Convention basis — Geneva 1949 OR Vienna 1968 licences exchange without an exam
Verified
FACT ID · driving-convention-exchange-basis
Canonical value
Art. 125.º n.º 1 c) of the Código da Estrada recognises foreign licences issued in conformity with Annex 9 of the 1949 Geneva Convention OR Annex 6 of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic; Art. 128.º n.º 2 exchanges those licences (al. b) to d)) for a Portuguese one with all requirements met "com exceção da submissão a exame de condução" — i.e. WITHOUT a driving exam. A party to EITHER convention is therefore a direct-exchange case by statute — the 1949 Geneva Convention counts equally with the 1968 Vienna Convention. This is the governing rule; the IMT recognised-country list is administrative and can lag it.●Verified ·
Issuing authority
Código da Estrada (DL n.º 114/94, redação do DL n.º 138/2012) — Art. 125.º / 128.º
Legal instrument
Código da Estrada, Art. 125.º n.º 1 c) e Art. 128.º n.º 2 (redação do DL n.º 138/2012)
Last verified
Review cadence
quarterly
Notes
Because international conventions received into Portuguese law prevail over administrative practice, a licence from a Geneva-1949 or Vienna-1968 party is exchangeable without exam under Art. 125.º c) even when the IMT country list omits the country. Classification follows the licence issuing country, not the holder’s nationality (a Portuguese citizen holding e.g. a Cambodian licence is still covered). Conditions remain: the licence must conform to the convention model and be authentic (Art. 128.º n.º 7 allows a practical exam only where authenticity is in doubt or the equivalence proof under n.º 6 is unavailable), must be valid, and must not itself have been obtained by exchange from a non-EU state absent a mutual-recognition treaty (Art. 128.º n.º 5). Licences from countries party to NEITHER convention may still be exchanged under Art. 128.º n.º 6 if the issuing authority certifies an exam of identical rigour.
Change history
Initial captureArt. 125.º n.º 1 c) of the Código da Estrada recognises foreign licences issued in conformity with Annex 9 of the 1949 Geneva Convention OR Annex 6 of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic; Art. 128.º n.º 2 exchanges those licences (al. b) to d)) for a Portuguese one with all requirements met "com exceção da submissão a exame de condução" — i.e. WITHOUT a driving exam. A party to EITHER convention is therefore a direct-exchange case by statute — the 1949 Geneva Convention counts equally with the 1968 Vienna Convention. This is the governing rule; the IMT recognised-country list is administrative and can lag it.
No further changes recorded yet — unchanged since it was first captured.
