Driving Licence in Lisbon: Exchange Rules, Deadlines and Costs (2026)

Sorting out your driving licence in Lisbon feels optional right up to the day it is not, because Portugal runs a clock on foreign licences and it is shorter than most newcomers expect. The application starts online through IMT’s own platform, and the in-person step comes later, when IMT calls you in. Below: which of three groups your licence falls into, the deadlines, the 2026 costs, and the verified Lisbon addresses.

Who needs a driving licence in Lisbon, and who does not

Portugal sorts foreign drivers into three groups, and your group decides whether a driving licence in Lisbon is a formality, a hard deadline, or a driving test from scratch.

EU and EEA licence holders

An EU or EEA licence stays valid here and you are never forced to swap it. The step almost everyone misses is a separate one: once you settle, IMT expects you to register your Portuguese residence against that licence within 60 days. That registration is free. The exchange itself is voluntary, though many do it because renewals are simpler with a Portuguese document.

OECD and CPLP countries

Licences from OECD member states, which covers the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan, and from CPLP Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde and Mozambique, can be exchanged directly. IMT’s wording is that applicants are dispensed from examination tests for all the categories they hold. This is the largest expat group, and the one the deadlines below are aimed at. The regime runs under Decreto-Lei n.º 46/2022.

Countries outside the road traffic conventions

If your issuing country never signed the international road traffic conventions, your licence is not valid for driving in Portugal at all, not even on day one. The only route is a multimedia theory test and a practical test, category by category.

The 90-day clock on a driving licence in Lisbon

The countdown starts when you take up legal residence, not when you land.

EU and EEA holders sit outside that table, though the 60-day registration still applies. Everyone else should file inside the first 90 days. The stretch between month four and year two is the real trap: legally resident, still eligible to apply, and not allowed to drive while you wait.

How to exchange your driving licence in Lisbon step by step

If you qualify for a straight swap, the route to a driving licence in Lisbon runs in this order.

1. Get your residence paperwork in order: an identification document and proof of residence, either a Citizen Card or a junta de freguesia certificate, plus a tax residence certificate if that document carries no address.
2. Request a certificate of authenticity from the issuing authority or your consulate, showing which categories you obtained by examination. Start here: it is routinely the slowest step, and IMT cannot chase it for you.
3. Book a medical assessment with a doctor registered in Portugal. The attestation reaches IMT electronically, so there is no paper form to carry.
4. Add a psychological evaluation certificate only for categories C, D or E. Ordinary car licences do not need one.
5. Create an account on the A Minha Carta de Conducao portal at aminhacartadeconducao.imt-ip.pt, choose the foreign licence exchange service and upload your documents.
6. Pay the fee online and wait for IMT’s instructions by email.
7. Attend the appointment IMT schedules for biometrics and card collection, and surrender your original licence.

Photograph both sides of the old card before you hand it over. Once surrendered, it is gone.

What a driving licence in Lisbon costs, and where to go

The fee is 30 euro, reduced by 10 percent when you submit online, so 27 euro in practice. In the no-conventions group, budget around 90 euro: 30 for the licence plus 30 for each exam. The medical assessment and any official translation sit on top, with no fixed national price, so ask for a quote.

The application is online, but IMT still calls people in, and its regional headquarters is not the place to turn up: Av. Elias Garcia 103 has no public counter. Driver services run through the Lojas de Cidadao.

The IMT call centre answers on 210 488 488 between 09:00 and 17:00. If a detail here has moved, that number and the portal are where to confirm it.

Getting around Lisbon while you wait

An exchange is not instant, and the weeks between filing and collecting are when a driving licence in Lisbon is most missed. Arriving fresh, a fixed-price airport transfer through https://www.welcomepickups.com takes the worst out of day one, though it costs more than the metro if you travel light. A scooter or bike compared on https://www.bikesbooking.com covers the flat riverside well, while the hills above Baixa argue against two wheels every day.

For paying IMT, a doctor and a translator in euro without bleeding money on conversion, an account with https://www.wise.com or https://www.revolut.com helps while your income still arrives from abroad. Neither replaces a Portuguese bank account for a rental contract. And since the portal defaults to Portuguese, a few lessons with a tutor from https://www.italki.com pay for themselves the first time you explain your file by phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to exchange my EU driving licence in Lisbon?

No. An EU or EEA licence stays valid and swapping is voluntary. What is not voluntary is registering your residence against the licence with IMT within 60 days of settling in Portugal. It is free, and it is the part everyone assumes an EU card exempts them from.

How long can I drive in Portugal on a foreign licence?

As a visitor, up to 185 days. Once resident, you may keep driving during the first 90 days provided your exchange request has been submitted. Between 90 days and two years you can still apply for a driving licence in Lisbon, but you cannot legally drive on the foreign card meanwhile.

How much does a driving licence in Lisbon cost to exchange?

The IMT fee is 30 euro, with 10 percent off online, so 27 euro. Drivers from non-convention countries should expect around 90 euro, because the theory and practical exams are 30 euro each. The medical assessment and any translation are extra and priced by the provider.

What is the certificate of authenticity, and why does it hold everything up?

Written confirmation from the issuing authority, or your consular service, that your licence is genuine, showing which categories you passed by examination. IMT will not close the file without it, and turnaround depends on the issuing country, not on Portugal. Request it in week one.

Can I apply in person in Lisbon?

No. The application is submitted through the IMT portal, so there is no walk-in counter for starting one. The in-person step comes afterwards, at the appointment IMT schedules for biometrics and card collection, at the Lojas de Cidadao in Marvila or Saldanha.

Expat Essentials for Lisbon

A few quick wins make settling into Lisbon easier while you work through this guide. An Airalo eSIM keeps you online from the moment you land, a pre-booked Welcome Pickups transfer takes the stress out of arrival day, and NordVPN protects your logins on public wifi. See our full list of trusted services below.

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Written by FinePassport team