Decree-Law No. 65/2026 was published on 5 March in the Diário da República and requires promoters programming at fixed venues managed by Portuguese public entities to guarantee, at every performance, a free ticket for the companion of a person with a disability. It gives ticketing systems one year from its entry into force to be able to issue, record and audit it.
What happened
The official text appeared in the Diário da República, 1st series, No. 45, of 05-03-2026, signed by the Presidência do Conselho de Ministros. Its summary: "Cria o bilhete gratuito para um acompanhante de pessoa com deficiência nas entidades públicas promotoras de espetáculos de natureza artística" (creates the free ticket for a companion of a person with a disability at public entities promoting artistic performances).
This is not a wholly new rule. Article 1 frames it as the second amendment to Decree-Law No. 23/2014, of 14 February — the regime governing artistic performances, the installation and inspection of fixed venues, and the issuance and control of tickets — and as the first amendment to Decree-Law No. 125/2003, of 20 June, which regulates the issuance of entry tickets at performance venues and the transmission of data on performances held.
The scope is set out in Article 2: all cultural facilities in mainland Portugal — museums, monuments, palaces, interpretation centres and venues for artistic performances — regardless of management model, when they depend on public administration, the public business sector, or foundations set up by them.
The specific duty arrives as the new paragraph 9 of Article 8 of Decree-Law 23/2014: for every performance, a free ticket for the companion of a duly certified person with a disability. Paragraph 10 narrows it down: it is non-transferable and only valid if issued simultaneously with the ticket of the person with a disability, for the same performance, date and time. Certification is covered in the new Article 8-B: AMIM with a degree of incapacity of 60% or higher for residents in Portugal, an equivalent document or a medical certificate of the degree of incapacity for foreign nationals.
The new Article 8-A splits up oversight. Issuance, recording and control are handled through the computer system set out in Decree-Law 125/2003. The Inspeção-Geral das Atividades Culturais (IGAC) carries out inspections and, working with the Instituto Nacional para a Reabilitação (INR, I.P.), monitors compliance and produces an annual report on the level of implementation. Venue operators must report issuance data for the previous year to IGAC and INR by 31 January each year.
On the sales-system side, the consolidated text adds two new articles to Decree-Law 125/2003. Article 3-A requires the ticketing software to be able to issue and record these tickets, to carry an identifying code that distinguishes them for statistical and audit purposes without reference to sensitive personal data, and for the processing and transmission of that data to comply with the GDPR and national legislation. Article 3-B requires IGAC, together with INR, to publish an annual report each year on the number of tickets issued to companions, the estimated value of forgone revenue and, where possible, a profile of the audience reached.
Article 6 extends the free companion ticket to the remaining facilities covered by Article 2, with the necessary adaptations and at the managing entity's expense. Article 7 sets out the how: the option must be available across all sales channels, physical and digital, with the same visibility and usability criteria as other tickets; ticketing platforms and digital communication tools must guarantee a booking and purchase process free of technological or usability barriers and compliant with the European Digital Accessibility Standards (WCAG 2.1, level AA); and instructions and terms of use must be written in plain language, in formats compatible with assistive technologies and, wherever possible, in multilingual versions.
The transitional provision is Article 8: one year from entry into force to adapt systems to Article 3-A, with manual issuance permitted in the meantime and data reported to IGAC electronically.
The decree also gives new wording to Article 36 of Decree-Law 23/2014. The penalty framework under the regime now falls into two bands: the first, fines of €250 to €2,500 for individuals and €500 to €15,000 for legal entities; the second, €600 to €3,000 for individuals and €1,200 to €30,000 for legal entities. The Council of Ministers approved the text on 29 January 2026; it was enacted on 14 February and countersigned on 17 February.
Why it matters
In Portugal, this has largely been read as a cultural accessibility measure. It is also a technical specification for ticketing systems.
The system needs to be able to issue a zero-euro ticket paired with another, mark it with a code that distinguishes it without exposing health data, keep it auditable, and export the records once a year before 31 January. And the pairing is mandatory: the companion ticket is only valid if it is issued at the same time as the ticket for the person with a disability, same performance, date and time. That isn't something you fix at the box office. It's fixed in the cart, and it turns the companion into a ticket type with its own validity rules.
Second point: the scope is public, not private. A private promoter at a private venue is not covered. One programming at a public venue is, because the obligation falls on promoters of performances held at fixed venues managed by those entities. In performing arts and at major municipal auditoriums, that boundary decides who has to act.
Third: the rule creates a sector data point that doesn't currently exist. Each year, IGAC will publish how many companion tickets were issued and how much revenue went uncollected as a result.
What to do about it
- Look at who manages the venue, not who programmes it. If the facility depends on public administration, the public business sector, or a foundation set up by them, the duty under paragraph 9 of Article 8 extends to the promoter programming there.
- Test the pairing in the purchase flow. The free ticket must be issued simultaneously with the ticket for the person with a disability, for the same performance, date and time, and must be non-transferable. If the system allows it to be bought separately or for a different performance, it is non-compliant.
- Check the identifying code. It must distinguish these tickets for statistical and audit purposes without reference to sensitive personal data. Make sure that marker doesn't carry health information through into reports or exports.
- Make the option available across all channels. Physical and digital, with the same visibility and usability criteria as other tickets.
- Audit WCAG 2.1 AA across the full booking and purchase process, not just the informational website, and include instructions and terms of use in plain language and in formats compatible with assistive technologies.
- Set up the annual export now. Issuance data for the previous year must go to IGAC and INR by 31 January each year.
- If tickets are issued manually during the transitional period, keep records and an electronic channel with IGAC: the transitional provision allows manual issuance, not the absence of data.
- Define how certification is verified at the door. Being non-transferable and paired, access control has to validate both tickets together and check the 60% AMIM or equivalent document without retaining more data than necessary.