In Portugal, 2 main types of companies are commonly used pursuant to the Portuguese Company Code: (i) Company by Quotas (in Portuguese: “Sociedade por Quotas – Lda”.) and (ii) Company by Shares (In Portuguese: “Sociedade Anónima – S.A”.).

Companies by Quotas

Companies by Quotas most commonly have one of the following organizational structures:

1. One or more Directors (in Portuguese: “Gerentes”) only.
2. One or more Directors and a Supervisory Board (in Portuguese: “Conselho Fiscal”)/a Sole Supervisor (in Portuguese: “Fiscal Único”).

Companies by Shares

Companies by Shares most commonly have the following organizational structure:

1. A Board of Directors (in Portuguese: “Conselho de Administração”) and a Supervisory Board (in Portuguese: “Conselho Fiscal”)/a Sole Supervisor (in Portuguese: “Fiscal Único”).

However, the Portuguese Company Code establishes 2 other organizational structures which are rarely used (and, accordingly, are not further described):

1. A Board of Directors comprised of an Audit Board (in Portuguese: “Comissão de Auditoria”) and an Auditor (in Portuguese “Revisor Oficial de Conta, or R.O.C”).
2. An Executive Board of Directors (in Portuguese: “Conselho de Administração Executivo”), a General and Supervisory Board (in Portuguese: “Conselho Geral e de Supervisão”) and an Auditor.

Please see, respectively, “Director”, “Supervisory Board/Sole Supervisor” and “Board of Directors” on the left side menu for a more in-depth description of each structure, including how to change the respective board members.