Driving licence in Portugal – exchange rules, car import, tolls, Navegante and the €20 rail pass
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Whether you must exchange your driving licence in Portugal depends on where it was issued: some newcomers never have to, others lose the right to drive after 90 days. This part covers the exchange, bringing a car tax-free, paying tolls without a booth, and the Navegante, Andante and Green Rail passes.
Three dates matter if you drive. Since 1 August 2022 licences from 17 OECD and CPLP countries, including Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States, have stayed valid after you become resident. Since 1 January 2025 the former SCUT motorways have been toll-free. And since 1 December 2024 everyone up to 23 travels free on Lisbon's Navegante pass. Licences, vehicles and tolls are national matters (IMT – Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, the mobility institute – and the Tax Authority); fares are set by each city's transport authority, low-emission zones and parking by the câmara municipal (town hall).
Driving licence in Portugal: do you have to exchange it?
| Licence issued in | Can you drive once resident? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| An EU or EEA country | Yes, until the date on the licence | Register your residence with IMT within 60 days – free, in person. Voluntary exchange €30, 10% less online |
| Angola, Australia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, United States, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Mozambique, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Korea, São Tomé e Príncipe, Switzerland or Turkey | Yes, in Portugal only, if the licence is valid, was issued or last renewed within 15 years, and you are under 60 | No exchange needed (Decreto-Lei 46/2022); exchange – medical exam, no test – only to add categories or drive professionally |
| Another Geneva 1949 or Vienna 1968 convention country, or one with a bilateral agreement (India, Morocco, the Philippines, South Africa or Thailand, for example) | Up to 185 days as a visitor; as a resident, 90 days from your residence permit once the exchange is filed | Exchange within 2 years; after 90 days you may apply but not drive; after 2 years a practical test is required |
| A country outside both conventions | No | Exchange (€30) with a theory and a practical test per category, €30 per test |
Source: IMT and the ePortugal service portal, read 24 September 2026.
You apply online on IMT's portal or at an IMT desk, with ID, proof of address (a certidão de domicílio fiscal from Finanças, the tax office, if your residence document shows none), the licence and, for non-EU licences, a certificate of authenticity from the issuing authority or its consulate. Your doctor files the medical certificate electronically. You hand in the old licence at an IMT desk; the Portuguese one arrives on average within 60 days, with a provisional guia meanwhile. The theory test can be taken in English for categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1 and B. IMT call centre: 210 488 488, 9:00 to 17:00.
Bringing your car: ISV exemption, plates and the running costs
Move with a car you have owned for at least six months in a country where you lived at least six months, and you can be exempted from ISV (imposto sobre veículos – the registration tax): one vehicle per person, once every ten years, if you are over 18 and bought it with all taxes paid. The request is free, on the Portal das Finanças with the customs vehicle declaration (DAV) and form 1460.1, within 12 months of moving, with proof of your former residence.
| Step | What | Deadline or fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | File the DAV and pay ISV, or claim the exemption | Within 20 working days of the car entering Portugal |
| 2 | Drive on the DAV alone | 60 consecutive days at most |
| 3 | Apply for the plate at an IMT regional office (Modelo 9, inspection certificate, COC, DAV, foreign registration) | Within the same 60 days; €45 with a COC or national homologation, €165 without |
| 4 | Buy the plates and request the registration certificate (DUA) from IRN | Once the plate is assigned |
| 5 | Pay the first IUC (imposto único de circulação – annual road tax) | Within 30 days after the registration deadline, then yearly in the registration month |
| 6 | Periodic inspection (IPO) | 4 years after first registration, then every 2 years until the car is 8, then yearly |
Source: the ePortugal service portal (IMT and the Tax Authority), read 24 September 2026.
Tolls in Portugal – no vignette, but gantries that take no cash
Portugal has no vignette. Motorways are tolled at barriers, where you pay at the exit, or on 'exclusively electronic' motorways with gantries and number-plate recognition where no manual payment is possible. Since 1 January 2025, under Lei 37/2024, tolls are zero on the former SCUT roads: the A22 (Algarve), A24, A25, the A28 stretches Esposende–Antas and Neiva–Darque, the A4 Transmontana and Marão tunnel, the A13 and A13-1 Pinhal Interior and the A23 Torres Novas–Abrantes. The 2026 rate update for other tolls could not be verified.
| How you pay | Portuguese plates | Foreign plates |
|---|---|---|
| Post-payment | CTT, Payshop or Multibanco reference, from 48 hours after the passage and within 15 working days, plus €0.32 per journey (at most €2.56 per payment) | Not available |
| Via Verde | Identifier €37.50, or Motorway €0.53, Mobility €1.25 or Light Mobility €1.59 a month, charged only in months used | Go Toll €0.77 per month used plus €0.32 per journey |
| Prepaid | CTT device €45, topped up with at least €25 | Tollcard €5 to €40, valid one year, €0.32 per journey; EasyToll, a bank card linked to the plate, €1 plus €0.32 per journey, valid 30 days |
| Not valid | – | EasyToll and Tollcard on the Lusoponte bridges |
Source: PT Tolls (Infraestruturas de Portugal), read 24 September 2026.
