Buying and Registering a Car in Portugal: Americans and Britons

If you buy a car already registered in Portugal, you must register the change of owner within 60 days of the sale, with the registry (IRN) rather than the IMT. If you bring a car from the United States or the United Kingdom, you clear it with customs, pay the vehicle tax (ISV) unless an exemption applies, then ask the IMT for a Portuguese plate.

This guide covers the two cases for Americans and Britons, then the yearly tax (IUC) and the inspections. It belongs to the daily-life steps in your first year in Portugal. It reports what the official pages say, not legal or tax advice, and the office that handles your file decides how it applies the rules.

What we read, and when

We read the pages below on 18 October 2026. The latest dated information is the Justice portal page on registering a car, which carries the line “Informação atualizada a 21 setembro 2026”, so that is the date of this guide’s information. The gov.pt guide on buying, registering and selling a vehicle is dated 29 April 2026. The IMT, Finance portal and customs pages carry no date of their own. We did not read the registry fee table or the yearly inspection tariff files, so we give no amounts for those. The ASF consumer page on motor insurance was read in a browser.

Should I buy a car in Portugal or bring mine?

The pages describe two different routes, and the cost and the paperwork differ.

The Finance portal states the third-country rule directly: a vehicle imported from a third country is subject to customs duties, VAT and the ISV. The United States is a third country. The United Kingdom is no longer an EU member state, so it is on the same side of that wording, but the pages we read do not name it, so confirm it with customs.

How do I register a car I bought in Portugal?

gov.pt says that if you buy a used vehicle already registered in Portugal, you have 60 days from the date of the sale to update the registration. You can do it on the Automóvel Online platform, at a registry office or at a Loja de Cidadão. The Justice portal adds who may ask: the person or company that buys the car or their legal representative (a lawyer, solicitor or notary), or anyone with an interest in the registration.

How to ask, according to the Justice portal:

• Online, on Automóvel Online: you need the digital certificate of the Cartão de Cidadão and a card reader. If you must attach scanned documents, the request has to be made by a lawyer, notary or solicitor.
• In person: at a registry office or a Loja de Cidadão, with the printed and completed Requerimento de Registo Automóvel and the document proving the transaction, where it applies.
• By mail: to any vehicle registry office, with the same two items.

The Justice portal says an online registration is 15% cheaper than an in-person one, and points to a fee table that we did not open. For non-professionals the page names only the digital certificate of the Cartão de Cidadão (or a qualified digital certificate for lawyers, solicitors and notaries). The pages we read do not say what a newly arrived foreigner without that card should use, so ask the registry before planning an online request.

When you buy a vehicle, the Justice portal says you should ask for the Documento Único Automóvel or registration certificate and do the registry step. The vehicle registry is proved by the permanent vehicle certificate, which lists the legal owner and the vehicle’s identification.

What happens if I wait?

gov.pt says that if the car stays in the former owner’s name after the 60 days and still drives on the road, this can lead to a request for administrative seizure. The former owner can ask for it at the registry or at an IMT counter. The IMT sends it to the traffic enforcement bodies, the PSP and the GNR, who carry out the seizure. If the car is not found within six months, it is considered missing and the IMT may cancel the plate on its own initiative.

You will also need your tax number for most of these steps, which is why the order matters: see how to get a Portuguese NIF first.

How do I bring my American or British car to Portugal?

The customs portal and the IMT describe a sequence. The documents and times below come from those pages, and the exact order inside it depends on whether the car has an EU certificate of conformity (CoC).

1. Customs declaration. A private person who brings in a car for their own transport files the Declaração Aduaneira de Veículo (DAV) electronically on the Portal das Finanças within 20 business days after the car enters Portugal. The Finance portal says that missing this deadline is one of the situations that can generate ISV.
2. Documents with the DAV. The customs portal lists the foreign registration certificate or equivalent, a commercial invoice or a declaration of sale if you bought from a private seller, the certificate of conformity, a transport document and its payment receipt if the car did not arrive under its own power, and a CO2 measurement if the figure is not on the certificate. It adds that the original foreign registration certificate must be deposited with the IMT within 10 days of filing the DAV.
3. Inspection for the plate. The IMT says the car goes to a category B inspection center. The model 112 inspection certificate is valid for 90 business days.
4. Payment. After the declaration, the ISV is due within 10 business days of notice of the assessment.
5. IMT. After the ISV is paid, you ask the IMT for the registration certificate and pay its fee. gov.pt gives 60 days after the plate is assigned to register the car with the registry. The IMT page says the registration certificate is issued once ownership is registered with the competent registry office.

With a certificate of conformity, the IMT page gives the order: request the national homologation number for customs, take the inspection, settle with customs (which indicates the plate number), then file with the IMT. Without a certificate of conformity, it starts with the manufacturer or its representative confirming on the IMT’s Modelo 9 that the car matches a national homologation, and a vehicle that matches none goes through a homologation request first.

What does the IMT charge for a Portuguese plate?

On the IMT page for used vehicles, the fee for a light passenger car is 45 euros with a certificate of conformity or a national homologation, and 165 euros without a national homologation, where the homologation of the country of origin is also asked for. On the IMT registration certificate page, a duplicate costs 30 euros, with a 10% discount when it is requested online. These are IMT fees, not the ISV, the customs charges or the registry fee.

Can I drive the car while this is going on?

The customs portal says that after the DAV deadline and until the ISV payment deadline, a car with a valid foreign plate may circulate in Portugal if it carries a copy of the DAV and is driven by the owner or the owner’s spouse or partner. Once the ISV is paid and the plate assigned, the payment proof with the plate noted allows unrestricted use for 60 days.

How much ISV will I pay?

