Cancelling a MEO, NOS, Vodafone or Digi contract: how, notice and charges

← Cancelling contracts in Portugal

What the cancellation request must contain

A cancellation is valid when it identifies you and the contract and says clearly that you want to end it (ANACOM decision of 9 March 2012, point 2.1.2). In practice, three things are enough:

1. 1
   Your identification
   Full name and, if you have it at hand, your NIF or ID number. The operator may only ask for ID documents it does not already hold (art. 136(2)).
2. 2
   The contract or customer number
   It is on every invoice. If you name no service, the request covers the whole contract (point 2.1.3).
3. 3
   A clear statement that you want to cancel
   “Comunico a cessação do contrato n.º …”. Our letter generator writes it in Portuguese with the legal basis for your case.

The operator must confirm in writing within 5 working days, with the date the contract ends and any charges. If something is missing, it has 3 working days to ask for it, and you then have 30 working days to send it (points 2.4.1 to 2.4.5). The request counts from the day it is received complete (point 2.4.6).

Where to send it

ANACOM lists five channels, and the operator cannot make cancelling harder than signing up (art. 136(2)):

A representative with powers, such as someone holding your power of attorney (procuração), can submit the request for you (point 2.1.1).

MEO, NOS, Vodafone and Digi: forms and notice

The law is the same for all four. What changes is the form and the notice period written into each contract. This is what each operator publishes, checked on 29 October 2026:

MEO

Form “cessação de serviço” (model C/1001313, July 2024), PDF on meo.pt. The form says the end date follows the day your contract started and is never less than 15 days after the request is received. A representative must attach proof of powers.

NOS

ANACOM’s list points to the NOS customer area (Os meus serviços › Enviar pedido › Cessação contratual). The NOS form linked there returned an error on 29 October 2026, so use the customer area, email or post to a contact in your contract, or the platform.

Vodafone

“Formulário de denúncia contratual” (February 2026), PDF on vodafone.pt: 30 days’ notice, by post to Apartado 8394, EC Cabo Ruivo, 1804-970 Lisboa, or at any Vodafone store. The form asks for a copy of your ID; under the law the operator can only require it if it does not already hold it.

Digi

Digi’s general terms (clauses 10.3 and 10.4): one month’s notice; by the support line, the platform cessacaodecontratos.pt, email to contratos@digi.pt, in stores, or by post to Apartado 5024, EC Sete Rios, 1081-601 Lisboa.

What you pay if you are in a lock-in

During a fidelização (lock-in), the operator can charge for leaving early, but never more than the lower of two amounts: the contract benefit pro rata to the months left, or 50% of the remaining monthly fees in year 1 and 30% in year 2 (art. 136(4)). It cannot add any compensation or indemnity (art. 136(3)), and the invoice must show the amount (art. 122). With a discounted phone, the device rule of art. 139 applies. The fidelização calculator works it out.

Without any charge, you can leave when the lock-in is over and the contract renewed (notice of up to one month, art. 132), when the operator changes the contract and you reject it within 30 days (art. 135), and when the service has been down for more than 15 days after you reported it (art. 129(5)).

Leaving Portugal: two routes with no lock-in charges

This is where most people get stuck: the operator asks for an in-person visit or proof they cannot easily get from abroad. The law gives two routes.

• Moving to a country outside the EU, unforeseen: art. 133(1)(b) removes the lock-in charges. Write (email is fine) at least 30 days ahead, with a residence certificate from that country or your work or service contract there.
• Moving your residence to any country, EU included: art. 137 suspends the contract at no cost while the situation lasts; after 180 days of suspension you can ask for it to lapse (caducidade), also without early-exit charges.

From abroad, send everything by email or registered post to a contact in the contract, or use cessacaodecontratos.pt if you have Chave Móvel Digital. If you will lose the Portuguese SIM, ask the operator in the same message to reply by email. Other contracts to close before leaving are in the leaving-Portugal checklist.

Switching operator and keeping your number

To keep your number, ask the new operator: it runs the porting, which must happen within one working day of the agreed date, and the old contract ends automatically once the number is active there (art. 141). Porting cannot be refused because of a lock-in, but the exit charge is still owed. Porting only ends the service tied to that number: the rest of a TV, internet and phone bundle stays billed until you cancel it. You keep the right to port a number for at least one month after the contract ends.

Equipment and the final bill

Boxes and routers that belong to the operator, even when rental was free, must be returned; when you announce the cancellation, the operator must tell you how and what it charges if you do not (ANACOM). Equipment you bought is yours. Expect a final bill covering the days up to the end date: the operator can always charge the service used during the notice period.

If the operator will not cancel

ANACOM does not settle individual disputes. The path it sets out has three steps:

1. 1
   A written complaint to the operator
   Quote the date of your cancellation and attach the proof.
2. 2
   The Livro de Reclamações
   In the store or online at livroreclamacoes.pt. The complaint also reaches ANACOM, the sector regulator.
3. 3
   A consumer arbitration centre
   Free for communications services, and the operator must accept it if you choose it. Business customers go to a julgado de paz (up to €15,000, €70 fee).