OFFICIALlast verified 2026-10-18Centro de Tropas de Operações Especiais (CTOE) — Operações Especiais
Special Forces prerequisites — physical tests (pré-requisitos, provas físicas)
Candidates for Portuguese Army Special Operations, trained at the CTOE in Lamego, join the Army on contract and, after initial military training, must pass the prerequisites: 2,500 m in 12 minutes, 32 push-ups, 5 pull-ups, 35 squat jumps, 40 sit-ups in 1 minute and a 15 km march in 120 minutes, armed, equipped and with a 10 kg load. Water and obstacle tests follow, including a jump into water from 8 m. The values are pass/fail minimums, the same for every candidate.
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What a Special Operations soldier earns — Lamego
Portuguese military pay is the base pay from the single public-sector table (2026 levels, DL 29-A/2026) plus the military status supplement (20% of base pay + €400). There is no separate special-forces allowance for Special Operations: a soldier of the same rank in any unit earns the same. Base pay and the supplement are paid 14 times a year (Christmas and holiday allowances), which the yearly view (×12) does not include; whether the 2026 budget’s +2% raises the fixed part to €408 is unconfirmed.
provisional = official source with a provisional legal status, a secondary source or our own calculation; see the sources.
- Decreto-Lei n.º 296/2009, de 14 de outubro (regime remuneratório aplicável aos militares dos quadros permanentes e em regime de contrato e de voluntariado) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 142/2015, de 31 de julho — Anexo I (Oct 18, 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 64/2024, de 30 de setembro (Praças e Furriel) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 29-A/2026, de 30 de janeiro (BRAP e tabela remuneratória única 2026) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 296/2009 — legislação consolidada (art. 10.º) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Decreto-Lei n.º 62/2024, de 30 de setembro (suplemento de condição militar) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Lei n.º 73-A/2025 (Orçamento do Estado para 2026), art. 244.º (Oct 18, 2026) provisional
The test, event by event
| Event | Minimum (same for all candidates) |
|---|---|
| 2,500 m run (corrida) | 12:00 |
| Push-ups (extensão de braços no solo) | 32 |
| Pull-ups on a bar (flexões de braços na barra) | 5 |
| Squat jumps (flexão e extensão de pernas com salto) | 35 |
| Sit-ups in 1 min (abdominais) | 40 |
| 15 km march, armed, equipped, 10 kg load (marcha) | 120 min |
Also required
- Entry through the Army on a contract (regime de contrato or voluntariado): enlisted soldiers through the standing competition, sergeants and officers through a notice in the Diário da República. After the general selection with the Army fitness test (PAF), basic training (5 weeks) and complementary training (7 weeks), candidates must pass the medical, psychological and physical prerequisites.
- Age 18–24 (up to 27 with a bachelor’s or master’s degree, 30 for medicine); minimum height 1.60 m for men and 1.56 m for women; medical fitness under the general incapacity tables (Portaria n.º 790/99).
- Pass/fail prerequisites without a number to train for: crossing a 5 m high gantry (pórtico), 3 m ditch jump, 25 m swim, 10 m underwater swim, jump into water from 8 m, a labyrinth tunnel, the “salto para o galho”, the “Tarzan” obstacle with a scramble net, a 5 m rope climb (legs allowed) and a climbing wall up to 5 m.
- The Special Operations course lasts about 13 weeks (68 working days) for enlisted soldiers and about 15 weeks (77 working days) for sergeants and officers; after it, at least 2 years of service in the unit are required.
- Minimum (same for all candidates) — exercito.pt — Junta-te: Tropas Especiais, Operações Especiais (pré-requisitos) (2026-10-18)
Questions
Where do the numbers come from?
From the Portuguese Army’s official recruiting page for Special Operations (exercito.pt, Junta-te — Tropas Especiais), read on 18 Oct 2026; the page itself is undated.
How do these standards compare with the Comandos and Paratroopers?
The Paratroopers (Paraquedistas) have the same strength and running minimums, but an 8 km march in 60 minutes with 5 kg. The Comandos ask for more pull-ups (8) and sit-ups (60 in 2 minutes) but fewer push-ups (30), with no timed run and an 8 km march. Special Operations has the longest march: 15 km in 120 minutes with 10 kg.
Are there different standards for women or by age?
No. The prerequisites are the same minimums for every candidate, with no scoring scale. Only the general Army fitness test at entry has separate tables for men and women — and that test is not eliminatory.
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