In a joint statement, the Ministry of Health, the General Directorate of Health (DGS) and the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health explain that, to obtain the digital certificate, the citizen must access the SNS24 portal (www.sns24.gov.pt), follow the instructions and choose the type of certificate you want.

After validation, the document is made available on the portal or can be sent later to the indicated email address, without any associated costs.

“To improve cross-border acceptance, it is written in Portuguese and in English”, stress the authorities.

In the joint note, the authorities clarify that, “soon it will be possible to obtain certificates on other platforms, as well as access to the rapid molecular test certificate”.

“At the same time the Digital Certificate verification system, through a mobile reading application, is in the process of completing pilot tests and interoperability with systems in other countries of the European Union”, say the national authorities.

According to the European Digital Certificate Regulation, the European verification systems must all be in force from 1 July.

Under DGS guidance, Covid-19 digital certificates can be used in all member states as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The EU digital Covid-19 certificate, which proves (negative) testing, vaccination or recovery from Covid-19, “will also be open to comparable initiatives that are being developed by third countries or international organisations”, says the DGS.
The health authority recalls, however, that the certificate “may not exempt the respective holders, depending on the worsening of the epidemiological situation, from complying with additional public health measures upon arrival in the Member State”.

The document has a QR code with the essential data needed and which is used “to securely verify the authenticity, integrity and validity of the certificate”, reminds the health authority, adding that the certificate will have information such as “the name, the date of birth, the date of issue and pertinent information about vaccination, testing or recovery”.