[1] The creation of this league is part of a restructuring of the Portuguese third tier, with Campeonato de Portugal, which saw the number of teams reduced, being relegated to fourth tier and the top teams competing there advancing to this new competition.

From 1990 to 2005, the championship was divided into 3 groups by geographical division: Norte (North), Centro (Centre) and Sul (South).

In 2013, the championship underwent a major reorganisation with the merger with the old Terceira Divisão (Third Division (D4)) and went from 48 to 80 teams.

[5][6][7] This competition consists of a first stage with all the teams then proceed to a promotion or relegation series depending on their performance.

Promotion Stage The eight qualified teams of each series will playing against each other in a home-and-away double round-robin system.