Driving in Portugal
Rules of the road, tolls, speed limits, alcohol limits, required equipment, and fines.
Last verified: September 2026.
Who this is for
- You will drive in Portugal as a visitor, a new resident, or someone renting a car.
- You want the speed limits, alcohol limit, toll system, parking rules, and what to keep in the car.
- You have received a toll bill or a traffic fine and want to know what happens next.
Not for you if: You need to know whether your foreign licence is valid here or how to swap it: read "Exchanging a foreign driving licence in Portugal".
Updated September 2026. Tolls on the ex-SCUT motorways (A22, A23, A24, A25, A4, A13, A13-1, and two stretches of the A28) were abolished on 1 January 2025, Via Verde changed its prices in April 2026, a resident toll exemption on the A2 and A6 in the Alentejo started in April 2026, and the fine figures below have been checked against the current Código da Estrada.
Driving in Portugal is easy once you know the handful of things that differ from home: the electronic tolls, the roundabout habits, the low alcohol limit, and what the police expect to find in your car. This guide covers all of that in one place.
It does not go deep on driving licences. If you need to know whether your licence is valid, when you have to swap it, and how the exchange at IMT works, read our separate guide to exchanging a foreign driving licence in Portugal. The short version is below so you know where you stand.
Your licence: the short version
EU, EEA, and Swiss licences. Valid in Portugal for as long as the licence itself is valid, even after you become a resident. You never have to exchange it, though you can if you want a Portuguese card.
Every other licence (UK, US, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and so on). As a visitor you can drive on your home licence for 185 days, counted from the day after you enter Portugal. Once you hold a residence permit, IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, the transport authority) gives you 90 days from the date on that permit to apply for the exchange. You may keep driving on your foreign licence during those 90 days. After that window closes, you should not drive on the foreign licence until the Portuguese one is issued. You have up to two years from the residence date to complete the exchange without a driving test, provided your country is on one of IMT's recognised lists, which include the OECD countries (so the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia), the CPLP countries (Brazil among them), and the Vienna and Geneva convention countries.
International Driving Permit (IDP). Carry one if your licence is not in Portuguese, English, French, or Spanish, or if you are unsure whether your licence will be understood at a roadside check. It is a translation, not a licence, so it only counts alongside the original. Get it before you leave home.
Learning from scratch. You must be 18 for a car licence (category B) and go through a driving school (escola de condução). Details, costs, and the English-language test options are in the licence guide.
What you must carry in the car
Police checks (operações STOP) are routine, especially on Friday and Saturday nights and around holidays. You will be asked for:
| Document or item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Driving licence | Plus IDP if applicable. The digital licence in the id.gov.pt app is accepted at checks in Portugal. |
| Identification | Citizen card, residence card, or passport. |
| Vehicle registration (DUA, Documento Único Automóvel) | The car's single registration document. Digital version in id.gov.pt is accepted. |
| Proof of insurance | The windscreen sticker (dístico) has not been required since Lei 32/2023 (July 2023). Carry the paper or electronic certificate your insurer gives you. |
| Inspection sheet (ficha de inspeção) | Only once the car is old enough to need the periodic inspection (IPO). |
| Warning triangle (triângulo) | Required for all cars. Fine for not having an approved one: 120 to 600 euros. |
| Reflective vest (colete refletor) | Required for all cars and must be worn whenever you step out onto the carriageway or hard shoulder to put out the triangle or deal with a breakdown. Keep it in the cabin, not the boot. Fine for not having one: 60 to 300 euros; fine for not wearing it when you should: 120 to 600 euros. |
A spare wheel or repair kit is sensible but is not a legal requirement under the Código da Estrada (the Highway Code). If you cannot show a document at the roadside, the fine is 60 to 300 euros, though in practice you are usually given the chance to present it later.
Motorcycles, three-wheelers, and quadricycles without a closed cabin are exempt from the triangle and vest rule.
Rules of the road that catch newcomers
- Drive on the right, overtake on the left. On two-lane national roads, local drivers overtake aggressively. If someone flashes their lights behind you, they expect you to move right.
- Roundabouts. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority. Portuguese rules (article 14-A of the Código da Estrada) say you should be in the outer (right-hand) lane before you exit. If you are going further round, you may use an inner lane, but you must move out in time and signal right as you leave. The most common local mistake is exiting straight from the inner lane; expect it from others.
