Car registration

Car registration in Portugal

What you have to do depends on where the car comes from. A new car from a dealer is mostly handled for you; a used car already on Portuguese plates is a change of ownership; a car brought in from abroad has to be cleared for tax and given a Portuguese registration before you can keep driving it.

Buying a new car

A dealer normally handles the paperwork: the Certificate of Conformity, the invoice, the ISV, and the registration itself. You end up with the vehicle registration document — the Documento Único Automóvel, DUA — and Portuguese plates.

Buying a used car in Portugal

The car already has a registration, so what changes is the owner. The new owner must register the change within 60 days of the sale. That register is kept by the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN), and you can do it online through the Serviço Automóvel Online on gov.pt, at an IRN desk, or at a Loja do Cidadão. A verbal sale can be registered by either party using a single form signed by both.

Bringing a car in from abroad

This runs on two clocks, and they start at different moments.

First, the tax. Within 20 working days of the vehicle entering Portugal you must submit the customs vehicle declaration — Declaração Aduaneira de Veículo, DAV — and pay the ISV. Alongside the DAV you will need:

  • the purchase invoice, or a sale declaration if you bought privately
  • the vehicle's own documents — registration certificate or title
  • proof of how the vehicle was transported, if it did not arrive under its own power
  • the Certificate of Conformity

Then, the registration. The DAV lets you drive the car for 60 days, and you must apply for the Portuguese registration within that window. Once the tax side is settled you have 60 days to pay the registration fee to the IMT and ask for the registration certificate.

The fee depends on your paperwork: €45 if you have a Certificate of Conformity or Portuguese type approval, €165 if you do not.

Moving to Portugal

If you are transferring your residence here, you may qualify for an ISV exemption on the car you bring with you. It has its own conditions and its own application, made to the Tax and Customs Authority.

What you will need

  • Identification — Citizen Card, passport, or residence permit
  • Tax number (NIF)
  • The vehicle's documents, which vary with where it comes from
  • Valid insurance

Roadworthiness testing

Cars in Portugal are subject to periodic inspection, run through centres approved by the IMT. Check the IMT's own schedule for when your vehicle is next due — it depends on the vehicle's age and category.

References