P04E - Driving Licence

Documents you need to carry when driving

• Identification Document: Passport or Residência Card.  
• Fiscal Card (number)
• Driving Licence or Permit.  
• Vehicle Registration document
• Roadworthiness Inspection Certificate, (if applicable)
• Insurance Certificate
• Proof of payment of car tax (not obligatory)

One of the most important documents you need to carry whenever you drive a vehicle is your driving licence (Carta de Condução) or driving permit (Licença de Condução). The driving permit (Licença de Condução) is for  certain agricultural vehicles. The driving licence (Carta de Condução) covers all other classes of vehicles. 

Included in this Information Bulletin:

• Registration of an EU+UK licence

• Expiry of EU/UK driving licences

• Exchanging driving licences EU Countries

• Exchanging driving licences NON-EU Countries

• Driving licences issued by CPLP and OECD countries (Residents below 60 years)

• Portuguese driving licences

• Renewal of Portuguese driving licences

• International driving licences

Registration of an EU+UK licence

If you are an EU or UK driving licence holder, you are required to, when you first become a Resident in Portugal, register your driving licence with the Portuguese authorities IMT within 60 days of becoming Resident. The 60 day period begins from the issue date of the Residency. The procedure to register yourself as a driver in Portugal is simple and can be done by visiting an IMT office. The registration is valid until the expiry of your EU/UK driving licence. 

OBS: At present it is no possible to register UK licences due to an IT issue in IMT.

IMT office in person: 
Please bring following copies and the original documents:

• Photocopy of your Driving Licence (both sides of the card) 

• Photocopy of proof of Residency (Residência Certificate or Card) 

• Photocopy of Passport 

• Photocopy of your Portuguese Fiscal Card/A4 document 

The IMT will give you a stamped document, which you should keep together with your driving licence and carry whenever driving. 

The driving licences without a validity date and therefore valid ‘forever’ CAN be registered but the registration will only be valid for two years, after which the licence must be exchanged to a Portuguese licence.

You can however also show up to an IMT office without an appointment, simply take a number and wait your turn, however be prepared for some waiting time. We suggest to go early in the morning, the IMT offices open at 09h00.  

Expiry of EU/UK  driving licences 

If your EU/UK driving licence expires and you are still a Resident in Portugal, you will have to renew it here, by exchanging your driving licence for a European one issued in Portugal. To do that you must follow the steps mentioned below on “Exchanging driving licences EU Countries” or for UK driving licence holders “Exchanging driving licences NON-EU Countries”.  

Driving licences from some EU countries such as Belgium and Germany have no validity date, they were issued to last forever, there is however an EU directive 2006/126/CE which states that all driving licences must have a validity date. It is therefore mandatory that Residents in Portugal who are holders of an EU driving licence without a validity date to get it exchanged for a Portuguese one. New Residents must do it within 2 years of the date of their Residency certificate issue. This means: The driving licences without a validity date and therefore valid ‘forever’ CAN be registered with IMT as mentioned above but the registration will only be valid for two years, whereafter the licence must be exchanged to a Portuguese licence. 

Exchanging driving licences EU Countries

For EU issued driving licences there is no immediate need for exchange, as an EU driving licence is valid in Portugal. However, it must be registered with IMT, as mentioned above, within 60 days after the holder becoming a Resident and then renewed in Portugal at the expiry date, if the holder is still a Resident. For the exchange, the first step is to get the medical certificate (see below) as you must have that before submitting the application for exchange.

To exchange your EU driving licence for a Portuguese one, you will need: 

• The old  VALID driving licence (front and back)

• Your fiscal number

• Residência Card or Certificate (front and back)

• A tax domicile certificate (Certidão Domicilio Fiscal) issued through the Portal das Finanças website, if the Residency document does not indicate an address or has the wrong address (if you moved)

• Passport (picture+ signature page)

• Electronic Medical Certificate (done by a private doctor or your family doctor at the local health centre. Make sure you mention, when booking the consultation, that the medical certificate is for an exchange of an EU driving licence to a Portuguese and ask what you must bring for the consultation. The medical certificates are sent automatically online by the doctor to IMT) For this certificate you need to present your Cartão de Utente (Portuguese state health card/number SNS)

• For certain categories a psychological exam is also needed, please see below on the renewal ages display

• Official translation of the driving licence’s contents when the contents are not in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish (when requested).

The price for the exchange is €30.00.

