If you sell goods or services to consumers in Portugal and have a website, it must carry a visible, prominent link to the electronic complaints book, the Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico. This applies to online-only businesses and to freelancers too; only businesses that deal exclusively with other businesses are left out. Every complaint must be answered within 15 business days, and a missing link is an administrative offence that can lead to a fine. This article explains who must comply, where the link should go, how to handle complaints and what to remove from your site, starting with old links to the EU's online dispute resolution platform.
What the electronic complaints book is
Portugal has required a paper complaints book in shops and other premises open to the public for many years. Decree-Law 74/2017, which amended Decree-Law 156/2005, added an electronic version: a public platform at livroreclamacoes.pt where any consumer can file a complaint against a business at any time, without visiting it in person.
The complaint goes to the business and to the authority that regulates or inspects its sector. The consumer gets a receipt and can follow the case on the platform. For this to work, the business must be registered on the platform with its details and an e-mail address where complaints arrive.
The platform and the official name are both Portuguese. If your site has an English version, we recommend keeping the name "Livro de Reclamações" in the link, as that is what customers see on the platform, and adding "Complaints book" alongside it.
Who must comply
The general rule is simple: if you supply goods or services to consumers, you must comply. That includes:
- online stores, with or without a physical shop;
- businesses that sell only online, with no premises open to the public;
- freelancers working for private clients, such as photographers, designers, tutors or consultants;
- restaurants, guesthouses, gyms, garages and other service businesses with a website.
Businesses that sell exclusively to other businesses are not covered. If you have private customers, even only a few, you are.
If you have physical premises, you still keep the paper book there. The electronic book is in addition to the paper one, not a replacement for it.
Where and how to place the link
The law asks for a link in a visible, prominent place on your website, but it does not prescribe a format. In practice, we recommend:
- In the footer of every page, next to your contact details and legal links, so it is always one click away.
- With the Livro de Reclamações logo and readable text, such as "Livro de Reclamações". An icon on its own, with no text alternative, is invisible to screen reader users.
- Straight to livroreclamacoes.pt, without an intermediate page or a form of your own in between.
- In your mobile app too, if you have one, somewhere as easy to find as on the website.
A link buried in a terms page that nobody opens is unlikely to count as visible and prominent. And your own contact form does not replace the complaints book. Customers may use both, but the official link must be there.
If your site is built on an off-the-shelf theme, check that the link does not disappear on mobile. Some footers hide part of their links on small screens, and many customers only ever visit on their phone.
How to reply to a complaint
When a complaint arrives, you have 15 business days to reply to the consumer. The reply should be specific: what happened, what you will do about it and by when. A generic reply pasted from a template rarely resolves anything.
A few habits help:
- A registered e-mail address someone reads every day. Not the personal inbox of someone who has left, and not an address nobody checks.
- One person responsible, and a back-up. Fifteen business days go quickly with holidays, bank holidays and busy periods.
- A record of every case. Keep the complaint, your reply and what you did, as the regulator may ask for details.
- Complaints as information. If several customers complain about the same delivery time, the problem is in the process, not the customers.
Replying well is about more than meeting the deadline. A complaint handled quickly and clearly is a chance to keep a customer who was about to give up on you.
What to remove: the EU online dispute resolution platform
For years, online stores in the EU had to include a link to the European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. That platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025 by Regulation (EU) 2024/3228, and the obligation to link to it ended with it.
If your footer, terms and conditions or order e-mails still point to the ODR platform, remove those links. They send customers to a page that no longer handles complaints, and they suggest the legal side of your site has not been reviewed in a while.
What remains is the information about alternative dispute resolution. Law 144/2015 requires businesses to tell consumers, clearly and in an easy-to-find place on the website and in contracts, which alternative dispute resolution bodies are available to them or which ones the business is bound by, such as the consumer arbitration centres. This information usually sits in the terms and conditions, with a reference in the footer.
An example: the link lost in a site migration
A neutral but common case: a business moves to a new website. The old site had the complaints book link in its footer. The new one was built from a theme that did not include it, and nobody noticed for months.
In a well-prepared launch, a legal checklist runs before go-live: complaints book, alternative dispute resolution details, privacy policy, cookie policy, terms and conditions, and accessibility statement. It takes minutes and saves both a fine and a poor first impression.
Checklist
- The business is registered on livroreclamacoes.pt, with an e-mail address someone reads every day.
- Every page footer links to the Livro de Reclamações, with logo and text.
- The link goes straight to livroreclamacoes.pt and is visible on mobile.
- One person is responsible for replying within 15 business days, with a back-up.
- Links to the old EU ODR platform are gone from the website, the terms and the e-mails.
- The terms and conditions name the alternative dispute resolution bodies.
- Physical premises still keep the paper complaints book.
Where to start
Open your website on your phone and look for the complaints book link in the footer. Then search your terms and conditions and your e-mail templates for "ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr". Those two steps cover most cases.
If you are building an online store, we include these legal elements from the start, along with the payment methods Portuguese buyers expect, such as MB WAY and Multibanco. If you want privacy, cookies and security reviewed in one go, our security and GDPR review covers them. And the European Accessibility Act adds another requirement for any store selling to consumers.
If you would like help reviewing the legal side of your website, request a quote. Every project is quoted individually.
This article explains the law in practical terms and is not legal advice.
