Driving and owning a car in Portugal: licences, importing, IUC and the rules of the road

EU and EEA licences are valid until the expiry date printed on them. Once you live in Portugal you must register your residence with IMT within 60 days; it is free and done in person at an IMT counter. Exchanging for a Portuguese licence is optional. A licence with no expiry date (some older EU licences are valid for life) is accepted for two years from the day you settle; after that it must be revalidated under Portuguese rules, so contact IMT before the two years are up.3 sources

UK and Gibraltar licences are recognised until they expire under the UK-Portugal agreement in force since 31 December 2023, and can be exchanged at any time without a test. Licences from Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are not covered and should be exchanged.3 sources

Licences from OECD and CPLP countries, including the US (every state), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland and Brazil, stay valid for residents only if three conditions all hold: the country is party to the 1949 or 1968 road convention or has a bilateral deal, the licence was issued or last renewed no more than 15 years ago, and you are under 60.2 sources

Licences from other convention or bilateral-agreement countries run on a clock that starts when your residence permit is issued: for 90 days you may drive but must apply to exchange; from 90 days to two years you may still exchange without a test for cars, but not drive; after two years you need a practical test. Licences from countries outside the conventions are not valid at all, and exchanging them needs theory and practical tests.3 sources

You apply online on IMT's A Minha Carta de Condução portal, logging in with your Cartão de Cidadão, Chave Móvel Digital or tax portal password, and only once you are resident. Your doctor sends an electronic medical certificate directly to the system. The fee is €30, with 10% off online, paid by Multibanco reference.3 sources

For a non-EU licence you also need a certificate of authenticity from the issuing authority or a consulate, showing which categories were obtained by exam. UK licence holders can give a DVLA or DVA check code instead. If the licence is not in Portuguese, French, English or Spanish, add a certified consular translation.4 sources

After approval you choose an IMT counter, where non-Portuguese nationals hand over the original licence and give biometrics. UK licences are sent back to the DVLA. The Portuguese licence arrives in 60 days on average, and in the meantime a temporary permit (guia provisória) lets you drive; if it expires first, email aminhacarta@imt-ip.pt.4 sources

A car licence issued since 30 July 2016 is renewed every 15 years until 60, then every five years, and every two years from 70; older licences follow earlier schedules. From 60 you need a medical certificate, which your doctor sends electronically. Renewal costs €30, or €15 from 70, with 10% off online, and can be done in the six months before expiry.2 sources

Category B drivers up to 50 with an active Chave Móvel Digital are renewed automatically through the ID.GOV app, with an SMS about five months before expiry. Driving on an expired licence is an offence, and a licence expired for more than two years needs a special driving test to revive.2 sources

Every licence holder starts with 12 points. Serious offences cost two points, or three for drink-driving or using a phone; very serious ones cost four or five; a court driving ban costs six. At five points you must take a road-safety course, at three a theory test, and at zero the licence is revoked for two years. Three clean years add three points, up to 15.1 source

New drivers are on probation for three years, with a lower alcohol limit. This does not apply to a licence obtained by exchanging one you had held for more than three years.1 source

For cars without a trailer the limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 km/h on ordinary roads, 100 km/h on roads reserved for motor vehicles and 120 km/h on motorways, where there is also a 50 km/h minimum. Average-speed cameras count.2 sources

The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l of blood, and 0.2 g/l for drivers in their first three years and for taxi, ride-hailing, heavy-vehicle, school-transport and emergency drivers. Between 0.5 and 0.8 g/l the fine is €250 to €1,250; between 0.8 and 1.2 g/l it is €500 to €2,500, and from 1.2 g/l it is a crime.1 source

On roundabouts, give way to traffic already on them. For the first exit use the right lane; for later exits, move to the right lane only after passing the exit before yours.1 source

Carry your ID, licence, insurance certificate and registration document (DUA), or show them in the official id.gov app. If you cannot show them on the spot you have five days to present them; otherwise the fine is €60 to €300.2 sources

A change of owner must be registered within 60 days. The buyer can do it online on Automóvel Online with a Cartão de Cidadão and card reader, 15% cheaper, or at a Registo Automóvel office or Loja do Cidadão. A used-car transfer costs €65, and registering late costs the fee again on top.2 sources

Before you pay, get the certidão permanente for the plate: €10 online, available to anyone, showing the registered owner, any loan or lien on the car and pending requests in real time. The registration document (DUA) shows the owner and any encumbrances too; a new one is issued when the owner changes.2 sources

Buying from a dealer gives you a legal guarantee of three years against defects. For used cars the dealer can agree with you to cut it to 18 months, unless the car is sold as refurbished. A private sale carries no such statutory guarantee.1 source

IUC is owed by whoever is registered as owner, so a seller should make sure the transfer is registered, and a buyer should not drive away without the paperwork filed.2 sources

A car registered in Portugal for the first time pays the vehicle tax, ISV, based on its engine size and CO₂ emissions, plus a €500 surcharge for diesels unless their particulate emissions are very low. Fully electric cars pay none. Hybrids, petrol or diesel, pay 60% only with more than 50 km of electric range and under 50 g/km of CO₂; plug-in hybrids pay 25% with at least 50 km and under 50 g/km (80 g/km if homologated to Euro 6e-bis), as do plug-ins first registered elsewhere in the EU from 2015 to 2020 with at least 25 km. Other hybrids pay in full. The minimum is €100.1 source