- No right turn on red. Ever, unless a specific green arrow signal allows it.
- Pedestrian crossings. You must stop for anyone waiting to cross at a marked crossing (passadeira), not only for someone already on it.
- Seatbelts. Compulsory for everyone, front and back. Fine: 120 to 600 euros.
- Children. Anyone under 12 and under 135 cm tall must travel in an approved child seat or booster. Whichever threshold they reach first ends the requirement. Children may only sit in the front in an approved seat, and a rear-facing seat needs the passenger airbag switched off. Fine: 120 to 600 euros per child.
- Phones. Hands-free only. Holding a phone, or any device that needs continuous handling, is a serious offence: 250 to 1,250 euros and points off your licence. A single earpiece is allowed.
- Headlights. Dipped headlights are compulsory in tunnels and in poor visibility. Motorcycles must run lights at all times.
- IC roads. Itinerários Complementares (IC1, IC2, and so on) look like motorways but are single carriageways with junctions, farm vehicles, and pedestrians. Treat them as national roads.
- Cobbles. The granite calçada in older town centres (Porto, Guimarães, Braga, Lisbon) is glassy when wet. Slow right down on hills.
- Emergency number: 112 for police, ambulance, or fire.
Speed limits
These are the general limits for cars and motorcycles under article 27 of the Código da Estrada. Signs override them, and 30 km/h zones are increasingly common in city centres.
| Road type | Limit |
|---|---|
| Inside built-up areas (localidades) | 50 km/h |
| Outside built-up areas | 90 km/h |
| Roads reserved for motor vehicles (vias reservadas, usually IPs and some ICs) | 100 km/h |
| Motorways (autoestradas) | 120 km/h |
On motorways there is also a minimum: you may not drive below 50 km/h (fine 60 to 300 euros). Vans, cars with trailers, and heavier vehicles have lower limits.
Speeding fines depend on how far over the limit you were and whether you were inside or outside a built-up area:
| Over the limit (car or motorcycle) | Inside built-up area | Outside built-up area | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | up to 20 km/h | up to 30 km/h | 60 to 300 euros |
| Serious (grave) | 21 to 40 km/h | 31 to 60 km/h | 120 to 600 euros |
| Very serious (muito grave) | 41 to 60 km/h | 61 to 80 km/h | 300 to 1,500 euros |
| Very serious | over 60 km/h | over 80 km/h | 500 to 2,500 euros |
Serious and very serious offences also carry a driving ban (inibição de condução) of one month to two years and lose you points. Fixed cameras are common on the A1, A2, the Lisbon and Porto ring roads, and the coastal A28, and the GNR runs mobile radar on national roads. Fines from cameras arrive by post from ANSR (Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária, the road safety authority).
Alcohol and drugs
Portugal's limit is lower than the UK's and lower than most of the US. Random breath tests are routine.
| Driver | Limit (blood alcohol) |
|---|---|
| Most drivers | under 0.5 g/L |
| New drivers (first three years of licence) and professional drivers | under 0.2 g/L |
Penalties under article 81 of the Código da Estrada:
| Level (standard driver) | Level (new or professional driver) | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 to under 0.8 g/L | 0.2 to under 0.5 g/L | Fine 250 to 1,250 euros, driving ban 1 to 12 months, 3 points |
| 0.8 to under 1.2 g/L | 0.5 to under 1.2 g/L | Fine 500 to 2,500 euros, driving ban 2 to 24 months, 5 points |
| 1.2 g/L and above | 1.2 g/L and above | A crime under article 292 of the Código Penal: up to one year in prison or a daily fine of up to 120 days, driving ban 3 to 36 months, 6 points |
Refusing a breath or drug test is treated as the crime of disobedience. Driving under the influence of drugs is penalised in the same bands as the higher alcohol levels. In practice, a glass of wine with dinner can put a small person over 0.5 g/L, and a new driver over 0.2 g/L with far less. The safe rule is none.
Tolls: how the system works
Portugal's motorways are largely tolled, and the part that catches newcomers is that many stretches have no booths at all. Overhead gantries read your number plate or your transponder, and you are billed afterwards.
