The removal lorry has left, the car is parked in front of your new house in Caldas da Rainha, and you slip your old licence into your wallet without a second thought. Beginner's mistake: your driving licence in Portugal remains valid, yes, but the Portuguese administration expects you to act within two months, and sometimes to exchange it within two years.
Nothing complicated, provided you know which box you fall into: a recent European licence, an old paper licence with no expiry date, or a Swiss licence.
Is your driving licence valid in Portugal?
If your licence was issued in France, Belgium or another EEA country, the answer is yes. The IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes), which manages driving licences in Portugal, is explicit: licences issued in the European Economic Area (the EU countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) are valid in Portugal for their whole period of validity, and exchanging them for a Portuguese licence is optional.
If you hold a French licence, Service-Public.fr, the French administration's website, says the same: you can drive with your French licence in every European country, including after you have settled there, as long as it is valid, you comply with any medical restrictions on it and you are old enough.
For Swiss citizens, it is a different regime, since Switzerland is not in the EEA. We come back to it below.
Do you need to register your driving licence in Portugal with the IMT?
Yes, and it is the step almost everyone forgets. According to the IMT, if you take up residence in Portugal, you must register your European licence with the IMT within 60 days. Failing to do so is an offence.
Registering your driving licence in Portugal costs nothing. It is done online or at the IMT counter in your region, by appointment. You need:
- your ID;
- your valid driving licence;
- the declaration of residence issued by the town hall, if you do not have a Portuguese Cartão de Cidadão (citizen's card).
For a European or Swiss citizen, this town hall declaration is the certificado de registo, which you apply for after three months of residence. Our guide to the EU residence certificate in Portugal explains how to get it. Make sure you also have your NIF (tax number): you will be asked for it in most car-related procedures, and our article on getting your NIF in Portugal explains how.
The timing is enough to raise a smile: the IMT counts 60 days from the day you settle, whereas the town hall certificate can only be requested after three months of residence. If you do not have your certificate yet as the deadline approaches, ask the IMT which proof it accepts in your case, and do both procedures back to back as soon as you know you are staying.
Old pink licence or no expiry date: do you need to exchange it?
This is the case that affects the most French drivers. The old pink three-part paper licence, the permis rose, has no printed end date. In France, Service-Public.fr points out that it remains valid until 19 January 2033.
In Portugal, the IMT applies a specific rule to European licences that are vitalícios, meaning they have no period of validity: their holders must exchange them for a Portuguese licence within two years of settling. Another IMT page refers to an administrative period of two years, at the end of which the licence must be revalidated under Portuguese law. Service-Public.fr confirms, for its part, that in some countries the old pink licences must be renewed after two years of normal residence.
Our reading: if you hold a permis rose and are settling in Portugal, plan the exchange within two years, and ask the IMT to confirm your case when you register. Credit-card-format French licences issued since 2013 do carry an expiry date: the two-year rule does not apply to them.
The same logic applies to Belgian licences: if your licence has an expiry date, you can keep it until it expires; if it has none, the two-year rule applies.
How do you exchange your licence for a Portuguese one?
Whether the exchange is compulsory or your own choice (to make life simpler if your licence expires soon, for example), the IMT procedure for an EU or EEA licence follows four steps:
- The medical assessment. You see a doctor, who sends the certificate electronically to the IMT. No paperwork to post.
- The psychological assessment, only if you hold heavy goods vehicle or passenger transport categories (C, D, E).
- The online form, with your ID or residence document, a certificate of tax address from the Portal das Finanças if your document does not show an address, your passport if biometric data are missing, and your European licence.
- The appointment. The IMT then calls you to the counter to finalise the exchange. You can give another address for the new licence to be sent to.
An incomplete file is not registered: you then have to start again with a new link. Check every document before you send it.
Can you drive in Portugal with a Swiss licence?
For the IMT, a Swiss licence is not a European licence. But Switzerland is on the list of OECD countries recognised by Decreto-Lei n.º 46/2022, in force since 1 August 2022, alongside Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.
In practice, a resident can use their Swiss driving licence in Portugal under several conditions: the licence is valid, it was issued or renewed less than 15 years ago, the holder is under 60 and meets the minimum age required in Portugal for their categories, and the licence is neither suspended nor withdrawn. If one of these conditions is no longer met, for example on your 60th birthday, you can no longer drive with your Swiss licence: you have to go through the exchange.
The good news: a Swiss licence is exchanged without a driving test. You need the medical assessment, your residence document (the certificado de registo), your licence, a certificate of authenticity stating the categories you hold, issued by the Swiss authority or by the consulate, and the psychological assessment for professional categories. No translation needed: the IMT accepts documents in French.
What happens when your licence expires or as you get older?
Once you have your Portuguese licence, you follow the Portuguese revalidation calendar. For category B, the IMT requires a medical certificate from the age of 60. Revalidation costs €30, or €15 from the age of 70, with a 10% discount online on IMTonline.
If you keep your French or Belgian licence, Service-Public.fr points out that the exchange becomes compulsory if it expires, is lost, stolen or damaged, or if you commit an offence in your country of residence. In other words, the day your licence falls into a puddle in Porto, it is the IMT you will be dealing with, not the ANTS (the French agency that issues licences).
Which mistakes should you avoid with your driving licence in Portugal?
Most trouble comes from forgotten deadlines rather than complicated rules. The most common mistakes:
- Never going to the IMT. Keeping your French driving licence in Portugal is perfectly legal; forgetting to register it within 60 days much less so. It is free, so you may as well do it.
- Letting the two years slip by with a permis rose or another licence with no expiry date. Write down the date you settled somewhere: it is the starting point.
- Forgetting your birthday when you hold a Swiss licence. The 60-year age limit and the 15-year limit since issue or last renewal change your situation overnight.
- Sending an incomplete exchange file. It is not registered, and everything has to be done again.
- Counting on the administration of your home country in the event of loss or theft once you have settled: the IMT is now the authority responsible for your new licence.
And if you buy a car locally, bear in mind that your NIF and your address in Portugal will be asked for at every step: you may as well make sure your file is consistent, from the licence to the registration certificate.
All that is left is to hit the road with peace of mind. Electronic tolls, Via Verde, priority on roundabouts: our article on driving in Portugal will spare you the silliest fines.