Why You Don’t Need to Renew Your Pre-2021 Cartão de Cidadão Until 2031

Rumours that millions of Portuguese will have to hurry to the conservatória have been circling on social media. In reality, no citizen is being forced to replace a pre-2021 identity card overnight. The Government is simply adopting stricter European security rules, and there is a generous phase-in that stretches well into the next decade.

Quick takeaways

• Your current card remains valid until the expiration date printed on it – or, at the latest, 3 August 2031.

• Mandatory renewal only applies in the usual cases: expiry, loss, theft, damage or data changes.

• Portugal began issuing a new dual-interface contactless card in June 2024; the old model will be retired gradually, not abruptly.

• Most renewals can be done online or automatically once you turn 25.

Where did the anxiety come from?

A handful of blog posts claimed that every Cartão de Cidadão issued before 2021 would have to be swapped in 2025. The stories cited a vague “Brussels regulation”. Within days, shared screenshots and WhatsApp messages had many residents booking appointments they did not need. Only after repeated statements from IRN – Instituto dos Registos e Notariado did the panic start to cool.

What Brussels actually decided

The culprit is Regulation (EU) 2019/1157, aimed at making national ID cards hard to counterfeit and easier to read at EU borders. It orders two main upgrades—an integrated machine-readable zone (MRZ) and a contactless chip protected by modern cryptography. Any member-state card lacking one of those elements must disappear from circulation by 3 August 2031. Until then, each country may keep issuing its legacy card or, as Portugal chose, roll out a safer design early.

Validity periods at a glance

• Children and adults under 25: 5 years• Citizens 25 or older: up to 10 years (cards printed before August 2021)• All legacy cards, regardless of age group: recognised until 3 August 2031, even if the printed date extends beyond that day.

When renewal is really compulsory

The law has not changed on this point. You must ask for a new card only when:

Six months from expiry or already expired.

The document is lost, stolen, destroyed or unreadable.

You need to update core data such as name, signature, photograph, sex or parentage.

The embedded chip stops functioning or you forget the PIN codes (for cards issued before April 2018).

Three renewal channels – choose the one that suits you

Presential service at any IRN counter, Lojas do Cidadão, Espaço Cidadão (25+), Açores RIAC stores or a Portuguese consulate abroad.

Online renewal for those aged 25+. All you need is a Digital Mobile Key, a smart-card reader and the PIN letter.

Automatic renewal: roughly 60 days before expiry, IRN sends a pre-paid reference. Pay the fee and the fresh card arrives at your address.

Standard renewal costs €15 in Portugal and €18 abroad; urgent requests attract higher fees.

What changes with the 2024 design?

The new generation, available since 11 June 2024, contains a dual-interface contactless chip, a larger colour photograph, tactile features for the visually impaired and more than 30 physical and digital safeguards. According to Mauro Almeida, cybersecurity lead at NTT DATA Portugal, this makes it “one of the most secure IDs in the world”. Importantly, the chip is not a payment gadget; it works only with certified readers at borders or police stations.

Experts applaud, watchdogs stay alert

Security engineers hail the update as a way to curb forged documents across the Schengen area. DECO Proteste, Portugal’s main consumer group, highlights the convenience of quicker e-gate passage and future uses such as ticketing. The CNPD – National Data Protection Commission is less enthusiastic, noting that no full data-protection impact study was published before launch and urging transparency on how the biometric data are stored.

What should you do right now?

• Check the expiry date on your card; if it is years away, relax.• Sign up for Chave Móvel Digital so you can renew online when the time comes.• Ignore social-media posts claiming a blanket 2025 deadline—they’re wrong.

With 28.6 M cards issued since the scheme began and around 11.1 M still active, IRN will have its hands full in the late-2020s. Planning ahead—yet avoiding unnecessary rush—remains the smartest move for anyone living in Portugal.