# Exchanging a Foreign Driving Licence in Portugal: Q&A

> Real answers on exchanging a foreign driving licence in Portugal in 2026: EU rules, US/UK reciprocity, medical certificates, deadlines and a worked case.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/driving-licence-exchange-portugal-answered
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-08-22
- Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
- Language: en

> **In short — as of August 2026:** EU/EEA licence holders keep driving on their existing licence and simply register their address with the IMT within 60 days of moving. Non-EU/EEA licence holders — including most US and UK licence holders — usually qualify for direct exchange without a test, but the clock is strict: within **90 days** of your residence permit's issue date you can drive on the foreign licence while you file; after that and up to **2 years** you can still exchange without a test but must stop driving meanwhile; after 2 years, a **practical exam** is required. Every exchange needs an electronic **medical certificate**, mandatory from age 60. Since **21 January 2026**, applications go through the IMT's online portal only — no more in-person filing. The IMT fee is **€30**; GrowIN's exchange service is **€490** (ex-VAT).

Our main [guide to changing your driving licence in Portugal](/a-step-by-step-guide-to-changing-your-drivers-license-in-portugal/) covers the rules end to end. This one is different: it's the companion piece for the questions we actually get asked at the desk, worked through with a real client scenario, because the rules read one way on paper and land very differently once you apply them to a specific licence, a specific birthday and a specific deadline.

## "I Have an EU Licence — Do I Really Need to Do Anything?"

Mostly no. If your licence was issued in the EU or EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), you can drive in Portugal on it until it expires. The one thing you shouldn't skip is registering your address with the IMT within 60 days of taking up residence — free, and it means renewals happen through the Portuguese system rather than leaving you stuck abroad when the time comes. If your licence has no expiry date at all, you get 2 years from establishing residence to exchange it.

## "I Have a US or UK Licence — Do I Need a Test?"

This is the question that generates the most confusion, so it's worth being precise. Portugal maintains a list of OECD and CPLP countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and others — whose licence holders can simply *drive* in Portugal without exchanging at all, provided they're under 60, their licence is valid, no more than 15 years have passed since issue or last renewal, and the licence isn't suspended or revoked anywhere. That's a driving allowance, not a route to a Portuguese licence, and it stops applying the moment you turn 60.

Once you do need to exchange — because you're over 60, or you simply want a Portuguese licence — both US and UK licences normally qualify for **direct exchange without a driving test**, under Portugal's bilateral/reciprocity arrangements. The UK signed a specific mutual-recognition agreement in 2023 confirming this. For US licences there's no single national document that does the same job automatically: the IMT wants a **certificate of authenticity** from the issuing authority, and in practice that means an **Abstract of Driving Record** from your state's DMV, authenticated with an **Apostille**. This is where the "it depends on your state" reputation comes from — the underlying agreement with the US is national, but how quickly, cheaply and smoothly your specific state DMV produces that abstract varies enormously, and a small number of states make it genuinely awkward to obtain. Order it early.

## "What's This Medical Certificate, and Does My Age Matter?"

Every foreign-licence exchange requires an **electronic medical certificate** (*atestado médico*), issued by a doctor registered in Portugal and transmitted directly to the IMT — you don't submit a paper copy yourself. It confirms you're physically and mentally fit to drive.

Age changes two things. First, the certificate is a **mandatory** requirement, by law, for anyone aged 60 or over, at every renewal — it isn't discretionary. Second, once you hold a Portuguese licence, how often you have to renew it shortens with age: roughly every 10 years from 50, every 5 years from 60, and every 2 years from 70. If you're applying at 70+, expect the Portuguese licence you receive to reflect that shorter cycle from day one.

## "How Long Do I Actually Have to Apply?"

This is the deadline people get wrong most often, because there are really three separate clocks:

1. **The 90-day window.** From the date your residence permit is issued, you can keep driving on your foreign licence for up to 90 days — but only if you've already filed the exchange request with the IMT within that time.
2. **The 90-day-to-2-year window.** Miss the 90 days and you can *still* apply for a no-test exchange, but you're not allowed to drive on the foreign licence while you wait. You have up to 2 years from the residence permit's issue date to get this filed.
3. **After 2 years.** Past that point, direct exchange stops being available and you're required to sit — and pass — a practical driving exam to get a Portuguese licence.

