Using a foreign driving licence in Portugal

What confuses most people arriving with a foreign licence is whether they have to exchange it and how long they can drive on it. The answer depends on the country that issued it, and the IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) separates the cases on different pages. This guide follows those pages.

CPLP and OECD licences: you can keep driving

For driving in Portugal the IMT accepts licences from OECD and CPLP countries “even if the drivers are resident” (the IMT’s wording, translated), provided all of these requirements are met:

• the issuing country has signed the Geneva (1949) or Vienna (1968) Convention, or has a bilateral agreement with Portugal;
• no more than 15 years have passed since the licence was issued or last renewed;
• the holder is under 60;
• the licence is valid;
• the driver has the minimum age Portugal requires for the categories on the licence;
• the licence is not seized, suspended, expired or revoked, in Portugal or in the issuing country.

The regime comes from Decree-Law 46/2022, in force since 1 August 2022. The IMT includes in it Brazil and Cabo Verde (CPLP members that signed one of the conventions), Angola, Cabo Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe (which signed a bilateral agreement with Portugal) and twelve OECD countries that are not in the EU or EEA, per the IMT list: Australia, Canada, Chile, Korea, the United States, Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey.

So, if the requirements are met, there is no deadline to exchange the licence after getting residence. It is a permission that only has effect in Portugal: it does not turn your licence into a Portuguese one.

Exchanging remains possible, and is necessary in some cases: the IMT says you cannot obtain other categories, add group II for TVDE (passenger transport booked through an electronic platform) or collective transport of children, or obtain the CAM (certificado de aptidão de motorista) and CQM (carta de qualificação de motorista), the professional driver certificates, without exchanging the licence.

These requirements are cumulative, according to Decree-Law 46/2022, which wrote them into article 125 of the Road Code (Código da Estrada). A licence that fails one of them, for example by being more than 15 years old, falls outside this regime. The IMT page does not say what applies in that case: look at the IMT page for countries with a convention or agreement and confirm with the IMT before driving.

Deadlines for other countries with a convention or agreement

For licences from countries with a bilateral agreement or reciprocity arrangement with Portugal, or that are party to the international road traffic conventions, the IMT page on those situations says that without residence you may drive for 185 days counted from the day after you enter Portugal. When you take up residence, the deadlines run from the issue date of your residence permit:

• up to 90 days: you may keep driving on the foreign licence, but you must apply to the IMT for the exchange;
• after 90 days and up to 2 years: you can still apply for the exchange, but can no longer drive on the foreign licence;
• after 2 years: you can no longer drive on it and, to exchange it, you must pass the practical driving test.

gov.pt adds that people with dual nationality must have residence in Portugal to request the exchange. Licences from countries that are not party to the conventions are not valid in Portugal: you must request the exchange straight away and take a theory test and a practical test, per category, at 30 euros each, on top of the 30 euros for the exchange request. European Union and EEA licences are valid until the expiry date printed on them, and the IMT asks for residence registration in Portugal; for licences with no printed expiry date, it says the registration is free and must be done within 60 days of taking up residence.

How to request the exchange

1. Medical assessment. Your doctor issues the certificate on the electronic medical certificate platform. You do not need to send a copy: the IMT receives it automatically. The exchange always requires this assessment, even where there is no driving test.
2. Log in to the portal A Minha Carta de Condução, authenticate, fill in the form and submit the request with the documents.
3. Attach the documents. According to the IMT for OECD and CPLP licences:
   • identity document; for anyone without a Citizen Card, the residence notification made at the municipal council (Câmara Municipal);
   • tax domicile certificate from the Portal das Finanças, if the address is not on the residence document;
   • passport, if the residence document has no photo and signature;
   • the driving licence;
   • psychological assessment certificate, only if you are exchanging categories C, D or E;
   • certificate of authenticity of the licence, issued by the issuing authority or a consular service, showing the categories obtained by test (and the type of test) and those obtained by equivalence;
   • a translation of the licence authenticated by the consular service of Portugal or of another Member State in the issuing country, if it is not in Portuguese, French, English or Spanish.
4. Payment. The IMT gives 30 euros, with a 10% discount if the request is made online.
5. Wait for the IMT to contact you and go to the counter on the day given: you hand over the foreign licence and give your photograph and signature. You may give an alternative address to receive the new licence or collect it at an IMT counter.

gov.pt says the Portuguese licence arrives in 60 days on average, with a temporary permit (guia provisória) allowing you to drive meanwhile, and that it may have a different expiry date from the original. The IMT also notes that completing the request depends on presenting proof of residence in Portugal.

If something goes wrong

• The certificate of authenticity is one of the documents of the request and is issued by the authority that issued the licence or by a consular service: ask for it early, as it depends on third parties.
• For questions the IMT has a contact form and a user support manual on the page itself.
• To find an IMT counter, see Service points.

The licence is only one part of dealing with Brazil: see also Loose ends in Brazil and First steps.