Car Insurance and Tolls in Portugal: Americans and Britons

Compulsory civil liability insurance is required for any car in Portugal, and it covers other people, not you or your own car. On the motorways that have no toll booth, a foreign-plated car must have a way to pay before the first trip (a Portuguese-plated car can also pay after passing, within 15 working days), so choose how you will pay before your first trip.

This is a daily-life guide for Americans and Britons who drive in Portugal. It sits next to buying and registering a car and using your US or UK licence. It reports what the official pages say, not legal advice, and the insurer or toll operator that handles your case decides how it applies.

What we read, and when

We read the pages below on 19 October 2026. None of them carries a date of its own. The latest dated legal item they name is Decree-Law 26/2025 of 20 March 2025, which the ASF lists on its motor insurance page as completing the transposition of Directive (EU) 2021/2118 on compulsory motor insurance. That is earlier than this article’s publication date, so the update date is the publication date. We did not read the text of that decree. The toll pages cite Portaria 60/2022 of 25 January (post-payment) and Law 25/2006 of 30 June (the double-toll charge). The ASF page and the toll pages are the ones we rely on.

Do I need car insurance in Portugal?

Yes. The ASF consumer portal says the compulsory civil liability insurance applies to any motor vehicle made to run on the ground, not on rails, driven by mechanical force, and to its trailers, 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 is covered by that definition.

The ASF gives the reason: the owner or driver is responsible for the damage the vehicle causes, and the insurance protects the injured, who are entitled to be paid whether or not the person at fault can afford it.

The duty to insure falls on the owner, except where the vehicle is under usufruct, sold with retention of title, or leased, in which case it falls on the user, buyer or lessee. If someone else takes out a civil liability policy for the vehicle, the owner’s duty is met while that policy is in force.

What does the compulsory insurance cover?

The ASF says it pays compensation for injury and damage caused to third parties and to the people carried in the vehicle, with the exception of the driver. The minimum is 6,450,000 euros per accident for personal injury and 1,300,000 euros per accident for property damage, and the ASF says these amounts are reviewed every five years.

Cover for your own car is a separate, optional choice. The ASF says the usual phrase “all risks” does not describe a real policy, since no contract covers every risk; it usually means a policy that also covers damage to your own vehicle, such as collision, fire or theft. Other options the ASF lists are higher liability limits, travel assistance, legal protection and compensation for the time you cannot use the car.

The ASF does not give private insurers’ prices. It says each insurer is free to set its own prices, including for the compulsory cover, and that the age of the vehicle, the age of the driver and the number of years since the licence was issued can influence the price. We give no prices.

Which papers do I carry?

The ASF says the proof of valid insurance for a vehicle usually parked in Portugal is one of four documents:

The ASF adds that these can be issued and shown electronically, so a digital certificate can replace the paper one for the duty of the driver to carry the certificate on the road. It says the digital version does not have to be shown through the ID.Gov app, and that the windshield insurance sticker has no longer been required since 11 July 2023. Anyone without suitable electronic means can ask the insurer for paper at no extra cost.

The ASF pages we read do not list the other documents a driver carries, such as the licence or the registration certificate. For the licence, see driving with a US or UK licence and exchanging it at the IMT.

What if my US or UK car or policy comes with me?

The ASF consumer page does not say whether a policy issued in the United States or the United Kingdom is accepted for a car you register in Portugal, and it says nothing about how a claims history built abroad is counted. We found no official page that does, so we do not guess. Ask the Portuguese insurer, or the ASF, before you register the car. The car registration guide covers customs, ISV, the plate and the IUC.

What the ASF does say about price and history in Portugal: the price can be updated once a year at renewal; it usually goes up after claims for which the insured is responsible and down after claim-free years, which it calls a penalty and a bonus. It tells buyers to ask the insurer for its table of penalties and bonuses, and for the countries where each cover is valid.

If you drive a foreign-plated car in Portugal and have an accident, the ASF says to contact the Gabinete Portugues de Carta Verde, which works with the Portuguese Association of Insurers. The green card, it says, proves that the vehicle is insured in the countries that joined the system.

What happens if I have no insurance, or someone else does not?

For you, the ASF says the vehicle is in an illegal situation, can be seized by law and the owner may have to pay a fine. After an accident the driver or the owner can be held liable for the compensation.

If another driver cannot show insurance, the ASF advises asking for the police and collecting the driver’s and vehicle’s details. The insurer of a plate can be looked up on the ASF website. If the vehicle is not insured, the injured person can turn to the Fundo de Garantia Automovel, which the ASF says guarantees repair of injury and damage from accidents in Portugal where the person at fault is unknown or did not insure. Those at fault who did not insure must repay the Fund with interest.

If an insurer refuses to write the compulsory policy, the ASF says to get written refusals from at least three insurers and then contact the ASF, which names the insurer that must accept and the price.

