Driving Rules and Traffic Fines in Portugal: Americans, Britons

The rules for drivers in Portugal are in the Código da Estrada, and the national road safety authority, ANSR, runs the fines procedure, which Portuguese law calls contraordenações. ANSR says a fine should be paid within 15 working days of being notified, and that paying in that window avoids court costs.

This guide sits beside using your US or UK licence in Portugal, exchanging a foreign licence at the IMT, buying and registering a car and car insurance and tolls. It is for Americans and Britons. Our reading is that the rules are the same for both, because the Código text we read does not distinguish by nationality; no page says so in terms. It is not legal advice, and a fine you disagree with is a matter for ANSR’s procedure or a Portuguese lawyer.

What we read, and when

We read the ANSR pages on traffic offenses, the points licence, the forms and the Código da Estrada on 21 October 2026. ANSR’s pages carry no date of their own. The Código text we read is the full republication that ANSR hosts on its site, taken from the Diário da República of 9 December 2020 (Decree-Law 102-B/2020, which ANSR says brought most of its changes into force on 8 January 2021). The latest later change we found in the saved ANSR amendment lists and the law text is Law 66/2021 of 24 August 2021, which changes the parking rules for motorhomes. The ANSR page on the Código itself loads its list by script, so we could not read it as text and cannot say nothing later is listed there. So the latest legal item behind this guide is from 2021, older than the guide’s publication date, and the date of the information is the publication date. We could not open the consolidated Código on the Diário da República site to see whether any article quoted below has been amended since; see the note in the fines section.

What are the speed limits in Portugal?

Article 27 of the Código sets the general maximum speeds, unless a sign sets a different limit. For a light passenger or mixed automobile (a normal car), the Código table reads:

The table has separate rows for light goods vehicles, buses, trucks, motorcycles and mopeds, with lower limits for several. On motorways the Código also sets a minimum of 50 km/h, with a fine of 60 to 300 euros for driving slower, and the Código allows lower or higher limits on specific roads when signed.

The fine depends on how far over the limit you are. For a car or motorcycle the bands in article 27 are:

These amounts come from the December 2020 republication of the Código that ANSR hosts. We could not open the consolidated text on the Diário da República, so check the amount in the notice you receive, which states the fine applied to you.

ANSR’s page on infractions says speeding by more than 20 km/h in a built-up area or more than 30 km/h outside one, in a car or motorcycle, is a serious offense and brings an additional sanction, a driving ban. Above 40 km/h in a built-up area, or above 60 km/h outside one, it is a very serious offense.

What is the drink-driving limit?

Article 81 says it is forbidden to drive under the influence of alcohol or psychotropic substances. A driver is under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 0.5 g/l or more, or if a medical report says so. The limit is 0.2 g/l for probationary drivers and drivers of emergency vehicles, of collective transport of children and young people up to 16, of taxis, of TVDE (app-based ride services), of heavy passenger or goods vehicles or of dangerous goods. A reading from a breath test is converted to blood alcohol by the rule in the Código that 1 mg per liter of breath equals 2.3 g/l in blood.

The fines in article 81 are 250 to 1,250 euros from 0.5 g/l up to 0.8 g/l, and 500 to 2,500 euros from 0.8 g/l up to 1.2 g/l, or if driving under psychotropic substances. ANSR classes the first band as a serious offense and the second as a very serious one, both with a driving ban. ANSR’s page on infractions says a driving ban lasts 1 month to 1 year for a serious offense and 2 months to 2 years for a very serious one, and that the minimum is doubled for a repeat offense within five years. ANSR’s page says that when an offense is also a crime, the person is punished criminally in addition to the ancillary sanctions. We did not read the criminal law, so we give no penalty for a crime.

We did not read any US or UK limit for comparison, so check the figure you know from home against the one above.

What do the seat belt and child seat rules say?

Article 82 says the driver and the passengers in motor vehicles must use seat belts and other safety devices the vehicle is equipped with. Not using them, or using them wrongly, is fined 120 to 600 euros. Motorcycle riders and passengers must wear an approved helmet.

For children, article 55 says:

• Children under 12 in cars with seat belts, who are also under 135 cm tall, must be held in an approved child restraint suited to their size and weight.
• They must ride in the back seat, with two exceptions: a child under 3 in a rear-facing seat in the front, with the front airbag deactivated, or a child of 3 or more where the car has no rear belts or no rear seat.
• In cars with no seat belts, children under 3 cannot be carried.
• The fine is 120 to 600 euros for each child carried wrongly. ANSR also lists carrying minors without the mandatory safety devices as a serious offense.

A child seat bought in the US may not be the “approved” kind the Código means. The Código says “homologado” and the pages we read do not say which standards count, so check the seat’s approval marking against the Código requirement before relying on a seat you bring.

Can I use my phone while driving?

No. Article 84 forbids the driver, while the vehicle is moving, to use or handle for a sustained period any equipment that can impair driving, naming headphones and radio-telephone devices. A device with a single earpiece or a microphone with a hands-free system, whose use does not mean continued handling, is excepted. The fine is 250 to 1,250 euros. ANSR’s page on infractions lists it as a serious offense, and its points page lists misuse of the phone among the serious offenses that cost 3 points in its summary list.

What documents must I carry?

