Driving License in Portugal for Expats
Yes, for EU/EEA: drive until the licence expires (or 2 years if no expiry date). OCDE / CPLP: no deadline while the licence is valid, the holder is under 60 and the licence is within 15 years of issue or renewal. Other convention countries: 185 days as a non-resident, then 90 days after establishing residence. Non-convention countries: licence not valid for driving.. After that, you must convert to a Portugal license. Good news: the official test is available in English.
Key Facts: Portugal Driving License for Expats
- Test Authority
- IMT — Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes
- Official Test Language
- Portuguese, Portuguese with an IMT-approved sworn translator (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Chinese, Ukrainian)
- Grace Period
- EU/EEA: drive until the licence expires (or 2 years if no expiry date). OCDE / CPLP: no deadline while the licence is valid, the holder is under 60 and the licence is within 15 years of issue or renewal. Other convention countries: 185 days as a non-resident, then 90 days after establishing residence. Non-convention countries: licence not valid for driving.
- Processing Time
- Average 60 days from submission to issue once documents are validated (gov.pt service page); varies by IMT office.
- Theory Test Required
- Not for exchange
- Practical Test Required
- Not for exchange
- Medical Exam
- Required
- Total Cost
- 30€ IMT fee + GP medical certificate + (if applicable) psychological assessment + translation if required
Eligibility by Nationality
EU/EEA Citizens
EU/EEA licences let you drive in Portugal until the expiry date on the card (IMT, "Troca de título de condução estrangeiro — União Europeia e EEE"). If the card has no expiry date, an administrative validity of 2 years applies from the date you establish residence in Portugal — you must then either renew in Portugal or exchange for a Portuguese licence. Registration with IMT (comunicação de residência) is free; the physical exchange is voluntary.
US/UK Citizens
UK licences: OCDE-category direct exchange under DL 46/2022 — no theory or practical test for any category the UK licence already holds, provided you are under 60 and the licence was issued or last renewed within 15 years (IMT, "Cartas de condução emitidas pelos países da OCDE e CPLP"). US licences: the United States is on the IMT OCDE list, so direct exchange is available without tests under the same 15-year / under-60 conditions. A Declaration of Authenticity from the issuing state DMV is required for US licences.
Other Non-EU Citizens
Rules depend on which category your country falls into under IMT's framework (DL 46/2022, in force since 1 August 2022). OCDE / CPLP countries — you may keep driving on the foreign licence as a Portuguese resident provided you are under 60, the licence was issued or last renewed within the past 15 years, and it has not been confiscated or suspended; exchange is voluntary and requires no tests. Other convention-adherent countries — you have a 90-day grace period to keep driving after establishing residence, then you may continue to apply for exchange until the 2-year mark but without driving; direct exchange is only for categories A1, A2, B, B1 and BE — C, D and E categories require the Portuguese theory and practical test. Non-convention countries — the licence is not valid for driving in Portugal at all; you must pass the Portuguese theory and practical exam on a self-proposed basis.
Students
During an authorised stay as a non-resident (including student mobility), a foreign licence from a bilateral-agreement country is valid in Portugal for 185 days before you establish residence. The 90-day resident grace period starts only when you formally take up residence in Portugal.
Required Documents
- ✓Valid foreign driving licence (original, definitive — provisional licences not accepted)
- ✓Portuguese identification (Cartão de Cidadão for citizens, Título de Residência for non-EU residents, or Certificado de Registo for EU citizens)
- ✓NIF (Portuguese tax number)
- ✓Proof of residence (required for CPLP-declaration holders, and where the address is not inscribed on the residence card)
- ✓Medical certificate — uploaded by your GP via the IMT electronic medical platform (plataforma eletrónica de atestados médicos)
- ✓Psychological assessment certificate for categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D, D1, D1E, DE
- ✓Declaration of Authenticity from the issuing authority (required for OCDE/CPLP countries other than Brazilian categories A and B, and for all convention and non-convention countries)
- ✓Sworn translation if the licence or authenticity declaration is not in Portuguese, French, English or Spanish
Costs Breakdown
- Conversion/Exam Fee
- 30€ (IMT fee — 10% discount when the request is submitted online via the IMTonline portal)
- Medical Exam
- Set by the attending GP or clinic — charged at the private-consultation rate (varies by clinic)
- Translation
- Sworn-translator rate (only when the licence / authenticity declaration is not in Portuguese, French, English or Spanish)
- Total Estimated
- 30€ IMT fee + GP medical certificate + (if applicable) psychological assessment + translation if required
License Exchange Agreements
Direct Exchange (No Test Required) · 20
License Exchange Agreements
Direct Exchange (No Test Required) · 20
No Agreement (Full Test Required): Non-convention countries (IMT list) — licence not valid for driving in Portugal; full Portuguese theory and practical exam required on a self-proposed basis. The list includes Afghanistan, Anguilla, Antigua, Bermuda, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, North Korea, Curaçao, Dominica, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Sudan, Western Sahara, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Eswatini, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Zambia.
Tips for Expats in Portugal
- Since 21 January 2026 the exchange is filed exclusively online through IMTonline at servicos.imt-ip.pt — in-person submission at an IMT balcão is no longer accepted for this procedure.
- UK licence exchange under the OCDE path is direct and needs no theory or practical test — one of the easiest expat wins in Portugal.
- Brazilian Category A or B licences exchange without a Declaration of Authenticity (DL 46/2022, in force since 1 August 2022) — other Brazilian categories still require one.
- The non-convention list includes several countries many expats assume are covered: Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Nepal, Guinea-Bissau and Timor-Leste — these all require passing the full Portuguese theory and practical exam.
- IMT allows a sworn translator on the theory exam in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Chinese or Ukrainian — check the current "Listagem de tradutores" on imt-ip.pt before booking.
- The medical certificate is uploaded by your Portuguese GP directly into the IMT electronic platform — you no longer carry a paper form between doctor and IMT.