Licensing & Authorisations · Greece
Find a licensing lawyer in Greece who knows your sector
Permits, professional authorisations and public-law approvals in Greece follow their own procedural logic, and the file rarely waits. Tell us what you are facing and we match you, free of charge, with a Greek lawyer whose practice covers this kind of work. You stay in control of every decision.
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- Greek practices focused on regulatory and licensing files
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The problem you are facing
Licensing files in Greece need someone who handles them every week
If your business, your professional activity or your property needs an authorisation from a Greek public body, the file rarely stands still. A licensing lawyer in Greece reads the decision or the refusal, identifies which branch of the courts has jurisdiction and sets out the steps that remain open — a fresh application, an administrative objection or proceedings before the administrative courts. We are a matching platform, not a law firm. You describe your situation once, in your own language, and we introduce you to a Greek lawyer whose practice covers your sector. There is no charge for the introduction and no obligation to instruct anyone. You decide whether the fit is right.
Greece in detail
How regulatory and licensing matters sit inside the Greek legal system
Licensing work in Greece sits at the meeting point of administrative procedure and codified statute law. The notes below explain how the legal profession, the courts and the cost rules are organised in the country, taken from official Greek and European sources. They describe the framework in which a Greek lawyer will work on your file.
Who may practise law in Greece
Membership of a Bar Association is compulsory to practise. Under Article 4 of Law 4194/2013 (the Code of Lawyers), a person acquires the status of dikigóros by passing the nationwide bar examinations, obtaining an appointment decision of the Minister of Justice published in the Government Gazette, taking the statutory oath before the Court of Appeal or Court of First Instance, and being entered in a Bar register.
The lawyer as a public functionary
Article 1 of the Code of Lawyers describes the lawyer as a public functionary whose office is a foundation of the rule of law, and states that the practice of law is not a commercial activity. Lawyers are bound by professional secrecy, defend the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights and act as co-operators of the administration of justice. That characterisation shapes professional ethics and Bar disciplinary control.
Where a licensing dispute is heard
Greek courts are organised in three jurisdictions — civil, criminal and administrative. Disputes with public authorities belong to the administrative branch, which sits separately under the Council of State. Below it, the ordinary hierarchy runs from the Magistrates’ Courts and Courts of First Instance to the Courts of Appeal. The Areios Pagos reviews only legal correctness, not the facts, as there is no third degree on the merits.
What legal fees and court fees look like
A lawyer’s fee is freely agreed in writing with the client, covering the whole proceedings, part of them or specific acts (Article 58, Code of Lawyers). Where no written agreement exists, the statutory scale based on the value of the matter applies (Article 63). Fees carry 24% VAT. Court fees include a proportional judicial stamp duty of 4 or 8 per mille plus a 30% surcharge for the TAXDIK fund.
Free legal aid in Greece
Free legal aid in criminal, civil and commercial cases is provided by Law 3226/2004, as amended by Law 4274/2014. Low-income citizens whose annual family income does not exceed two thirds of the minimum annual personal income under the National General Collective Labour Agreement qualify; applicants with a disability of 67% or more qualify regardless of income, and EU citizens may also be eligible.
Codified statutes, not binding precedent
Greece follows the continental civil-law model: comprehensive codified statutes rooted in the Roman-Byzantine tradition are the primary source of law, alongside the Constitution of 1975. The Civil Code entered into force on 23 February 1946 and is codified by Presidential Decree 456/1984, complemented by the Code of Civil Procedure and the Commercial Code. Supreme Court decisions guide uniform interpretation but are not formally binding.
The country data on this page is drawn from official sources — Greek official bodies (Ministry of Justice, AADE, Ministry of Labour, the Bar Associations) and the European e-Justice Portal — as published at the date of writing.
- European e-Justice Portal — National justice systems: Greece
- Plenary of the Presidents of the Greek Bar Associations — the legal profession in Greece
- Code of Lawyers (Law 4194/2013) — Athens Bar Association
- Greek Civil Code (Presidential Decree 456/1984) — Ministry of Justice
- European e-Justice Portal — Costs of proceedings in Greece
- Hellenic Ministry of Labour — termination of open-ended employment contracts
- Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) — inheritance tax
- AADE — tax obligations arising from loss of life
- European e-Justice Portal — Divorce and legal separation
Why it feels stuck
Three things that hold licensing files back
Most delays come from choosing the wrong procedural route, working in a second language, and letting dates pass while the position is unclear.
