Driving in Portugal With a US or UK Licence: Americans and Britons

You can drive in Portugal with a US or UK licence: the IMT, the Portuguese mobility institute, names the United States and the United Kingdom among the countries whose licences it accepts, and says this holds even after you become a resident. It comes with conditions on the licence and on you, set out below.

This guide is an overview of what the official pages say on the day we read them. It is not legal advice, and the IMT decides how it applies to your licence.

If you are still at the start of the move, your first year in Portugal puts the driving licence in its place among the other registrations. The licence is one of the things that asks for an address, and the address follows the AIMA residence permit.

Which licences does Portugal accept?

The IMT page for licences from OECD and CPLP countries lists the states covered by Decree-Law 46/2022 of 12 July 2022, in force from 1 August. Among the OECD members that are not in the EU or the EEA it names Australia, Canada, Chile, South Korea, the United States, Iceland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey. The page also lists five Portuguese-speaking states (Brazil, Cabo Verde, Angola, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe), which do not matter here.

The Código da Estrada, article 125, is the legal base. Paragraph 1(c) lists licences issued by OECD or CPLP member states as titles that entitle you to drive, on cumulative conditions that the issuing state signed one of the road traffic conventions (Geneva 1949 or Vienna 1968) or a bilateral agreement with Portugal, that no more than 15 years have passed since the licence was issued or last renewed, and that the holder is under 60.

What are the conditions?

The IMT page lists six requirements. Every one has to be true on the day you drive.

The Código da Estrada, article 125(5), repeats the minimum age and status conditions for all the titles it lists. It also sets a fine of 300 to 1,500 euros, in article 125(8), for the holder of a valid licence who infringes paragraphs 3 to 5.

Can a visitor drive on it?

Yes. The IMT page says that, for driving in Portuguese territory, licences from the OECD and CPLP countries are accepted if the conditions above are met. It does not give a number of days for a visitor on this list.

The 185 days you may see quoted come from other places in the law. Article 125(3) of the Código da Estrada authorizes the holders of licences under paragraphs d), e) and g) to drive during the first 185 days after entering the country, if they are not residents, and paragraph 4 gives 90 days after taking up residence to exchange them. Those paragraphs cover licences issued under the conventions’ models, licences of countries with reciprocity and international driving licences. The IMT page puts the United States and the United Kingdom on the OECD list, which is paragraph c); paragraphs 3 and 4 name d), e) and g) and do not mention c). The IMT page for countries that adhere to the conventions repeats the 185 days for a tourist, and has a different timetable for residents of 90 days, then up to two years, then a practical exam. That page covers countries with a convention, a bilateral agreement or reciprocity with Portugal and links country lists we did not read, so ask the IMT which page applies to your licence before relying on its timetable.

GOV.UK adds a UK-specific line. Its permit table says that for Portugal a UK photocard licence can be used for up to 185 days without an international driving permit, and that a paper licence has to be updated to a photocard or paired with an IDP.

Can a resident keep using it?

The IMT says yes. For the OECD and CPLP list it says driving with these licences remains allowed “mesmo após os condutores obterem a residência em território nacional”, that is, even after the drivers obtain residence in Portugal, as long as the requirements are observed. The same page says that if you want to exchange your foreign licence, you can.

For Britons, GOV.UK’s Living in Portugal page says that a UK or Gibraltar licence holder who is a registered resident can drive with the licence until it expires, and that the UK signed a bilateral agreement with Portugal allowing residents to drive on their UK licence until it expires. A licence from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man is treated differently: GOV.UK says its holders should exchange it for a Portuguese one once registered as residents. The page carries a last update of 10 July 2026, which is the date this guide’s update refers to.

The IMT’s 15-year and under-60 conditions and GOV.UK’s “until it expires” are two statements on two official pages. The pages we read do not say how they fit together for a UK licence, so if your licence is close to either limit, ask the IMT before you rely on it.