After an accident, the ASF says to exchange driver, vehicle and insurer details, note witnesses, and, if you agree on what happened, both fill in and sign the same Declaracao Amigavel de Acidente Automovel. Call the police if anyone is hurt.

How do tolls work in Portugal?

Infraestruturas de Portugal runs the PT Tolls information site and describes two systems. Traditional toll barriers stop the vehicle; they have manual lanes (cash or card, ticket at entry, pay at exit) and electronic lanes. Fully electronic motorways have gantries in the road that detect the vehicle with no physical barrier and no stop. A sign beside each gantry shows the toll rates.

On the fully electronic roads there is no payment at the roadside. The operator’s FAQ says the gantry equipment reads the vehicle and its plate by reading a device and capturing an image, and the toll depends on the route and the vehicle class. The class depends on physical features, height and the number of axles, and the toll system identifies it automatically.

A device is optional. Without one, the charge is made from the plate image. Infraestruturas de Portugal says that on the electronic lanes, driving without a device adds an administrative cost of 0.32 euro per passage, up to 2.56 euros per payment.

How do I pay with a Portuguese plate?

Once the car has a Portuguese plate, the PT Tolls site lists these ways to pay:

Infraestruturas de Portugal says post-payment is allowed by law only for vehicles with a national plate, and the deadline is 15 working days (Portaria 60/2022).

What is Via Verde and how do I get it?

Via Verde is the Portuguese electronic toll payment service and a provider of the device. The Via Verde site says to stick the device inside the windshield, and that it must be tied to a debit card. It says the device can be used on any toll concession in Portugal, provided it is tied to a card and a plate. Infraestruturas de Portugal adds that the device is valid for one plate only and cannot be moved from car to car.

For visitors, or while your car and bank account are still foreign, the Via Verde visitors page lists two plans. The first, “Go Toll & Beyond”, is described as for customers with non-Portuguese bank accounts, with credit card and direct debit of non-Portuguese accounts as payment methods. The second, “Go Toll”, is for customers with non-Portuguese plates, with no device. The page marks the first as exclusive to clients with non-Portuguese bank accounts and the second as exclusive to clients with non-Portuguese plates, so a Portuguese plate with a Portuguese bank account qualifies for neither. Prices are on those pages and change, so we do not copy them. The operator’s page says the service is paid for only in the months of use, with no contract term.

The pages we read do not say which documents joining a plan requires. If you need a Portuguese tax number or bank account for it, see the NIF guide and the bank account guide.

What do I do with a foreign plate?

The operator says a foreign-plated car must pay on the fully electronic roads and must get a payment method before the first trip. It lists:

Check the plate on the receipt. The FAQ says a wrong plate can be corrected on the site, and the PT Tolls home page says the EasyToll receipt or confirmation email should be kept.

A US or UK reader who hopes to use a home device should check first. The list of foreign issuers on the PT Tolls site is a PDF with no date of its own. It names mostly Spanish banks, plus European toll and fuel card issuers such as Telepass, Bip&Go and DKV; going by the names only, it shows no US or UK issuer. The operator says to confirm with the issuer that the device works on the electronic lanes before you use it.

Rental cars: the operator says that rent-a-car companies must equip each vehicle in the fleet with an on-board device and join a toll payment system (Decree-Law 84-C/2022), and that the conditions of the service should be checked with the rental company.

What if I drove through a toll without paying?

The operator says to settle the amount with the toll operator of the road. The portals listed are those of Ascendi, Globalvia, Vialivre and the Portal de Pagamento de Portagens. The Portal de Pagamento de Portagens lets you search by plate and pay by Multibanco or credit card, and to create an account with the registration code printed on a notice if you received one. Via Verde customers can see unpaid tolls in their account; others can search by plate on the Via Verde page. The portal’s helpline is 707 500 251 on working days.

Not paying is an offense. The operator says the fine is at least five times the toll and never less than 25 euros, with a maximum of double the minimum, and that the toll operators inspect on the road with the police.

If you enter by an electronic lane and leave by a manual lane on a traditional road, the FAQ says a charge of twice the maximum toll at the exit applies, and you can send a reasoned statement saying where you entered.

What comes next?

If you do not drive daily, a public transport pass may be all you need in the city: see our guide to public transport passes in Lisbon, Porto and on the rail. Your first months also involve the paperwork of your first year in Portugal, and if you are shipping a car, shipping belongings, pets and customs covers the customs side.

We read these official pages on 19 October 2026: the ASF consumer portal page on motor insurance; the PT Tolls site of Infraestruturas de Portugal (how to pay, the FAQ and the list of foreign issuers); the Portal de Pagamento de Portagens; and the Via Verde pages on unpaid tolls, the motorway service and plans for visitors.