How Does Teacher Placement Work in SIGRHE?

Placement in SIGRHE works by matching each candidate, ordered by graduacao profissional, to the highest-ranked available preference on their list, whether that preference is a specific agrupamento de escolas, an escola nao agrupada, or a Quadro de Zona Pedagogica. Once placed, a candidate must accept the placement inside SIGRHE within a short deadline, or lose it.

How do candidates express preferences?

Candidates list codes for agrupamentos de escolas or escolas nao agrupadas (AE/EnA) in the order they prefer them. When a candidate instead expresses a Quadro de Zona Pedagogica (QZP) code, they are treated as an opositor to every AE/EnA within that QZP’s geographic scope, and placement within the zone proceeds in ascending order of the AE/EnA code, according to DGAE manual material on manifestacao de preferencias. The distinction between the two Quadro types is covered in our guide to Quadro de Agrupamento versus Quadro de Zona Pedagogica.

What does sequential order of horarios mean?

For each preference a candidate lists, they must respect the sequentialidade of the horario intervals, meaning the system checks eligible teaching-hour ranges in a fixed order rather than letting a candidate cherry-pick specific horarios out of sequence within a single preference. This mechanical rule is one of the more confusing parts of the process for first-time candidates, and it applies across the concurso externo, Contratacao Inicial and Reserva de Recrutamento cycles alike.

How long does a candidate have to accept a placement?

Candidates placed through the concurso must accept their placement in SIGRHE within 48 hours, corresponding to the two working days following the publication of the placement list, per DGAE guidance summarised by teacher-facing sources covering the Contratacao Inicial and Reserva de Recrutamento cycles. Missing that window can mean losing the placement entirely, which is why many candidates set an exam countdown against every deadline in the recruitment calendar, not just the initial candidatura.

When must a placed candidate report to the school?

Candidates placed through Mobilidade Interna and Contratacao Inicial must present themselves at the agrupamento de escolas or escola nao agrupada where they were placed on the first working day of September, according to the same guidance. Candidates who entered through the concurso externo and are integrated into a Quadro should confirm their specific presentation date against the current aviso, since it can differ from the Contratacao Inicial calendar.

How does this connect to graduacao profissional?

The entire matching process depends on each candidate’s graduacao profissional score relative to others competing for the same preference; how that score is built is explained fully in how graduacao profissional is calculated. A candidate with a higher score in a given grupo de recrutamento is matched to their preferences before a candidate with a lower score, which is also why understanding grupos de recrutamento shapes strategy before the preferences are even submitted.

Frequently asked questions

Can a candidate change their preference order after submitting it? Preference changes are generally only possible within the official candidatura window set by the current aviso de abertura; once that window closes, the submitted order is what SIGRHE uses for matching.

What happens if a candidate does not accept a placement in time? Failing to accept within the 48-hour window typically results in losing that placement, with consequences that can extend to future cycles depending on the specific mechanism and candidate category.

Does placement in a QZP mean a fixed school assignment? No, a QZP placement means eligibility across every agrupamento within that zone, with the specific school assignment determined separately each year.

Is the acceptance deadline the same across every recruitment mechanism? The 48-hour window applies to placements communicated through SIGRHE broadly, but candidates should always verify the specific deadline stated on the placement list itself.

Where can I find the exam profile for this competition? See the Concurso Externo de Docentes exam page.