THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Portugal
Understand the fee agreement, payment trigger, separate expenses and the limits of a broker's authority.
Yacht broker commission Portugal starts with the actual service agreement: who appoints the broker, what work is included and when payment becomes due. The official Civil Code provides remuneration rules for arrangements that qualify as mandate, but that does not make every yacht introduction or marketing appointment a mandate. This guide explains the verified rules and the questions to settle in writing before allowing deductions from sale proceeds.
The buyer and seller should each know which party pays the intermediary and what the invoice covers. No national yacht-commission percentage or market average is claimed here. Use the agreed terms, supported by local legal review when the appointment's classification or a disputed payment needs interpretation. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Civil Code Article 1157 defines mandate as undertaking legal acts for another party's account.
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026 ·Article 1167(a) requires the principal to provide necessary means for mandate performance unless otherwise agreed.
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026 ·Article 1161(b) requires the agent to provide requested information concerning the state of management.
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026 ·Article 1170(1) provides for revocation of mandate by either party.
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026 ·Article 1158(1) presumes remuneration where the mandated acts are performed professionally.
Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026 ·Section 1
Start by asking the broker to identify the contracting business and describe the services covered by its quotation. Marketing, introductions and acting with authority for the owner are different activities. The Civil Code's mandate provisions address undertaking legal acts for another party's account. Their relevance depends on what the broker actually undertakes. As a practical recommendation, keep the commercial offer and the signed appointment together, and have unclear wording reviewed before treating a general agency reference as the answer to a commission dispute.
Where the mandate regime applies, the Code distinguishes a free appointment from professional activity presumed to be remunerated. It also provides a fallback order for remuneration when the parties have not agreed it. Those provisions are not a published yacht-sales percentage. As a practical recommendation, agree the actual calculation expressly, identify whether the quoted amount includes applicable tax, and state what services require a separate instruction. A clear quotation avoids having to reconstruct the intended bargain from advertising claims or past conversations.
Ask for the proposed payment trigger in plain language. An introduction, accepted offer, signed conditional agreement and completed handover are different events, and this guide does not assert that any one automatically makes commission payable. As a practical recommendation, have the appointment say what happens if the buyer withdraws, inspection findings change the transaction or completion fails. The clause should fit the service being purchased. Do not rely on an unstated assumption that every yacht broker uses the same definition of a successful sale.
Broker tip: Get a written calculation and payment trigger before appointing the broker. Ask separately about tax, failed completion and services outside the quoted fee. A related question is answered in our guide on what a yacht broker agreement in Portugal should say.
Boat sale contract with a legal stamp.
Mandate scope
Section 2
A commission quotation should be read alongside the expense provisions. Under the mandate regime, the principal has obligations concerning the means needed for the work and reimbursement of expenses reasonably considered indispensable. These are scoped legal rules, not permission to label every optional promotional purchase indispensable. As a practical recommendation, identify who can authorise paid photography, advertising or other work and how approval will be recorded. Ask for a quote before committing to services that are outside the agreed remuneration.
Keep the seller's preparation costs separate from the intermediary's invoice. A repair, berth charge or yard service is not explained simply by calling it a selling expense. As a practical recommendation, retain the provider's quotation, the instruction approving the work and the resulting invoice. Agree who will settle each bill and whether the broker is merely coordinating the booking or buying a service on your account. A separate expense schedule makes the intended allocation easier to check before a completion statement is prepared.
The Code also addresses advance provision for remuneration and the effect of failing to supply the agreed means for mandate work. As a practical recommendation, check whether an advance is refundable, credited against the final invoice or applied to a separately authorised purchase. The answer belongs in the actual terms. Do not describe an advance as a sale deposit unless that is its documented role, and obtain an account showing how it was used when the appointment ends or the sale completes.
Broker tip: Use a separate expense approval sheet. Ask which items need consent, who contracts with the supplier, and how any advance will appear in the final account. See also our guide on what it costs to sell a boat in Portugal.
Signing a boat purchase agreement.
Necessary means
Selling a boat in Portugal and want help with the plan? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
Where a mandate applies, the agent must account when the appointment ends or when the principal requires it. As a practical recommendation, request a completion account that identifies the sale price, the agreed fee and each separately authorised deduction. Match the entries to the appointment and supporting invoices. An unexplained net proceeds figure makes it harder to see whether money is being retained for remuneration, paid to a supplier or still held pending a contractual condition.
The agent's duties also include information about the management and prompt communication of execution or non-execution. As a practical recommendation, ask for the current status of the sale in writing before approving a final invoice. Identify what has actually happened and what remains outstanding. If the agreement links remuneration to a specified event, retain the evidence of that event. A buyer enquiry or a statement that the deal is progressing should not substitute for the completion evidence the contract requires.
