Which foreign licences exchange without an exam — country recognition
Verified
FACT ID · driving-country-recognition
Canonical value
Direct exchange without a driving exam is available for licences conforming to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna road-traffic conventions (Art. 125.º n.º 1 c) + Art. 128.º n.º 2 of the Código da Estrada), for EU/EEA licences, and for countries that recognise Portuguese licences reciprocally (Art. 125.º n.º 1 d)); in practice this covers OECD and CPLP states too. A licence from a country party to NEITHER convention is not automatically exam-free, but may still be exchanged under Art. 128.º n.º 6 if the issuing authority certifies it was obtained by an exam of rigour identical to Portuguese law — otherwise a Portuguese exam applies.●Verified ·
Issuing authority
Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT) — Troca de Título de Condução Estrangeiro
Legal instrument
Código da Estrada, Art. 125.º / 128.º (redação do DL n.º 138/2012)
Last verified
Review cadence
quarterly
Notes
The statutory basis is the road-traffic conventions and reciprocity (Art. 125.º), which prevail over the IMT’s administrative country list where the two diverge — see driving-convention-exchange-basis. Recognition depends on the issuing country of the licence, not the holder’s nationality. This step is only reached once the holder is resident in Portugal (see driving-exchange-obligation); a non-resident cannot exchange at all, regardless of country.
Change history
Initial captureDirect exchange without a driving exam is available for licences conforming to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna road-traffic conventions (Art. 125.º n.º 1 c) + Art. 128.º n.º 2 of the Código da Estrada), for EU/EEA licences, and for countries that recognise Portuguese licences reciprocally (Art. 125.º n.º 1 d)); in practice this covers OECD and CPLP states too. A licence from a country party to NEITHER convention is not automatically exam-free, but may still be exchanged under Art. 128.º n.º 6 if the issuing authority certifies it was obtained by an exam of rigour identical to Portuguese law — otherwise a Portuguese exam applies.
No further changes recorded yet — unchanged since it was first captured.