What changed in 2025. Lei 37/2024 abolished tolls on the former SCUT motorways from 1 January 2025: the A22 (Algarve), A23 (Beira Interior), A24 (Interior Norte), A25 (Beiras Litoral e Alta), A4 (Transmontana and the Marão tunnel), A13 and A13-1 (Pinhal Interior), and the A28 between Esposende and Antas and between Neiva and Darque. Older guides that warn about electronic-only tolls on the A22 are out of date. The rest of the A28 (Porto to Esposende), the A41, A42, A29, A17, and the Brisa motorways (A1, A2, A3, A5, A6, and others) still charge.
Three kinds of tolled road remain:
- Traditional booths on the older concession motorways (A1, A3, A5, parts of A2). Take a ticket, pay at the exit with cash, card, or a Via Verde lane.
- Electronic-only stretches with gantries and no booths. Common on the A28 south of Esposende, the A41 and A42 around Porto, the A29, the A17, and the A33.
- Mixed stretches where a booth exists but the Via Verde lane is by far the fastest.
If your car has Portuguese plates
Get a Via Verde transponder. It works on every motorway, the Lisbon bridges, many car parks, and some fuel stations. You sign up online at viaverde.pt or at a Via Verde store with your NIF, the DUA, and a Portuguese bank account or card. Since April 2026 the private plans are Via Verde Mobilidade Mensal at 1.99 euros a month (1.49 euros with an electronic statement) and Via Verde Mobilidade Leve at 2.49 euros a month, charged only in months you use it (1.99 euros with e-statement). Tolls are debited on top.
Without a transponder you can still use electronic-only roads. The charge appears on the CTT system about 48 hours after you pass the gantry, and you have 15 working days to pay at a CTT post office, a Payshop agent, by Multibanco reference, or through the CTT app. A service fee of 0.32 euros per passage applies, capped at 2.56 euros per payment. Check what you owe by plate number at ctt.pt.
If your car has foreign plates or is a rental
Rental companies usually fit a transponder and bill you for tolls plus an administrative fee. Read the contract before you rely on it; the fee can be several euros a day.
For your own foreign-registered car, the official options are on pttolls.com (the former portugaltolls.com):
| Option | How it works | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EASYToll | Link a Visa, Mastercard, or Maestro card to your plate, online or at one of four border kiosks. Tolls are charged to the card. | 1 euro to join, 0.32 euros per passage. Valid 30 days, renewable. |
| TOLLCard | Prepaid card (5, 10, 20, or 40 euros) bought at CTT or motorway service areas, activated by SMS. | 1 euro activation, 0.32 euros per passage. Valid one year. |
| Go Toll | Via Verde subscription linked to your plate, online only. | 0.77 euros in months you use it, 0.32 euros per passage. |
| Via Verde transponder for visitors | A physical device, online only. | 1.99 euros a month when used; a roaming add-on covers Spain and France. |
| Your own transponder | Some Spanish, French, and other European tags work in Portugal through Via Verde partnerships. | Depends on your issuer. |
If you do not pay. An unpaid electronic toll is an offence. The fine is at least five times the toll and never less than 25 euros, plus administrative costs, and it rises sharply if you ignore the notices. Foreign plates are traced through EU registration-sharing agreements and through rental companies, so the bill does follow you home.
Alentejo resident exemption on the A2 and A6
Since April 2026, under the 2026 State Budget, residents and businesses based in Alto Alentejo, Alentejo Central, Baixo Alentejo, and Alentejo Litoral pay no tolls on the A2 between the A2/A6/A13 junction and Almodôvar and on the A6 between that junction and Caia (the Spanish border). You need a transponder and must apply through your toll operator (Via Verde) with proof of address or company seat. The exemption lasts one year and must be renewed at least 30 days before it expires.
Parking
Painted lines tell you what you can do:
- Blue lines or blue zones: paid parking. Pay at the meter or by app. EMEL's app in Lisbon, the Via Verde Estacionar app in Porto and many other cities, and the operator apps in smaller towns. Look for the local operator's name on the meter.
- Green zones: resident-only in some cities, with a permit from the câmara municipal or junta de freguesia.
- White lines: free, sometimes time-limited.
- Yellow lines or yellow kerbs: no parking.
Fines for ordinary parking offences are 30 to 150 euros. Parking on a pedestrian crossing or in a disabled bay is 60 to 300 euros and costs points. Towing and clamping are routine in central Porto and Lisbon, and the release fee comes on top of the fine.