None of these clocks care whether your foreign licence is still valid on its own terms. That's a fourth, separate constraint: you need a **valid** foreign licence to submit for exchange in the first place. Let it lapse and you generally can't exchange it — you'd have to renew it in your home country (often hard to do as a non-resident) or start from an exam.

## Documents You'll Typically Need

- Valid **foreign driving licence**.
- **Identification document** and, if your residence document has no biometric photo/signature, your **passport**.
- **Proof of residence** — your residence permit or, for a foreign-issued licence, sometimes a municipal residence declaration.
- A **tax domicile certificate** from the Portal das Finanças, if your address isn't shown on your residence document.
- Your **NIF**.
- The **electronic medical certificate**, sent by your doctor.
- A **psychological evaluation certificate** if you're exchanging categories C, D or E, or certain professional categories.
- A **certificate of authenticity** of your licence from the issuing authority or a consular service — for a US licence, the apostilled Abstract of Driving Record; for other bilateral-agreement countries, an equivalent authority statement.
- A **certified translation** if your licence isn't in Portuguese, English, French or Spanish.

## The IMT Process, and How Long It Takes

Since **21 January 2026**, the exchange of a foreign licence is submitted **exclusively online**, through the "A Minha Carta de Condução" portal — there's no in-person filing route left for this service. You register, upload your documents, and pay the **€30 fee** (a 10% discount applies when paid online). The IMT will contact you to attend a service desk to hand over your original foreign licence and have your photo and signature captured. On average, the Portuguese licence is delivered within about **60 days**; during that period, if you applied within your window, a provisional document lets you keep driving.

> **Case study — Penny, 73, American, homeowner in Lousã.** Penny's US driving licence expires on **29 October**. Her AIMA residence-permit renewal has just been approved — she's holding the AIMA approval letter while her new card is produced. Working through her situation: because she's 73, the OECD "drive without exchanging" allowance (available only under 60) never applied to her anyway, so this exchange is not optional. She needs an electronic medical certificate — mandatory at her age, and a step to book early rather than leave until the last fortnight. Her real deadline isn't a Portuguese bureaucratic clock, it's her own licence: IMT can't process an exchange against an expired foreign document, so she needs to file **before 29 October**, not after. On documents, her AIMA approval letter may not show her registered address in the format IMT wants, so she should also pull a **tax domicile certificate** from the Portal das Finanças to be safe. Whether she sits a driving test comes down to whether her issuing state's DMV can produce an apostilled Abstract of Driving Record quickly — some states turn this around in days, others take weeks, so she's requesting it now rather than assuming it will arrive in time. If everything lands before 29 October, she should qualify for a direct exchange with no test; if her licence lapses first, her options narrow considerably.

## Can You Keep Driving While It's All Going Through?

Yes, but only within the windows above. Applied within 90 days of your residence permit? You can drive on the foreign licence until the Portuguese one arrives, then on the provisional document during the roughly 60-day production period. Applied later than 90 days? You're not permitted to drive on the foreign licence at all while the (still test-free, if under 2 years) exchange is pending — plan your logistics accordingly.

## What It Costs

| Item | Who charges it | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| IMT exchange fee | IMT | €30 (10% off if paid online) |
| Electronic medical certificate | Registered doctor | Roughly €20–€40, provider-dependent |
| Apostilled Abstract of Driving Record (non-EU, e.g. US) | Your home-state DMV + apostille authority | Varies by state; often €20–€60 plus courier time |
| Certified translation (if needed) | Certified translator | Varies |
| GrowIN driving-licence exchange service | GrowIN Portugal | €490 (ex-VAT) |

GrowIN's fee covers managing the application, document checks and IMT liaison end to end; the government fee and medical certificate are paid separately to those providers.

