Exchange a US or UK Driving Licence in Portugal: IMT Steps

To exchange a US or UK driving licence in Portugal, you apply online to the IMT, the Portuguese mobility and transport institute, after your doctor files a medical certificate, and you then hand in your licence at an IMT counter. The IMT names the United States and the United Kingdom among the countries whose licence holders are excused from exam tests, and the fee on its page is 30 euros.

You have probably heard that you can keep driving on your American or British licence after moving. The IMT says that is true for some licences, which is why exchange is optional for many readers and why this guide starts there. It sits inside the first year in Portugal guide, where the driving licence follows the residence permit, the NIF and the proof of address. It reports what the IMT, the Diário da República and GOV.UK say on the day we read them. It is not legal advice.

What we read, and the date of the information

We read the IMT pages on exchanging a foreign licence, its user manual (version 5, dated 28 May 2026), the consolidated Código da Estrada on the Diário da República, Decree-Law 46/2022 and the GOV.UK guide Living in Portugal on 18 October 2026. The IMT pages carry no date of their own. The consolidated Código da Estrada lists Decree-Law 46/2022, in force from 1 August 2022, as the last amendment to articles 125 and 128, the two that govern foreign licences. The most recent official update we found is the GOV.UK guide, last updated on 10 July 2026 with “updated information about residence cards and driving in Portugal”, so 10 July 2026 is the date of this guide’s information.

Do I need to exchange my US or UK licence at all?

Not always. The IMT page for licences from OECD and CPLP countries says that, for driving in Portugal, these licences are accepted “ainda que os condutores sejam residentes” (even if the drivers are residents) when all of these are met:

• the issuing state is a party to one of the road traffic conventions (Geneva 1949 or Vienna 1968) or has a bilateral agreement with Portugal
• no more than 15 years have passed since the licence was issued or last renewed
• the holder is under 60
• the licence is valid
• the driver has the minimum age that Portuguese law sets for the categories on the licence
• the licence is not seized, suspended, expired or revoked in Portugal or in the issuing state

The page names the United States and the United Kingdom in that group. The Código da Estrada, article 125(1)(c), sets the first three as cumulative conditions (a convention or bilateral agreement, no more than 15 years, holder under 60), and article 125(5) adds validity, minimum age and a licence that is not seized, suspended, expired or revoked. If you meet them, the IMT says, you can drive “even after” you obtain residence, and if you want to exchange, you may.

The IMT page does not say what changes when a condition stops being met, for example when you turn 60. The Código and the IMT’s other page, for countries adhering to the conventions, describe a different clock for those licences, covered below. Read the conditions against your own card, and ask the IMT if you are close to the limits.

Why exchange anyway?

The IMT FAQ on the same page answers this. It says that to add categories to your entitlement, or to add Group II for work such as TVDE (ride hailing) or children’s transport, you must exchange the licence. The IMT user manual (version 5, 28 May 2026) adds two points about Group II: the box for it must be ticked in the exchange request with the psychological assessment certificate attached, and for holders of licences from countries under the 1949 or 1968 road traffic conventions it says that choosing this option means passing a driving test. It does not say whether that sentence applies to a licence from the OECD list, so ask the IMT before counting on an exemption for Group II.

Is there a deadline after I become a resident?

The IMT page for countries adhering to the conventions and others gives a clock counted from the date your residence authorization is issued:

The Código da Estrada matches this shape: article 125 says that after you settle in Portugal, a holder of a licence under the Geneva or Vienna conventions must exchange it within 90 days, and article 128 makes the exchange conditional on a practical test if it was not requested within two years of fixing residence. The fine for driving in breach of these rules, with a valid licence, is 300 to 1,500 euros under article 125.

Which clock applies to a US or UK licence is not spelled out on the pages we read. The OECD and CPLP page, where both countries appear, does not show this clock, and the convention page does. Our reading is that the clock matters for any licence that does not meet the OECD and CPLP conditions, but that is our reading, not the IMT’s. If you are unsure, file the request within 90 days of the issue date of your residence authorization, which is the safe course under every page we read. The AIMA residence permit guide covers how that date arises.

Who can apply, and who cannot?

You must be a resident in Portugal. The IMT user manual says the request needs a resident in the national territory and states: “Requerentes com residência no estrangeiro não são elegíveis” (applicants resident abroad are not eligible). So the exchange is a task for after your residence permit, not before.

The IMT page adds a note on applications covered by Despacho 12870-C/2021: requests with an expression of interest issued up to 31 December 2021 are accepted, and completing the request depends on proof of residence in Portugal.

What documents do I need?