The Finance portal says the ISV is based on engine size, on CO2 emissions under the NEDC or WLTP cycle used for the car’s approval, and, for diesel cars, on particle emissions. It applies to new and used vehicles admitted from the EU or imported. It excludes vehicles that are 100% electric or run on non-combustible renewable energy. The customs portal has the ISV rate tables and a simulator, which we did not open. We do not reproduce rates here, because the tables are long and should be read from the source for your car’s figures.

One point matters for Americans and Britons. The customs portal says used vehicles from third countries get no reduction. It applies a table of reductions, from 10 percent for a car up to one year old to 80 percent for a car over ten, only to vehicles holding a definitive registration from another EU member state. A US car gets no age reduction. The same applies to a British-registered car if the UK is treated as a third country, as we read it, but confirm with customs. The Finance portal adds that a third-country vehicle is also subject to VAT on its customs value plus duties and ISV.

Can I skip the ISV when I move to Portugal?

The customs portal and the Finance portal describe an exemption for those who transfer their residence to Portugal from the EU or a third country. It applies to a person who:

• is over 18
• lived abroad at least 6 months before the move (for a country that limits stays, the customs portal counts total time from a consular certificate, with no period under 183 days a year; time abroad for studies, training or a fixed assignment of up to two years does not count as residence)
• owned the car at least 6 months before the move, counted from the date on the ownership document, and bought it in the country they came from, or in a country where they had lived before, with all taxes paid there and no tax relief given on export

The exemption covers one car or motorcycle per beneficiary and can be used once every 10 years. The request goes to the customs office for your tax domicile within 12 months of the transfer of residence, and the right lapses six months after you are notified of it. The customs portal lists the documents:

Conditions come with it. The customs portal says you cannot sell, rent out or lend the car for 12 months from the date of the plate without owing the full tax and facing legal consequences, and you must settle your normal residence in Portugal. Before the decision, customs may allow the car to circulate if it is driven by you, your spouse or partner, or first-degree relatives living with you. Once the exemption is recognized, the car may circulate for 60 days from the plate assignment, until the registration certificate is issued.

If you came on a residence visa, the proof of residence abroad is your own file to assemble. Our guides on the residence routes and the first-month paperwork cover what you hold at that point. A British reader whose home-country records come from the UK, or an American with a US record, should ask customs which official residence certificate it accepts, because the page speaks of the authority responsible for resident control and the pages do not say what the US or the UK issues. The same page says that where the country of origin has no such authority, the consulate may certify that the residence ended.

What is the IUC, and when do I pay it?

The Finance portal says the Imposto Único de Circulação applies to vehicles registered in Portugal whether or not they are used, and is owed by the registered owner, among others. For cars and motorcycles:

• in the year of the plate, including imported cars, within 30 days after the end of the legal deadline to register the vehicle
• in later years, by the end of the month of the plate
• within 30 days after a cancelled plate is reactivated

Rates depend on the category and characteristics of the vehicle. Exemptions listed include 100% electric vehicles. You get the payment reference on the Portal das Finanças, under IUC and “Entregar ano corrente”, or under the payments in progress. gov.pt adds that if you scrap the car, the IUC must be paid until the plate is cancelled. The Finance portal page states the plate-month rule on the day we read it.

How often does my car need an inspection?

The IMT table of periodic inspections gives:

The IMT counts from the date of the first registration (“data da primeira matrícula”). The pages we read do not say how that date is set for a car first registered abroad, so ask the inspection center. Inspections take place at approved centers for a tariff that depends on the vehicle category, per gov.pt. The IMT also lists simple checks to make before you go, including tire tread of at least 1.6 mm, a working approved warning triangle and a reflective vest. The IMT page on inspection types lists tariffs without a date, which we do not reproduce; the yearly tariff files were not opened.

Do I need insurance?

The ASF says the compulsory civil liability motor insurance (SORCA) covers vehicles designed to move on the ground, driven exclusively by mechanical force, with a design speed above 25 km/h, or a net weight above 25 kg and a design speed above 14 km/h. A car meets that definition. The ASF consumer page on motor insurance adds four points. A vehicle with no civil liability insurance is in an illegal situation; by law it can be seized and its owner may have to pay a fine (“coima”), and after an accident the driver or owner can be held liable for the compensation. Insurers may refuse to write the compulsory policy; anyone refused by at least three insurers should ask each for a written declaration of refusal and then contact the ASF, which names the insurer obliged to accept the policy and the price. The duty to insure falls on the owner, except for usufruct, sale with retention of title and leasing, where it falls on the user, buyer or lessee. For a vehicle normally parked in Portugal, the ASF lists as valid proof of insurance the international insurance certificate (the “green card”), a provisional certificate, a payment notice (“aviso-recibo”) and a civil liability certificate. The page says nothing on whether a policy issued in the US or the UK is accepted for a car you register in Portugal, so ask the Portuguese insurer or the ASF.

More guides on this site: proving your address in Portugal.

What comes next?

You will need a Portuguese address and tax number for most of this, so see the NIF guide and the bank account guide, since the ISV, the IUC and the registry fee are paid in euros through Portuguese systems. If you rent, our renting guide covers the address side.

Whose licence you drive on is a separate question: see driving in Portugal with a US or UK licence and exchanging it at the IMT.

We read these official pages: the gov.pt guide on buying, registering and selling a vehicle; the Justice portal pages on registering a car and on vehicle documents; the IMT pages on the registration certificate, on plates for used vehicles and on types of inspection; the Finance portal pages on buying (ISV and VAT) and on the IUC; the customs portal pages on regularizing the ISV and on the exemption on transfer of residence; and the ASF pages on vehicles subject to compulsory motor insurance and on motor insurance for consumers, read on 18 October 2026.