What is DGERT certification and why does it matter?
DGERT is the Portuguese government body that certifies training organisations. For the PLA route, the provider's DGERT certification is what makes the certificate valid. A course from an uncertified provider may be excellent teaching and still produce a certificate a Conservatória will not accept as A2 proof.
What DGERT is
DGERT stands for Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho, the Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations. It is the government entity that certifies training organisations in Portugal.
Certification means the government has verified that the organisation meets quality standards for delivering training: curriculum, instructor qualifications, assessment methods and administrative processes.
Why it is the thing that matters on the PLA route
This is the single most important distinction on this pathway, and it is easy to miss.
The certificate you end up holding is only as good as the entity that issued it. A Portuguese course from a provider without DGERT certification may teach you excellent Portuguese and still produce a document the Conservatória declines to accept. You would then have the language and not the proof, having spent the money and the months.
How to verify it
DGERT certification is public information and can be checked through DGERT's official website.
Ask any provider you are considering for their DGERT certification number, and then verify it yourself rather than taking the number on trust. A legitimate provider will give it readily and will encourage you to check.
If a provider is evasive about their DGERT status, or cannot produce a number, treat that as disqualifying rather than as something to work around.
What to check on the certificate itself
It should state the level achieved (A2), the hours completed, and the issuing entity's DGERT certification number. Those three facts are what make it legible to a Conservatória.
A note about us
We are not a DGERT-certified training provider, we do not run PLA courses, and we do not issue certificates. We are an independent tool for practising the CIPLE reading paper.