Important: The Certificate of Authenticity is NOT needed for driving licences issued by another EU member State.

Online exchange procedure:
Please ensure that you have all the necessary documents for processing your application properly scanned in colour and in PDF format (max. 2MB), one document per file upload.

You do not need to attach the medical certificate as it is electronically sent to IMT by the doctor.

Login to the portal “A minha carta de condução” with either your Chave Móvel Digital or with your login details for the Portal das Finanças. Below are the steps for the request:

• Authorize that your name and fiscal number is provided by Finanças to IMT, click “autorizo”

• Start the registration by filling in date of birth and email address, then “registar”

• Enter your personal page, click “perfil”

• You need to confirm your email, click “enviar email para fidelização”

• You will get an email from IMT (always check spam) where you have to click the link “link para verificação de endereço de e-mail” which will then take you back to the A minha carta de condução portal.

• Click on “pedidos”

• Click on “troca de carta de condução estrangeiro”

• Click on “criar pedido”

• You can now change the language to English and continue the request. There is an instruction manual available on the IMT website here: https://www.imt-ip.pt/manuais/ (troca de título de condução estrangeira) – in Portuguese

• After submitting the request, you will get an email with the payment details for the exchange. 

• Book appointment to go to IMT in person

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once your request has been successfully submitted, you are responsible for checking if IMT have written any notifications to you, for instance requiring clarifications, further documentation or informing you that the request has been approved and you can book an appointment with IMT. The notifications are also on the A minha carta de condução portal under “notificações” and you also reply to the notification on that portal. Notifications that are not answered within 30 days will automatically close the request and no refund of the fee will be issued.

Appointment with IMT on SIGA Marcações portal:
The last step in the process for exchange of a foreign driving licence is to go in person to an IMT office. Once you have received a notification on the A minha carta de condução portal, in “notificações”, that your request has been approved and you should book an appointment, then you can book on the SIGA portal here: https://siga.marcacaodeatendimento.pt/ 

• Select Schedule your appointment

• Select By entity - start

• Select entity IMT 

• Select theme (Foreign Driving Licence Exchange)

• Select subtheme (Submission of requirements/documents)

• Click “Check attendance  options”

• Select attendance place

• Fill in District, Locality, Attendance place – click “next”

• Schedule date and time for the appointment

For the appointment remember to bring all the original documents that you attached online for the application for the exchange of your driving licence, especially your original EU driving licence.

EXCEPTIONAL SITUATIONS EU+UK driving licences:
You can choose to hand in the original European license after the Portuguese license has been issued (not handing it in at the in-person appointment). To do so, during the request under “Informações de entrega” you must select “Recolha no balcão do IMT” and select the IMT office where you wish to pick up the Portuguese licence. When your Portuguese license is issued, you will receive a notification by email so that you can go to the IMT office selected on the request.

Lost driving licence:
You should present a Certificate of Authenticity and proof of loss (ex. police report).

Expired driving licence:
Please send all your documents individually in PDF format (max. 2MB) to the email address aminhacarta@imt-ip.pt  with your NIF (tax identification number) in the subject line.

Driving licence without an expiry date/valid forever (including Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland):

Please send all your documents individually and in PDF format (max. 2MB), to the email address aminhacarta@imtip.pt with your NIF (tax identification number) in the subject line.

Exchanging driving licences NON-EU Countries

The application for exchange of a driving licence from non-EU countries for a Portuguese one must be done within 90 days of the driver becoming a Resident in Portugal. This applies to countries with a bilateral agreement with Portugal, such as Brazil, Switzerland, Morocco, The Emirates etc; and countries that joined the international conventions of 1949 or 1968, such as South Africa, Canada, USA, Slovenia, etc. You can find a full list of these countries on the IMT website. 

Please note: Drivers holding a driving licence from one of those countries may drive in Portugal for 185 days, as long as they are NOT Residents.

Failing to apply to exchange your driving licence within the 90 days as referred, will mean the driver can be fined by the traffic police. Failing to exchange the driving licence within 2 years of becoming a Resident means the driver will have to go through and pass a driving test in Portugal in order to obtain a Portuguese driving licence.

Exchange of UK licences:
As mentioned earlier under the “Registration” section, UK licences can be registered until the expiry date, whereafter, if the holder is still a Resident, the licence must be exchanged into a Portuguese licence, following the process here below.

The first step for the exchange is to get the medical certificate (see below) as you must have that before submitting the application for exchange.