## Things to Watch

- **Letting the foreign licence expire before you apply.** IMT generally can't exchange an expired licence — treat the expiry date as your hard deadline, not the residency clock.
- **Assuming the "under-60 driving allowance" is a licence-exchange route.** It only lets you drive without exchanging, and it stops at 60 regardless of nationality.
- **Underestimating the apostille step.** Some US states are quick; others genuinely aren't. Order the Abstract of Driving Record as soon as you know you're applying.
- **Skipping the medical certificate.** The application won't complete without it, and it's mandatory — not optional — from age 60.
- **Assuming in-person filing still exists.** Since January 2026, this specific process is online-only.
- **Confusing the tourist 185-day rule with the resident's clock.** Tourists get up to 185 days on a foreign licence; residents are on the 90-day/2-year track described above.

## Short FAQ

**Is the medical certificate the same one used for a first-time Portuguese licence?** Yes — it's the same electronic system, issued by a doctor and sent directly to the IMT.

**Does my Portuguese licence expire on the same date as my foreign one did?** No — the IMT sets a new expiry based on Portuguese renewal rules for your age and category.

**If I miss the 2-year window entirely, is a test my only option?** In practice, yes — beyond 2 years the direct-exchange route generally closes and a practical exam is required.

**Do I need to surrender my original foreign licence?** Yes, on a direct exchange the original is generally handed over and returned to the issuing country; you can request it back if you later hand in your Portuguese licence and leave.

Rules, reciprocity lists and exact processing times move, so confirm your specific case with the [IMT](https://www.imt-ip.pt) before you file. For the current fees, deadlines and country-recognition rules in one place, see our [driving licence data page](/data/driving-licence). For the deadlines, documents and full step-by-step, see our [driving licence exchange guide](/a-step-by-step-guide-to-changing-your-drivers-license-in-portugal/); if you're also bringing a residence-permit renewal into play, our [residence permit renewal guide](/portugal-residence-permit-renewal/) and [AIMA portal guide](/aima-portal-guide/) cover that side, and [tax and NIF](/tax-and-nif/) covers getting the number this whole process leans on.

> Want your exchange handled without chasing apostilles and IMT emails yourself? [See our driving-licence exchange service](/services/driving-licence-exchange/) — €490 ex-VAT, IMT fee and medical certificate separate.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do EU or EEA driving licence holders need to exchange in Portugal?

No — you can keep driving on your EU/EEA licence until it expires. You do have to register your address with the IMT within 60 days of moving, and exchange becomes necessary at renewal, at expiry, or within 2 years if your licence has no expiry date at all.

### Can Americans exchange a US driving licence without taking a test?

Generally yes. The US sits on Portugal's list of countries with a bilateral/reciprocity regime for licence exchange, so a direct exchange is normally possible. The catch is that IMT requires an apostilled Abstract of Driving Record from your state's DMV, and how fast (and easily) each state issues that document varies a lot.

### Who needs a medical certificate to exchange a foreign licence?

Everyone exchanging a foreign licence needs an electronic medical certificate (atestado médico), issued by a Portugal-registered doctor and sent straight to the IMT. It's mandatory by law for anyone aged 60 or over at every renewal, and for professional categories at any age.

### What's the deadline to exchange after becoming a resident?

From the date your residence permit issues: within 90 days you can keep driving on the foreign licence while you file for exchange. Between 90 days and 2 years, you can still exchange without a test but can no longer drive on the foreign licence. After 2 years, a practical driving exam is required.

### Can I keep driving while my exchange application is processed?

Only if you filed within the 90-day window — the IMT then typically issues the Portuguese licence within about 60 days, and a provisional document lets you drive in the meantime. File after the 90 days and you generally have to stop driving until the new licence is issued.

### What does GrowIN charge to handle a driving-licence exchange?

Our driving-licence exchange service is €490 (ex-VAT). That's separate from the IMT's own government fee (€30, with a 10% discount online) and the cost of the medical certificate, which are paid directly to those providers.

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "Exchanging a Foreign Driving Licence in Portugal: Q&A", https://www.growinportugal.com/driving-licence-exchange-portugal-answered