For Americans, the IMT page and the Código da Estrada are the sources we read, and they put the United States on the same list as the United Kingdom, with the same conditions. A U.S. licence is issued by a state, and we did not read a page on how the IMT treats the licences of the individual states.

Do I need an International Driving Permit?

The pages we read about the OECD list do not list an IDP among the conditions. The Código da Estrada, article 125(1)(g), counts an international driving licence as a title that entitles you to drive in Portugal, but only if presented with the national title that supports it.

GOV.UK says that for Portugal an IDP is of the 1968 type, that a UK photocard licence can be used up to 185 days without one, and that a paper licence needs updating to a photocard or an IDP. On its Driving abroad page it says: do not apply for an IDP if you are moving abroad, and either exchange your UK licence or apply for a new one in the country you are moving to. A rental company may have its own rules, and GOV.UK tells you to check with it. The GOV.UK page on driving if you move abroad adds that you may need to get a local driving licence. We found no U.S. government page on IDPs for Portugal (the State Department’s Portugal travel advisory, read on 18 October 2026, does not mention driving licences), so for Americans we state only what the Portuguese pages say.

When does exchange become necessary?

On the IMT’s OECD page, exchange is optional: “Se quiser trocar a carta de condução estrangeira, pode fazê-lo.” In these cases the page says it becomes necessary:

• To add categories: the page says that to obtain other categories you must exchange the licence.
• For Grupo II: to add Grupo II, for instance to drive a TVDE (ride-hailing) vehicle or children’s collective transport, the page says you must exchange.
• For the CAM and CQM: the driver certificates require the exchange as well.
• When a condition is no longer met: this is our reading of the conditions list and not a sentence on the page. A licence more than 15 years past issue or last renewal, or a holder who has turned 60, falls outside the list, and the exchange is then the route to a Portuguese licence.

The page also says the exchange does not require driving tests. The Portuguese rules still require a medical assessment, and a psychological assessment for categories C, D and E. The request goes through the “A Minha Carta de Condução” portal, with the identification document, residence proof, the licence and a certificate of authenticity issued by the issuing authority or consular service. The fee shown is 30 euros, with 10 percent off online. For Britons, GOV.UK adds a check code from the DVLA (or the DVA for Northern Ireland) and says a temporary permit, the guia, is issued while the new licence is made.

The detailed steps, documents and timings of the exchange are in a separate guide on exchanging the licence with the IMT.

Which residence rules touch the licence?

Your residence document and address matter for the licence once you exchange. The habitual residence for driving purposes is defined in the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, article 19, as the state where you live at least 185 days per calendar year because of personal and professional ties. Article 14 of the same regulation, which sets the documents for exchange, was last amended by Decree-Law 114/2026 of 8 June 2026, in force from 9 June 2026, and still lists valid identification, proof of residence and a declaration of validity from the issuing authority or embassy.

Residency itself is covered in the guides for Britons after Brexit and Americans, and the first month paperwork shows where the licence sits in the early registrations.

Date of the information

The most recent change in what this guide states is the Decree-Law 114/2026 of 8 June 2026 amendment to article 14 of the exchange regulation. The most recent dated page is GOV.UK’s Living in Portugal guidance, last updated on 10 July 2026, so the update date of this guide is 10 July 2026. The IMT pages carry no date of their own. Rules and conditions can change: check the IMT page before you act.

If you decide to exchange your licence, our guide to exchanging a US or UK driving licence at the IMT gives the documents and steps. If you plan to own a car, see buying and registering a car.

Official pages read for this guide, all on 18 October 2026: the IMT pages on licences from OECD and CPLP countries and on countries adhering to the conventions, the Código da Estrada and the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir as consolidated on the Diário da República, and the GOV.UK pages Living in Portugal, International driving permits, Driving abroad and Driving if you move abroad. The State Department’s Portugal travel advisory was read in a browser and says nothing on licences.