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Before a bank takes on a new customer, they do "due diligence" and "Know your customer" checks to ensure that the bank is not laundering money. When a company takes on a new partner, customer, or supplier, it may also do "due diligence". I believe this is a legal term.

What is the equivalent in Portuguese?

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    The main suggestion on Lingee is "devida diligência" or to keep the original English term, but let's see if one of our contributors with better legal knowledge posts an answer.
    – stafusa ♦
    Nov 29, 2020 at 1:58
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    O termo em inglês “Due Diligence” pode ser traduzido para o português como diligência prévia e refere-se ao processo de estudo, análise e a avaliação detalhada de informações de uma Empresa alvo da negociação, geralmente chamada de Target, visando a identificação de eventuais distorções relevantes, decorrentes das práticas empresariais.contabeis.com.br/artigos/4523/afinal-o-que-e-a-due-diligence
    – Lambie
    Jul 10, 2022 at 1:57

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The term due diligence is commonly used in English, but it may be translated as diligência, diligência devida or diligência prévia.

From Priberam, the closest definition of diligência for due diligence is:

  1. Busca, pesquisa, averiguação.

Translation: Search, research, enquiry.

Some examples of the use of the term I found on the Internet, in the context of legal verification, verification of suppliers or other involved parties:

  • Due diligence financeira e legal (p. 11)
  • [...] pela realização da diligência (due diligence) sobre as informações da empresa que serão utilizadas na elaboração dos documentos de emissão [...] (p. 15)

Source: B3. This document has a glossary explaining the english term.

Em 2019, foram iniciadas atividades de Due Diligence Integrada de Fornecedores, no Banco do Brasil.

Source: Banco do Brasil.

O que é Due Diligence?
Esse termo em inglês significa "diligência devida" ou "diligência prévia". [...]

Source: Neoway.

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The term equivalent to "due diligence" and often used in Portuguese is "diligência prévia", which refers to the process of investigating a business opportunity that the investor must accept in order to assess the risks of the transaction. Although such an investigation can be done under a legal obligation, the term usually refers to voluntary investigations.

In the literal translation to Portuguese, "due/devida" has the meaning of debit, owing, payable, overdue. So, in the current vernaculum, the expression "devida diligência" would not make so much sense, since "prévia" refers to something that is done in advance, before the neuralgic event, which in this case would be the business after the investigation. However, it can be used.

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    It is actually incorrect to say that "devida" is only related to debt, since it can also mean "necessário, apropriado" as in "com os devidos cuidados" ("taking the appropriate precautions").
    – stafusa ♦
    Nov 30, 2020 at 15:59
  • @stafusa I did not mention, at any time, this mismanagement that “devida” has only that meaning - I even mentioned that it could be used, however, it would not make as much sense as “prévia”, an act that occurs, a priori, from the neuralgic point. On the contrary, I elucidated, using the current vernacular, the premise of the aforementioned term, as a support.
    – Benjamin Lajolo Bessa
    Nov 30, 2020 at 18:54
  • @stafusa In this sense, “devida” would have this meaning, since, according to the Latin etymology of its verb (debere), comprising from its original conception the idea of ​​obligation and commitment acquired and extended to the ethical and moral conscience into individuald responsibilities, formed by the prefix "de-", in function of deprivation, and the verb "habere", for having, as the root of the infinitive to exist.
    – Benjamin Lajolo Bessa
    Nov 30, 2020 at 18:56
  • @stafusa So the influence of the prefix "de-", at a private level, as well as it is also guided by the "des-" component, noting that it expresses other interpretations according to the construction and the context, so it includes: “débito” (in Latin debitum), “detrator” (seen in Latin forms detractoris), or “delimitar” (in Latin delimitare).
    – Benjamin Lajolo Bessa
    Nov 30, 2020 at 18:57
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    @stafusa In addition, as data maxima venia, “diligência prévia” already appeared in the legal writings of Portugal in the 19th century, as seen in the "Official Collection of Portuguese Legislation", of 1854.
    – Benjamin Lajolo Bessa
    Nov 30, 2020 at 19:00
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The equivalent would be:

devida diligência

or:

diligência devida

The word devida, in this case, has the meaning (according to Houaiss):

que ou o que é objeto [...] de uma obrigação

Translation: that which is the object of an obligation

An example of this usage is:

recebeu-a com a devida consideração

Translation: received it with (the) due consideration.

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  • Since the answer is in English, it would probably be good to add a translation of the quoted Houaiss entry.
    – stafusa ♦
    Nov 30, 2020 at 16:04
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    @stafusa. OK. Translations added.
    – Sid
    Nov 30, 2020 at 16:09

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