[ORioN63]

I don't think I've have ever met a software engineer in Portugal that is on the "Ordem de Engenheiros". It's far more common, because indeed they're legally bound, with civil engineers, material engineers and such.

That may also be true for some areas, but you can def. sign a contract for software development with just a generic business license.

[pjmlp]

There are certainly creative ways to sign the contract in order to avoid that requirement, after all we belong to the European nations that tend to be creative when it is time to comply with the law.

For example, I knew some consulting shops that had one poor soul that signed all contracts and hoped for the best.