes, a 140 to 170 word composition, and a 20-minute oral before a jury) follows only if you score at least half in Part 1. The oral covers an interview, an oral report of a clinical case and a comment on a medical topic. Cost €300; result pass or fail; you can ask for a review of Part 2 within a week.

• CEMP written exam

  Held simultaneously in all Portuguese medical schools, in Portuguese. The 2026/2027 sitting is on 16 November 2026 at 09:30. The 2021 draft regulation CEMP published described 120 multiple-choice questions over 180 minutes across internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, general practice, public health and mental health, with a pass mark of 10 out of 20; check the current REMIM with your medical school.

• CEMP practical or clinical exam

  You examine a real patient and present a clinical history with anamnesis, examination and a diagnostic proposal, in a format similar to the practical tests of the Portuguese medical internship. For 2026/2027 it is preferably held between March and April 2027, with dates set by each medical school.

• Final master's dissertation

  You submit a final integrated master's piece of work within 6 months of passing the clinical exam and discuss it before a jury within 2 months of submission, on a date the jury sets. Recognition is granted only after all three components are passed.

• English is not tested. The Ordem's requirement is Portuguese.
• Pass the Prova de Comunicação Médica (aligned with B2), or, since a January 2024 deliberation of the National Council, present a B2 certificate issued by a certified Portuguese entity.
• Doctors whose training was taught in Portuguese are exempt.
• Under a 17 July 2018 deliberation, Portuguese, Brazilian and other CPLP nationals who completed the 12th year of schooling (or equivalent) in Portuguese are treated as having studied in Portuguese.
• Passing the Prova de Comunicação Médica also counts as the communication test for admission to the ranking exam for the medical internship, under Despacho 17743/2006.
• The CEMP recognition exam has its own Portuguese proficiency requirement in article 5 of the REMIM, and all its components are held exclusively in Portuguese.

Estimate your total cost

• Recognition file: complete by 1 September to join that year's CEMP cycle.
• Written exam: 16 November 2026 for the 2026/2027 cycle; clinical exam preferably March to April 2027.
• Dissertation: submitted within 6 months of the clinical exam and defended within 2 months after that, so the whole recognition cycle can run well over a year.
• Prova de Comunicação Médica: held monthly; results are posted the following week, and after a fail the Ordem says you can retake it 3 months later.
• Registration: then a period without autonomy, usually ending with the general training year or the autonomy jury's opinion.