Article 85 says that when a car is on the road the driver must carry:

• an identity document;
• the driving licence;
• the insurance certificate;
• the tax identification document, if the number is not on the identity document and the driver lives in Portugal.

For a car, the driver must also carry the vehicle’s registration ownership document or an equivalent, the vehicle identification document and the periodic inspection sheet when one is required. The Código allows a mobile app or a digital licence to replace the papers, and if the officer cannot check it on the spot you have five days to show the physical documents. The fine for not carrying them is 60 to 300 euros. For insurance and tolls, see car insurance, Via Verde and tolls; the ANSR pages we read do not connect Via Verde to traffic fines.

How are traffic fines notified in Portugal?

Article 176 of the Código lists four ways: in person, at the moment of the report, by registered letter, by ordinary letter, or electronically to the person’s digital single address (morada única digital). For offenses linked to driving, the address used is the tax address in the tax authority database, and where the person is not resident in Portugal, the address on the infringement report. Notification is deemed made on the fifth day after an ordinary letter is sent or after the electronic notice is made available, and, for a registered letter, on the date the receipt is signed, or on the third working day after that date when someone other than the defendant signs.

This matters for a newcomer: the Código says the address on file with the tax authority is the one used for driving offenses, so keep it current.

When the notification is made at the roadside, the Código says the driver must pay, immediately or within 48 hours, a deposit equal to the minimum fine, and if not, the licence or the vehicle papers can be provisionally seized and replaced with a temporary document. If you are notified by post, you may make that deposit within 48 hours.

If the driver cannot be identified, the report goes to the holder of the vehicle’s registration document. If that is you and someone else was driving, the Código lets you name them, with their details, within the period for your defense, and ANSR publishes form F306 for it. For rental cars, the Código says that the renter is notified to name the driver.

How do I pay a fine, and how long do I have?

ANSR says to pay voluntarily within 15 working days from the notification of the infringement report, following the instructions on the report. In that window, with no defense filed, no costs are charged. After 15 working days you can still pay until the decision, but costs are due. The Código (article 172) says voluntary payment is made at the minimum fine. ANSR does not describe any other reduced amount, or a discount for early payment, so the saving is the one the Código states: the minimum rather than a higher figure, plus no costs.

You file a defense in writing, in Portuguese, with the report number, your name, the facts and your request, signed (article 175). ANSR publishes the forms: F305 for a defense, F303 for installments, F306 to identify a driver, F302 to suspend a ban, F308 for a refund. Installments need an initial fine of 210 euros or more, according to ANSR’s FAQ; installments of at least 50 euros and no longer than 12 months, and missing one cancels the plan.

You can use the Portal das Contraordenações, ANSR’s online portal, to see your cases and your record of infractions, to file defenses and ask for installments, and to see your points balance after you register and sign in. ANSR has no in-person desk, but its pages list GNR and PSP stations that deal with these cases in person, by district. ANSR’s phone is 214 236 800, weekdays 9:00 to 19:00, and its email is mail@ansr.pt.

If you have left Portugal, ANSR publishes a PDF, in Portuguese and English, with instructions for payments outside Portugal. It gives ANSR’s account and the bank handling it, with a separate routing for payments in dollars, euros, pounds, Swiss francs and yen, and the infringement report number as the reference. Use the PDF on the ANSR site and not a message you were sent.

Do unpaid fines have consequences?

Yes. Article 174 says that if at a roadside check a driver or a vehicle holder has an earlier final fine unpaid, the driver must pay at once. If not, the licence or the vehicle papers are seized provisionally, with a replacement valid for 15 days, and after that the vehicle can be seized. ANSR’s FAQ says unpaid fines add the costs described above.

What are the points on a Portuguese licence?

ANSR says a driver starts with 12 points on the licence, up to a maximum of 15, and points are removed only when the decision on a serious or very serious offense becomes final. ANSR’s summary list says serious offenses cost 3 points for drink-driving, speeding, overtaking before pedestrian or cycle crossings and misuse of the phone, and 2 for other serious offenses; very serious drink-driving and speeding in coexistence zones cost 5, other very serious offenses 4, and road crimes 6. The speeding table lower on the same page is different: for a car or motorcycle it shows 2 points for a serious speeding offense and 4 for a very serious one, or 3 and 5 in coexistence zones. The two parts of the page do not agree, so check the points in your own decision with ANSR. At a balance of 5 or 4 a road safety course is required; at 3, 2 or 1 a theory exam; at 0 you lose the licence and wait two years for a new one. The pages say how this works for Portuguese licence holders; they do not say how it applies to a foreign licence.

The Código says that holders of some foreign licences may drive in Portugal for 185 days from entry if not resident, and must exchange the licence within 90 days of fixing residence. The licence guide covers which licences, and the exchange guide the process. Driving with a licence not valid for the vehicle category is a very serious offense in ANSR’s list.

Official pages read

On 21 October 2026 we read: ANSR, Contraordenações (FAQ on paying, costs and installments); ANSR, Infrações ao Código (classification, driving bans, repeat offenses); ANSR, Carta por Pontos; ANSR, Formulários (forms and the payment instructions PDF); ANSR, Código da Estrada (its page on the Código, which loads by script and could not be read as text); and the republication of the Código da Estrada in the Diário da República, 1st series, no. 238, of 9 December 2020, hosted by ANSR. The Diário da República consolidated text could not be opened.