The IMT page lists these attachments. The manual adds that each file must be a PDF of at most 2 MB, one document per upload, and that the same document should not be uploaded twice.

Two points for Americans and Britons: a licence in English needs no translation under that rule, and the address on the request must match the address on your identification document, otherwise the manual says to submit a tax domicile certificate. The tax address comes from the NIF guide and the Portal das Finanças.

What about the certificate of authenticity?

The IMT pages say it comes from “a entidade emissora” (the issuing authority) or a consular service. They do not name the US or UK body. For an American, the issuing authority is the licensing agency of the state that issued the card, since there is no single national licence; this is our plain reading, and the IMT lists the United States as one country without distinguishing states. For a Briton, GOV.UK says to get a check code from the DVLA (England, Wales and Scotland) or from the DVA (Northern Ireland). The DVLA page says the code is created in a service that asks for your licence number, your National Insurance number and the postcode on your licence, and that it is valid for 21 days, so create it close to your request. The pages do not say whether the check code replaces the certificate of authenticity, so confirm with the IMT at aminhacarta@imt-ip.pt before you pay.

What is the medical certificate?

The IMT says your own doctor issues the medical certificate and makes it available on the electronic platform for medical certificates. You do not send a copy: it is passed to the IMT automatically. The IMT page for OECD and CPLP licences says that holders must meet the requirements for issuing a Portuguese licence, namely physical, mental and psychological fitness checked by a medical exam, and are excused from the exam tests. The pages do not state a price for the medical visit.

How do I apply, step by step?

1. Get the medical certificate filed by your doctor on the electronic platform.
2. Prepare the documents from the table above as PDFs.
3. Log in to A Minha Carta de Condução. The manual says you can authenticate with the Cartão de Cidadão, the Chave Móvel Digital, or your NIF and Finanças password, then register and confirm your email by the link you receive. You can fill in the request in Portuguese or in English.
4. Fill in the request, entering each licence category separately with its issue and expiry dates, and attach the documents. You can indicate an alternative address for the new licence or choose to collect it at an IMT counter.
5. Pay the fee. After you register the request, the manual says you get an email with a Multibanco reference. The IMT page states the fee as 30 euros, with a 10 percent discount when done online.
6. Wait for the analysis. The manual says requests are analyzed in order of arrival once paid. If the IMT asks for more, it notifies you by email and in the portal, and a request not answered within 30 days is closed automatically with no refund of the fee.
7. Go to the counter when notified. A person who is not a Portuguese citizen must attend in person for the first visit, to hand over the licence and give photograph and signature. You choose the counter. If you do not attend within 180 days, the manual says the file is closed with no refund, and you can submit a new request.

What happens to my old licence?

At the counter you hand over your original foreign licence and, where applicable, the original certificate of authenticity. The other documents stay with you, per the manual. GOV.UK says the same for Britons: once the request is approved you are invited to your chosen IMT office to give biometric data and hand in your licence. It also says a guia, a temporary permit, is issued so that you can drive until the new licence arrives, and that you can email aminhacarta@imt-ip.pt to renew it if it expires first. The IMT pages we read do not say what happens to the foreign licence afterward. If you plan to drive abroad on it later, ask first.

Where do Americans and Britons differ?

GOV.UK says a bilateral agreement between the UK and Portugal on mutual recognition and exchange of driving licences came into force on 31 December 2023. The IMT conditions above and GOV.UK are the pages to rely on for the rest. The two pages do not say the same thing about how long a UK licence stays usable: GOV.UK (updated 10 July 2026) says a registered resident can drive with a UK or Gibraltar licence until it expires, while the IMT page (no date) lists no more than 15 years since issue and a holder under 60 among its conditions. Neither page explains how they fit together, so ask the IMT before deciding when to exchange. For the wider picture for Britons, see moving to Portugal as a Briton after Brexit.

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

What does the exchange not cover?

Driving on a licence in Portugal during a visit, the 185 day rule for non residents, an international driving permit and the rules for owning a car are separate subjects. The first month paperwork guide shows where the licence sits among the other early tasks.

Before you decide, read driving in Portugal with a US or UK licence, which sets out how long you may keep driving on it. If you plan to own a car, see buying and registering a car.

Official pages read for this guide on 18 October 2026: the IMT pages on exchanging a foreign driving licence (OECD and CPLP countries; countries adhering to the conventions and other situations), the IMT user manual for the exchange platform (version 5, 28 May 2026), the IMT list of convention countries, the consolidated Código da Estrada and Decree-Law 46/2022 on the Diário da República, and the GOV.UK pages Living in Portugal and View or share your driving licence information. The State Department’s Portugal travel advisory was read in a browser and says nothing on licences.