To exchange your NON-EU driving licence for a Portuguese one, you will need: 

• The old VALID driving licence (front and back)

• Your fiscal number

• Residência Permit (front and back)

• A tax domicile certificate (Certidão Domicilio Fiscal) issued through the Portal das Finanças website, if the Residency document does not indicate an address or has the wrong address (if you moved)

• Passport (picture+signature page)

• Electronic Medical Certificate (done by a private doctor or your family doctor at the local health centre. Make sure you mention, when booking the consultation, that the medical certificate is for an exchange of NON-EU driving licence to a Portuguese and ask what you must bring for the consultation. The medical certificates are sent automatically online by the doctor to IMT) For this certificate you need to present your Cartão de Utente (Portuguese state health card/number)

• For certain categories a psychological exam is also needed, please see below on the renewal ages display

• Certificate of Authenticity of the driving license, issued by the issuing entity or consular service, indicating the categories obtained by examination (and what type of test) and the categories obtained by equivalence

• Official notarized translation of the driving licence’s contents when the contents are not in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish.

The price for the exchange is €30.00

Online:
Please ensure that you have all the necessary documents for processing your application properly scanned in colour and in PDF format (max. 2MB), one document per file upload.

You do not need to attach the medical certificate as it is electronically sent to IMT by the doctor.

Login to the portal “A minha carta de condução” with either your Chave Móvel Digital or with your login details for the Portal das Finanças.  Below are the steps for the request:

• Authorize that your name and fiscal number is provided by Finanças to IMT, click “autorizo”

• Start the registration by filling in date of birth and email address, then “registar”

• Enter your personal page, click “perfil”

• You need to confirm your email, click “enviar email para fidelização”

• You will get an email from IMT (always check spam) where you have to click the link “link para verificação de endereço de e-mail” which will then take you back to the A minha carta de condução portal.

• Click on “pedidos”

• Click on “troca de carta de condução estrangeiro”

• Click on “criar pedido”

• You can now change the language to English and continue the request. There is an instruction manual available on the IMT website here: https://www.imt-ip.pt/manuais/ (troca de título de condução estrangeira) – in Portuguese

• After submitting the request, you will get an email with the payment details for the exchange. 

• Book appointment to go to IMT in person

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once your request has been successfully submitted, you are responsible for checking if IMT have written any notifications to you, for instance requiring clarifications, further documentation or informing you that the request has been approved and you can book an appointment with IMT. The notifications are also on the A minha carta de condução portal under “notificações” and you also reply to the notification on that portal. Notifications that are not answered within 30 days will automatically close the request and no refund of the fee will be issued.

Appointment with IMT on SIGA Marcações portal:
The last step in the process for exchange of a foreign driving licence is to go in person to an IMT office. Once you have received a notification on the A minha carta de condução portal, in “notificações”, that your request has been approved and you should book an appointment, then you can book on the SIGA portal here: https://siga.marcacaodeatendimento.pt/ 

• Select Schedule your appointment

• Select By entity - start

• Select entity IMT 

• Select theme (Foreign Driving Licence Exchange)

• Select subtheme (Submission of requirements/documents)

• Click “Check attendance  options”

• Select attendance place

• Fill in District, Locality, Attendance place – click “next”

• Schedule date and time for the appointment

For the appointment remember to bring all the original documents that you attached online for the application for the exchange of your driving licence, especially your original foreign driving licence and your Certificate of Authenticity.

Driving licences issued in countries that are not part of the international conventions or do not have any agreement with Portugal are not recognised in this country. 
If you have a driving licence issued in the Cayman Island, Palestine, Antigua, etc you are not allowed to drive in Portugal and will need to pass a test in Portugal to be issued a Portuguese driving licence, but for this you must be a Resident in Portugal. You can find further information on the IMT website.

Driving licences issued by CPLP and OECD countries (Residents below 60 years)

Driving licences issued by CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) and OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries are recognised in Portugal under certain conditions (see below). This means that as a Resident in Portugal, with a driving licence issued by one of those countries, you are exempt from exchanging your driving licence to a Portuguese licence when ALL the following conditions are met:

• The driving licences is issued in a CPLP/OECD State that is a signatory to one of the conventions or a bilateral agreement with the Portuguese State

• If no more than 15 years have elapsed since the issue or the last renewal of the licence

• The holder is under the age of 60

• The driving licence is valid 

• The driver is of the minimum age established in Portugal to drive the vehicle(s) of the category(s) listed on their driving licence 

• The driving licence is not seized, suspended, expired or revoked by virtue of an administrative or court decision applied to its holder in Portugal or in the issuing State.