An unpaid toll is an administrative offence with a fine of at least five times the toll and never below €25. Toll enquiries: +351 212 879 855. Lisbon's low-emission zone (Zona de Emissões Reduzidas) is a municipal decision; the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa's pages could not be read on 24 September 2026, so check before driving into the centre.
Navegante, Andante and the €20 Green Rail Pass
Lisbon's fares are set by TML, the metropolitan transport authority. From 1 January 2026 a single Carris/Metro ticket costs €1.90 for 60 minutes, zapping €1.72 per metro trip and a contactless bank card €1.92; the navegante personalizado card costs €7 (€3.50 up to 23) and a 24-hour ticket €7.25; children under 4 travel free.
| Pass | Price a month | What you should know |
|---|---|---|
| Navegante metropolitano (Lisbon) | €40 | All 18 municipalities, every operator; free up to and including 23 since 1 December 2024, with ID and a Portuguese NIF; +65 €20 |
| Navegante municipal (Lisbon) | €30 | Lisbon, Amadora or Odivelas only |
| Andante (Porto) | €30 for three zones in one municipality, €40 for the network | Metro, STCP buses and CP urban trains; young people free |
| TUB (Braga) | €12 for one zone, €24 for two | Students up to 23 free |
| SMTUC (Coimbra), from 30 April 2026 | €30 Coimbra, €35 two municipalities, €40 regional | Student pass €15; single journey €1.00 |
| Green Rail Pass (national) | €20 for 30 days, €40 for 60, €60 for 90 | Regional, InterRegional and Intercidades trains, second class; for Portuguese and foreign residents, on a CP card |
Source: Metropolitano de Lisboa, Metro do Porto, TUB, SMTUC and CP, read 24 September 2026.
The Green Rail Pass (Passe Ferroviário Verde), running since October 2024, is the one pass that works nationwide. The Government said on 21 August 2026 that from European Mobility Week, 16 to 22 September 2026, it would also cover CP's Lisbon and Porto urban trains and the Fertagus line, excluding only the Alfa Pendular and first-class Intercidades. CP's English page still listed the old restrictions on 24 September 2026. Since 9 June 2026 the pass can be shown in the Government's mobile app, opened with the Chave Móvel Digital (the State's digital ID).
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EU or EEA licence: register with IMT; OECD and CPLP licence: keep driving | Within 60 days of taking up residence |
| 2 | Other convention-country licence: file the exchange with IMT | Within 90 days of your residence permit |
| 3 | Bringing a car: claim the ISV exemption and file the DAV | Within 12 months of moving |
| 4 | Choose how you will pay electronic tolls | Before your first motorway |
| 5 | Get a navegante personalizado or Andante card; up to 23 in Lisbon, claim the free pass | Passes for next month from the 26th |
| 6 | Commuting by train: load a Green Rail Pass | Any time |
Source: IMT, the Tax Authority, PT Tolls, Metropolitano de Lisboa and CP, read 24 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- IMT – Países da União Europeia e do Espaço Económico Europeu · imt-ip.pt
- IMT – Cartas de Condução emitidas pelos países da OCDE e CPLP; gov.pt news 28/07/2022 · imt-ip.pt
- IMT – Países aderentes às convenções e outras situações · imt-ip.pt
- gov.pt – Trocar carta de condução estrangeira por portuguesa ( · gov.pt
- IMT – Países não aderentes às convenções; gov.pt · imt-ip.pt
- IMT – 'Os países das convenções' (PDF, Aug 2025) and 'Instrumentos bilaterais no domínio dos títulos de condução'… · imt-ip.pt
- IMT – Regime de proteção temporária – Ucrânia · imt-ip.pt
- gov.pt – Pedir a matrícula para um veículo importado ( · gov.pt
- gov.pt – Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal; AT info-aduaneiro · gov.pt
- gov.pt – Pagar o Imposto Único de Circulação ( · gov.pt
- gov.pt – Levar o carro à inspeção ( · gov.pt
- Infraestruturas de Portugal – PT Tolls (home and FAQ) · pttolls.com
- PT Tolls – FAQ · pttolls.com
- Infraestruturas de Portugal – Atualização das Taxas de Portagem 2025 (06/01/2025) · infraestruturasdeportugal.pt
- Metropolitano de Lisboa – Tarifas 2026 (PDF, Dec 2025) and 'Comprar' page · metrolisboa.pt
- Metropolitano de Lisboa – Tarifas 2026 (PDF) and 'Comprar' page · metrolisboa.pt
- gov.pt news 03/12/2024; Metropolitano de Lisboa – Comprar / Tarifas 2026 · gov.pt
- CP – Green Rail Pass; Portal do Governo (XXV Governo) comunicado 21.08.2026 · cp.pt
- Portal do Governo (XXV Governo) – comunicado 21.08.2026 · portugal.gov.pt
- gov.pt – news 09/06/2026 · gov.pt
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.