This post was most recently updated on January 6th, 2023
Pepper Spray is considered a weapon in Portugal and is only legal to carry by people having a Class E Weapon License. That license only allows tear gas sprays that have pepper and the concentration of the active substance cannot be higher than 5%. All other active substances, such as CS, are absolutely illegal.
“E Class License” costs 75 Euro plus a tax of 6 Euro. Applicant must have a clean criminal record, and provide proof of the absence of mental issues. Then they have to justify that they actually need to have a spray for defense purposes.
Most often the justifications are not accepted and applications are usually rejected.
“E Class License” is very difficult to obtain in Portugal.
This is why people are found selling Pepper spray on the black market in Portugal. A study has shown that these kinds of black-market-found-pepper-sprays are not so effective.
The effective types of pepper spray are allowed only for Police or Military use.
If you don’t have a license to carry pepper spray, yet you are found carrying one, you could end up in Jail or you will need to pay a heavy fine. Also, pepper spray isn’t allowed in all places in Portugal.
I have seen that some places in Portugal aren’t that safe for the general public. Thieves and Looters are very much active in those places. It’s safe to have pepper spray with you for your safety from attackers.
There are some alternatives to pepper spray in Portugal. They are not the best like pepper spray but they will work fine. I have seen many people using a self-defense keychain, personal alarms, wasp killer spray, or even body spray to stay safe from attackers.
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