What else you pay depends on where the car comes from. From another EU country you pay ISV, plus VAT only if the car is new (six months old or less, or 6,000 km or less). From outside the EU, new or used, you pay customs duty, VAT and ISV, with VAT charged on a base that includes the duty and the ISV.1 source

Used cars from another EU state get an ISV reduction for age, from 10% for a car up to a year old to 80% for one over ten years. On a plain reading of the code, used cars from outside the EU, such as from the UK or US, get no such reduction; confirm with the tax authority before you ship.1 source

The process: file the customs vehicle declaration (DAV) within 20 working days of the car entering Portugal, pay ISV within 10 working days of the assessment, pass a registration inspection (€93.52 in 2026), and request a Portuguese plate from IMT within 60 days, during which the DAV lets you drive. IMT charges €45 if the car has a certificate of conformity (CoC) and €165 if not, which is common for US cars.5 sources

Anyone over 18 transferring their normal residence to Portugal can register one car or motorcycle without ISV. You must have lived abroad for at least six months, and owned the car there for at least six months before the move, having bought it under normal taxation in that country.2 sources

Apply within 12 months of moving, through the DAV on the Portal das Finanças, attaching the registration document, your ID, an official certificate of residence abroad with start and end dates, and proof of everyday life there such as rent, utility bills or payslips. The request is free.2 sources

The conditions after registration are strict: you cannot sell, rent or lend the car for 12 months, or the full ISV becomes due, and the exemption can be used only once every ten years. You still need the registration inspection and an IMT plate.3 sources

A car on another EU country's plates may stay in Portugal for up to six months, consecutive or not, in any 12 months, but only if it belongs to someone who is not resident here and is used privately. Residents may only drive foreign-plated cars with prior authorisation from customs.1 source

So once you are resident, a car you bring must be imported: the DAV is due within 20 working days of the car entering Portugal, or you file it with your exemption claim within 12 months of moving. A car not registered in Portugal that stays more than 183 days in a calendar year also owes IUC.3 sources

Holders of temporary protection from Ukraine have a special regime: they may drive Ukrainian-registered cars while their permit is valid, and the owner can register the car in Portugal without ISV. Check that the 2022 regime still applies to you.1 source

Cars first registered in the EU from July 2007 (category B), which includes any car imported from outside the EU today, pay IUC on engine size plus CO₂, multiplied by a coefficient of 1.15 for cars registered from 2010. Diesels pay a small flat surcharge on top, and cars registered from 2017 in the top CO₂ bands pay an extra amount. Fully electric cars are exempt. The rates have not changed since 2024, and the 2027 budget proposal keeps them.4 sources

Until the end of 2026 you pay IUC by the end of the month in which your car's registration anniversary falls. From 2027 the tax year becomes the calendar year: the tax authority issues one assessment by the end of April for all the cars you own on 1 January, payable in April if it is €100 or less, in April and October up to €500, and in April, July and October above that.2 sources

2027 is a transition year: bills of up to €500 are paid in a single instalment in October, and larger ones in July and October.2 sources

Cars need their first periodic inspection four years after first registration, then every two years until they are eight years old, and every year after that. Vans are inspected at two years and then yearly.1 source

Prices are fixed nationally. In 2026 a periodic inspection for a car costs €37.47 including VAT, a re-inspection €9.40 and the inspection needed to register an imported car €93.52.2 sources

Third-party liability insurance is compulsory for any car able to circulate, even if it is parked and not used. The legal minimum cover is several million euros per accident for injuries and over a million for damage to property; gov.pt gives €6.07 million and €1.22 million, while DECO PROteste reported higher figures from June 2022.2 sources

Portuguese law does not oblige insurers to take your claims history from another country into account. Some will accept a no-claims letter from your previous insurer, so ask for one in writing before you leave and shop around.1 source

After an accident, fill in the joint accident report (Declaração Amigável) with the other driver. Uninsured drivers are covered by the Fundo de Garantia Automóvel, and disputes go first to the insurer's complaints service, then to its ombudsman or the CIMPAS arbitration centre.1 source

Since 1 January 2025 there are no tolls on the former SCUT motorways: the A4 Transmontana and Marão tunnel, A13 and A13-1, A22 (Algarve), A23, A24, A25 and two sections of the A28. Other motorways charge either at barriers or at electronic gantries with no booth.2 sources

The easy option is a Via Verde transponder, which works on every motorway: €37.50 to buy, or a monthly subscription from €0.54. Without one, a Portuguese-plated car pays gantry tolls afterwards at CTT, Payshop or Multibanco, from 48 hours after passing and within 15 working days, with a fee of €0.32 per trip. Foreign-plated cars can use EasyToll or a prepaid TollCard, which do not cover the Lisbon bridges.1 source

In Lisbon, on-street parking is run by EMEL, which began phasing in new prices on 4 August 2026; daily tickets in some zones cost €2.15 or €3.15 on weekdays. Lisbon's low-emission zone bars cars registered before 2000 from the Avenida da Liberdade and Baixa on weekdays from 7:00 to 21:00, and cars registered before 1996 from a wider zone, though enforcement has been minimal.2 sources