Credit liabilities report: check before the CPCV

Before applying for a Portuguese mortgage, download your Banco de Portugal credit liabilities report. The lender will assess debts, available limits and guarantees you have already assumed. Seeing the same report first gives you time to understand every line, correct errors and protect the purchase timeline.

The report is neither a “blacklist” nor an approval. It is a monthly snapshot of your position in Banco de Portugal's Central Credit Register (CCR).

Obtain the report before making the purchase depend on credit

Each data subject can obtain their report free from Banco de Portugal. The online service requires secure authentication and is in Portuguese. The information may also be requested at a public information desk or by post.

For a joint purchase, every proposed borrower should obtain their own report. One partner's report does not show the other's liabilities: personal loans, cards, overdrafts, guarantees or joint contracts may differ.

Select the latest available month and keep the reference date. The CCR aggregates information reported monthly by participating institutions. The PDF is therefore not a live view: a recent repayment or closure may not yet appear.

Make five checks, agreement by agreement

Banco de Portugal's CCR guide explains that the report groups agreements by institution and shows, among other fields, the holder's role, product, status, amounts and negotiation type.

“Performing” means payments were up to date at the report date. “Non-performing” means payments were in arrears. Negotiation type describes how the agreement was negotiated; by itself, it does not prove that the agreement is currently in arrears.

If you do not recognise a line, do not ignore it or immediately assume fraud. Compare agreement numbers and dates with statements, then contact the named institution.

An unused limit is still a commitment

The distinction buyers most easily miss is actual versus potential liability.

A card with a zero balance may still show its available limit. Someone who guaranteed another person's loan may appear against that agreement even while the principal debtor pays normally.

This does not mean a lender automatically treats every potential amount as overdue debt. It means the commitment exists and forms part of the information the institution may consider. Before cancelling cards or guarantees on generic advice, ask the prospective lender how it will assess the commitment and check the cost, effect and reporting timeline. A guarantee, in particular, does not end merely because the guarantor wants to withdraw.

The reporting institution must correct its data

If the report contains a wrong balance, an agreement already closed or a line you do not recognise, identify the institution that submitted it. Banco de Portugal states that this entity, not Banco de Portugal, is responsible for changing or correcting the information.

Because reporting is monthly, do not promise the seller that a correction will appear the next day. If the mortgage process or CPCV depends on it, leave room in the timetable. If the institution does not resolve the issue, use the applicable complaint channels and preserve the history.

The report is an input, not the decision

For a Portuguese mortgage, the lender must assess the consumer's capacity and propensity to perform the agreement. The law requires consultation of suitable credit-liability databases, but the creditworthiness assessment also considers matters such as age, professional situation, regular income, regular expenses and other obligations.

Two conclusions follow:

• a report with no arrears does not oblige the institution to lend;
• a simulation or pre-approval does not replace final approval.

The lender will still review current documents, total monthly debt service, term, valuation and acceptance of the property. Avoid taking out a car loan, personal loan, card or new limit between pre-approval and the final decision without understanding the impact: your financial position has changed.

If mortgage credit is refused because of data in a credit-liability database, Decree-Law No. 74-A/2017 requires the lender to inform the consumer of that fact immediately, free of charge and with reasons and relevant database elements, subject to the statutory exceptions.

Bring report issues into the purchase timetable

Do not pay a deposit on the assumption that a “clean report” means guaranteed finance. Before the CPCV, try to complete this sequence:

1. recent reports for every proposed borrower;
2. explanation of unexpected lines;
3. confirmed correction of any errors;
4. lender review using current income and expenses;
5. budget for equity, taxes, valuation and other costs;
6. realistic timing for financial and property approval.

If the purchase depends on credit, seek legal advice on conditions, deadlines and what happens to the deposit if approval, amount or valuation fails. The report helps reveal risk early; it does not transfer that risk to the seller or replace a properly drafted clause.

Next step

Download the latest report for every buyer and mark each line “recognised”, “needs explanation” or “needs correction”. Only then align mortgage pre-approval with the CPCV timetable.