Fuel
Portugal has some of the most expensive fuel in Europe because of tax. In the last week of August 2026 the national average was around 1.99 euros a litre for gasolina 95 (petrol) and 2.07 euros for gasóleo simples (diesel), and prices were rising into September. Prices change weekly, so check DGEG's daily average at precoscombustiveis.dgeg.gov.pt.
Hypermarket stations (Continente, Pingo Doce, Intermarché) and unbranded stations are consistently the cheapest. Motorway service areas charge 10 to 20 cents more a litre. Most stations are self-service and take cards.
Insurance
Third-party liability insurance (seguro de responsabilidade civil automóvel) is compulsory for every vehicle on the road. It covers damage you cause to others, not your own car. Comprehensive cover (seguro contra todos os riscos) and roadside assistance (assistência em viagem) are optional but worth pricing.
Expect 300 to 800 euros a year for a normal car, depending on age, driving history, and location. Driving without insurance costs 500 to 2,500 euros plus points, and the car can be seized on the spot.
If you bring a car from another EU country, your home policy covers you only while the car is temporarily in Portugal. Once you are resident and the car is registered here, you need a Portuguese policy. See our guide to importing a car to Portugal.
Fines, points, and how to pay
Portuguese traffic offences fall into three bands: light (leve), serious (grave), and very serious (muito grave). Serious and very serious offences carry a driving ban as well as a fine, and lose you points.
| Offence | Fine | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Speeding, minor | 60 to 300 euros | 0 |
| Speeding, serious or very serious | 120 to 2,500 euros | 2 to 4 |
| Holding a phone | 250 to 1,250 euros | 2 |
| No seatbelt | 120 to 600 euros | 2 |
| Child not properly restrained | 120 to 600 euros per child | 2 |
| Running a red light | 120 to 600 euros | 4 |
| Not stopping at a pedestrian crossing | 120 to 600 euros | 3 to 4 |
| Alcohol 0.5 to 0.8 g/L | 250 to 1,250 euros | 3 |
| Alcohol 0.8 to 1.2 g/L | 500 to 2,500 euros | 5 |
| No insurance | 500 to 2,500 euros | 2 |
| No warning triangle | 120 to 600 euros | 0 |
| No reflective vest | 60 to 300 euros | 0 |
| Unpaid electronic toll | At least 5 times the toll, minimum 25 euros | 0 |
| Ordinary parking offence | 30 to 150 euros | 0 |
The points system (carta por pontos). Every driver starts with 12 points. A serious offence costs 2 points (3 for alcohol or a pedestrian crossing), a very serious offence 4 points (5 for alcohol), and a road crime 6. At zero points the licence is cancelled and you wait two years before you can retest. Three years without a serious offence earns 3 points back, up to a ceiling of 15. Once you hold a Portuguese licence, that is the licence the points sit on. Foreign licence holders resident in Portugal are still fined and banned in the same way.
How a fine reaches you. If you are stopped, the officer writes an auto de contraordenação on the spot; a foreign driver may be asked to pay a deposit immediately. Camera and toll fines arrive by post from ANSR at the registered keeper's address, which for a rental means the rental company (who will charge you an admin fee for passing it on). For a hire car or foreign plate, notification can take months.
Paying. You have 15 working days from the notification to pay voluntarily, and paying within that window means you pay the minimum of the band. Pay by the Multibanco reference on the notice, at a CTT or Payshop, or through ANSR's Portal das Contraordenações. If you want to contest the fine, you submit a written defence (defesa) through the same portal within the same 15 working days. Unpaid fines are passed to the tax authority for enforced collection and can block a car sale or an IMT service. Our guide to paying and contesting traffic fines in Portugal walks through the notice, the portal, and the defence.
Common problems
- "I used the A28 or the A41 in a rental and got a bill months later." The rental company paid the toll and the fine and is passing on both plus its fee. Check the contract for the toll arrangement next time, or ask for the transponder at pick-up.
- "My Via Verde tag stopped working." Usually an expired card or a failed direct debit. Log in at viaverde.pt, update the payment method, and pay the outstanding tolls through CTT before the 15 working days run out.
- "I was fined for the vest even though it was in the boot." The vest has to be reachable from inside the car so you can put it on before you step out. Keep it in the door pocket or under a seat.
- "I have been resident for four months and still driving on my US licence." You are outside the 90-day window. Book the IMT exchange now and avoid driving until it is done; an accident while driving on an invalid licence can void your insurance. The licence guide explains the steps.