Where the broker receives money under mandate, the Code addresses delivering what was received unless it was normally spent in performance. As a practical recommendation, reconcile receipts and disbursements against the agreed instructions. Keep commission accounting distinct from buyer funds and any separate holding agreement. Authority to invoice for a service does not by itself settle whether the intermediary may hold a purchase deposit or release funds. Clarify those roles before using a deduction from sale proceeds to settle several different obligations. No yacht-specific compulsory commission rate, typical percentage or universal fee trigger was verified. Mandate provisions apply only where the actual arrangement qualifies; introduction or marketing contracts need their own classification. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Reconcile gross price, fee, authorised expenses and money received. Keep the account and invoices with the signed appointment and completion documents. Readers often go on to our guide on whether to use a yacht broker or a dealer in Portugal.
Broker and buyer shaking hands on a pontoon.
Information duty
Article 1161(b) requires the agent to provide requested information concerning the state of management.
Source: Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026Article 1161(c) requires prompt communication of execution or the reason for non-execution.
Source: Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026Article 1161(d) requires accounting when mandate ends or when the principal demands it.
Source: Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026Article 1161(e) requires delivery of what the agent received in performance, except what was normally spent fulfilling the contract.
Source: Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa – Civil Code, updated 23 Jun 2026Section 4
Ending an appointment needs attention to its legal character and its written terms. The mandate rules provide for revocation but also identify exceptions where the appointment serves another protected interest. As a practical recommendation, obtain advice before treating an exclusivity clause, shared interest or agreed duration as irrelevant. Notify the broker through a recorded channel and ask for an acknowledgement identifying the end of the work, any remaining obligations and how outstanding enquiries will be handled.
The Code identifies compensation questions in specified revocation cases. It does not support a blanket statement that every cancellation is free or that commission is always due after termination. As a practical recommendation, check any notice, compensation and later-sale clause before signing the original appointment. If a buyer was introduced before the appointment ended, retain the correspondence and ask how the agreed terms apply to that particular transaction. Use the actual evidence rather than assuming a universal industry rule settles the outcome.
If another person is appointed for the same legal acts, mandate law also addresses when that change has revoking effect. As a practical recommendation, coordinate the transition openly and retain the communications. Clarify access to photographs, enquiries, keys and documents, and ask for the expense account to be closed. An appointment ending is an administrative and contractual transition as well as a marketing decision. Resolve who is still authorised to speak, incur costs or receive funds before fresh instructions are issued.
Broker tip: Read termination and later-sale clauses before signing. Record notice, close the expense account and clarify which enquiries remain subject to agreed terms. Our guide on boat valuation in Portugal covers a related point.
Broker photographing a boat for sale.
Revocation rule
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Portuguese lawyer: for Portuguese law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the sale, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are selling a boat in Portugal, tell us about the boat and where it is through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
No yacht-specific compulsory percentage was verified in the official sources used here. The Civil Code gives remuneration rules for mandate, including professional activity and fallback assessment where no amount was agreed. That is not a national yacht-sales tariff. Ask for a written quotation covering the fee calculation and payment trigger, and have its legal scope checked where necessary. [Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa]
The payment trigger must be checked in the actual appointment. This guide does not infer a universal completion-only or introduction-only rule from the mandate provisions. As a practical recommendation, identify the event that earns the fee, the invoice arrangements and the outcome if inspection or completion fails. Keep evidence of the agreed trigger with the final account. [Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa]
Expenses can raise separate payment obligations where the mandate regime applies, including reimbursement of costs reasonably considered indispensable. That does not establish every promotional expense as automatically approved. Agree the scope, approval process and supporting invoices before work is purchased. Keep a separate expense schedule so the fee and supplier bills can be understood without relying on a single unexplained deduction. [Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa]
Yes, Article 1161(d) provides for accounting at the end of mandate or when the principal demands it. Confirm that the arrangement falls within that regime. As a practical recommendation, request a statement matching receipts, the agreed remuneration and authorised disbursements, supported by invoices. Keep separate purchase-fund holding instructions visible rather than assuming the fee account covers those funds too. [Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa]
No such blanket conclusion follows from the mandate rules. Revocation provisions include protected-interest limits and specified compensation cases. Read the actual appointment's legal scope and termination clauses before giving notice. As a practical recommendation, ask for a documented end date, the outstanding account and an explanation of any later-sale provision, with local legal review if payment remains disputed. [Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa]
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
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Civil Code: mandate, remuneration, instructions, information and accounting duties.
Civil Code: expenses, termination and compensation; legal regime must fit the actual appointment.
Official online company-register information for checking the business named in a service agreement.
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