Article 444 of Commercial Code

1 - The holder of a bill of exchange presented for acceptance is not obliged to surrender it to the drawee. 2 - Acceptance shall be written on the bill of exchange itself, expressed by the word (Accepted» or any other phrase conveying this meaning, and signed by the drawee. 3 - The mere placing of the drawee's signature on the face of the bill of exchange shall constitute acceptance. - If the bill of exchange is payable at a period after sight, or must be presented for acceptance within a specified period pursuant to a special stipulation, the date of acceptance shall be stated Home Page 1317 Law Index Commercial Law Decree-Law No. 68 of 1980 Promulgating the Commercial Law as the day on which it occurred, unless the holder requires the date of acceptance to be stated as the day the bill of exchange was presented. If the acceptance is undated, the holder may, to preserve his rights of recourse against the endorsers or the drawer, establish this omission by a protest drawn up at a time when it is effective.