You cannot tell which authority or court is competent
A refusal, a suspension or a silent non-response leaves you unsure whether the next step is an internal review, an administrative court or a civil claim. Choosing the wrong route costs months.
The procedure is in Greek and follows codified statutes
Greek courts work from codified statutes rather than binding judicial precedent, so the outcome turns on the wording of the code and the content of the file. Without a lawyer who reads Greek daily, procedural steps are easy to miss.
Deadlines run while you look for help
Limitation periods in Greece differ by the type of claim — five years for commercial and tort claims, twenty for general civil claims. Waiting for clarity can quietly remove an option you still had.
How we help
What matching through our platform gives you
We are not a law firm and we do not take a share of your case. We shorten the distance between your problem and a Greek lawyer who handles it.
You are matched, not sold to
We do not handle your case ourselves. We listen to what you describe and introduce a Greek lawyer whose practice covers regulatory and licensing work. No pressure, no bundled packages.
Practitioners who appear before the right branch
Greek courts are divided into civil, criminal and administrative jurisdictions, and administrative courts sit separately under the Council of State. We match you with lawyers who work where your dispute belongs.
Clear conversations about cost
In Greece a lawyer’s fee is agreed in writing or falls back on the statutory scale, and fees carry 24% VAT. Ask early, so your budget holds no surprises later.
One short form, in your own language
You explain the file once. We condense the essentials into a short brief for the lawyer, so the first conversation starts from the substance instead of the background.
Cross-border
Where else we match clients
Many licensing and regulatory files touch more than one jurisdiction. These are the European countries clients ask us about most often alongside Greece.
Questions
Licensing and legal practice in Greece: common questions
What can a licensing lawyer in Greece do for me?
A Greek lawyer represents and defends clients before every court, authority and public service, and provides legal advice and opinions. In a licensing file that generally means reading the decision or refusal you received, testing it against the applicable statute and the file, and acting before the administrative branch of the courts, which sits separately under the Council of State.
Who is allowed to practise as a lawyer in Greece?
Membership of a Bar Association is compulsory. Under Article 4 of Law 4194/2013, a person becomes a dikigóros after passing the nationwide bar examinations, obtaining an appointment decision of the Minister of Justice published in the Government Gazette, taking the statutory oath and being entered in a Bar Association register. Article 6 requires Greek, EU or EEA citizenship, subject to limited exceptions, and a recognised law degree.
How are lawyers’ fees set in Greece?
A lawyer’s fee is freely determined by written agreement with the client and may cover the whole proceedings, part of them or specific acts, under Article 58 of the Code of Lawyers. Where there is no written agreement, the statutory scale based on the value of the matter applies, under Article 63. Fees are subject to 24% VAT, and court fees are set separately by statute.
Can I get free legal aid for a Greek case?
Free legal aid in criminal, civil and commercial cases is provided by Law 3226/2004, as amended by Law 4274/2014. Low-income citizens qualify where annual family income does not exceed two thirds of the minimum annual personal income under the National General Collective Labour Agreement, and a disability of 67% or more qualifies regardless of income. EU citizens and lawfully resident third-country nationals may also qualify.
Do Greek courts follow earlier decisions?
Greece follows the continental civil-law model, based on codified statutes rooted in the Roman-Byzantine tradition rather than binding judicial precedent. The Supreme Court, the Areios Pagos, ensures uniform interpretation and application of the law, but its decisions are not formally binding precedent. The Civil Code entered into force in 1946 and is currently codified by Presidential Decree 456/1984.
How long do claims and other deadlines in Greece last?
It depends on the claim. The general limitation period for civil claims is twenty years; commercial, professional-fee and periodic claims, and tort claims, are limited to five years, with a twenty-year absolute long-stop for torts. Other clocks are far shorter — three months to challenge a dismissal on invalidity grounds, and six months for severance. Ask a lawyer to map the dates before anything is filed.
Next step
Tell us about your Greek licensing file
Describe the decision, the authority or the deadline in a few lines. We do not give legal advice and we take no share of your case — we simply introduce you, free of charge, to a Greek lawyer whose practice covers licensing and regulatory work.