- "I got a speeding notice but I was not the driver." The notice goes to the registered keeper, who must identify the driver through the Portal das Contraordenações within the deadline. Ignoring it makes the keeper liable.
- "My car has new safety nags." Since 7 July 2026 every newly registered car and van in the EU must have advanced driver distraction warning, emergency braking that detects pedestrians and cyclists, and the earlier package (intelligent speed assistance, drowsiness warning, event data recorder) that has applied to all new registrations since July 2024. These can be turned down per journey on most cars but come back on at every start. Older cars are not affected.
After you are settled
Once your licence is sorted, you have a Via Verde tag, and the documents live in the glovebox and the id.gov.pt app, driving in Portugal is pleasant. The motorways are quiet outside the Lisbon and Porto commuter belts, the national roads through the Minho and Trás-os-Montes are some of the best driving in Europe, and most of the interior is now toll-free. Keep the 0.5 g/L limit in mind, watch the calçada in the rain, and let the flasher behind you past.
Sources
- Código da Estrada, consolidated text on Diário da República: https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/decreto-lei/1994-34523575 (articles 27, 55, 81, 84, 88, and the fine bands)
- Segurança Rodoviária, article 27 of the Código da Estrada: https://www.segurancarodoviaria.pt/codigo-da-estrada/ (speed limits and speeding fines)
- ANSR, Contraordenações: https://ansr.pt/contraordenacoes (15 working day voluntary payment window, Portal das Contraordenações)
- ANSR, Carta por Pontos: https://ansr.pt/contraordenacoes/carta-por-pontos (points system)
- IMT, exchange of foreign driving licences, convention countries: https://www.imt-ip.pt/condutores/reconhecimento/troca-de-titulo-de-conducao-estrangeiro/paises-aderentes-as-convencoes-e-outras-situacoes/ (185 day visitor rule, 90 day and 2 year resident rules)
- IMT, licences from OECD and CPLP countries: https://www.imt-ip.pt/condutores/reconhecimento/troca-de-titulo-de-conducao-estrangeiro/cartas-de-conducao-emitidas-pelos-paises-da-ocde-e-cplp/ (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil exchange without test)
- gov.pt, Trocar carta de condução estrangeira por portuguesa: https://www.gov.pt/servicos/trocar-carta-de-conducao-estrangeira-por-portuguesa (EU licences need no exchange, two year deadline)
- PT Tolls (official electronic toll site, formerly portugaltolls.com): https://www.pttolls.com/ and https://www.pttolls.com/en/faq-frequently-asked-questions (EASYToll, TOLLCard, Go Toll, Via Verde visitor prices, 15 working day payment window, minimum fine for unpaid tolls)
- CTT, Portagens: https://www.ctt.pt/particulares/pagamentos/pagar-servicos-portagens/portagens/ (post-payment of electronic tolls, 15 working days)
- Via Verde price table in force from 10 April 2026: https://visitors.viaverde.pt/Portals/0/Documentos/TermosCondicoes/2026/18.DC.1202_Tabela_de_Precos_2026_PT_V66.pdf (private plan prices)
- Governo de Portugal, isenção de portagens na A2 e A6: https://portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc25/comunicacao/noticias/isencao-de-portagens-na-a2-e-a6-arranca-a-8-de-abril-no-alentejo (Alentejo exemption)
- Lei 37/2024 (abolition of tolls on ex-SCUT motorways from 1 January 2025), reported by Observador: https://observador.pt/2025/01/01/antigas-scut-sem-cobranca-de-portagens-a-partir-desta-quarta-feira/ and Razão Automóvel: https://www.razaoautomovel.com/noticias/portagens-algumas-ex-scut-deixam-pagar-2025/ (list of roads)
- Todos Contam (Banco de Portugal, ASF, CMVM), end of the insurance sticker under Lei 32/2023: https://www.todoscontam.pt/pt-pt/noticias/afixacao-do-distico-do-seguro-automovel-deixa-de-ser-obrigatoria
- European Commission, Safer cars, safer roads: new rules take effect (8 July 2026): https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/safer-cars-safer-roads-new-rules-take-effect-2026-07-08_en (General Safety Regulation phase from 7 July 2026)
- DGEG, preço médio diário dos combustíveis: https://precoscombustiveis.dgeg.gov.pt/estatistica/preco-medio-diario/ (fuel prices)
Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.