This only applies to categories A and B, if you wish to retain any other categories on your licence, you will have to exchange for a Portuguese driving licence. Portugal will only accept categories that have been issued after an exam.

If you do meet all these conditions, as a Resident in Portugal, you do not need to exchange your driving licence to a Portuguese licence and you also do not need to register the licence with the IMT.

However, once one of the conditions is no longer met, for instance if you turn 60 or more than 15 years have elapsed since the issue of the last renewal of the licence, you are required to exchange the licence to a Portuguese licence.

The countries that are covered by this law are:   

• CPLP member states, which are signatories to one of the Traffic Conventions (1949 or 1968 Convention) – Brazil and Cape Verde 

• CPLP member states, which signed a bilateral agreement with Portugal – Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe 

• OECD member states that are not members of the EU or EEA and that are signatories to the transit conventions (1949 or 1968 Convention) – Australia, Canada, Chile, Republic of Korea, United States of America, Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, UK, Switzerland and Turkey.   

Portuguese driving licences

To hold a driving permit for motor vehicles with engine capacity under 125cc, you must be at least 16 years old. The minimum age for driving light vehicles andmotorcycles with power up to 35 kW is 18. The minimum age for heavy goods and large passenger vehicles is 21 years. 

To obtain a licence you must first enroll in an authorised driving school. Each school can set its own fees. Theory tests are now on multimedia computers. 

Renewal of Portuguese driving licences
Renewals can be done at an IMT Office or at some driving schools/document agencies that are prepared to do so. It is also possible to renew at the “Espaço Cidadão” offices, you can find them listed on their website (on the left side menu we already chose “Espaço Cidadão” and then you can choose the district you live in underneath). However not all Espaço Cidadão offices have this in place at present, so we recommend that you check first, when booking the appointment, before heading off on a fruitless excursion. We are also aware that sometimes there is a problem at Espaço Cidadão when trying to input the Residência number into the system (in cases where your Residência number has changed for instance). If that is the case at your local office and they are unable to process your application, they will refer you to IMT. Some Espaço Cidadão offices are able to request that change directly to IMT for you, but it takes a few days and you will have to return when the changes have been done.

The renewal of Portuguese driving licences may be done up to 6 months prior to expiry date and will require: 

• Your old driving licence 

• Your Residence Card, Permit or Certificate 

• Your passport or Identification card 

• Your Portuguese fiscal card or just the number

• Electronic medical certificate (at 60 years of age and thereafter) done by a private doctor or your family doctor at the local health centre. Make sure you mention, when booking the consultation, that the medical certificate is for a driving licence renewal and ask what is needed to bring to the consultation. The medical certificates are sent automatically online by the doctor to IMT.For this certificate you need to present your Cartão de Utente (Portuguese state health card/number)

• For certain categories a psychological exam is also needed, please see below on the renewal ages display

The price for the renewal is 30 euros (15.00 euros for people above 70 years of age). Bring all original documents and a copy of each if you go in person.

IMT or Espaço Cidadão will provide a receipt authorising you to drive in Portugal (temporary driving permit). Your new license will be sent to you by post. 

It is also possible to renew Portuguese driving licences online, you will need to have the personal login to the “Portal das Finanças” as that is the same used to login for the driving licence renewal or a “Chave Móvel Digital” on the  A minha carta de condução portal.

Before starting the online renewal, you need to already have the Medical Certificate done (if applicable).

Portuguese driving licences must be renewed at the ages displayed below:

The licence for category CE becomes valid only for a maximum weight of 20 tonnes when the driver turns 67. The licence for categories D1, D1E, D and DE ceases to be valid when the driver turns 67 and cannot be renewed.

Renewal of a Portuguese licence can be requested within 6 months prior to expiry.

• If you do not apply for renewal before the expiry date and drive with an expired driving licence, you are committing a traffic offence;

• If you allow more than 2 years to pass (up to a limit of 5 years) without renewing your licence, you will have to take a special exam, consisting of a practical test;

• If you allow more than 5 years to pass (up to a limit of 10 years) without renewing your licence, you will have to successfully complete a specific training course and take a special exam, consisting of a practical test.

International driving licences 

An International driving licence is available from IMT or the ACP (Automóvel Clube de Portugal) and is valid to drive in the country you are visiting (other than the one you live in).