Getting a Portuguese Driving Licence From Scratch in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Escola de Condução Route, the Código Theory Exam in a Foreign Language, the New Tutor Rules and Who Can't Simply Exchange a Foreign Licence

Most guides to driving in Portugal — including ours — start from the assumption that you already hold a licence from somewhere else and simply need to exchange it. But for a large and growing number of residents, exchange is not an option. If your licence was issued by a country outside the EU/EEA that is not on Portugal's reciprocity lists — which excludes India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and most of Africa and Asia — you cannot simply swap it. Nor can anyone who has never driven before. In both cases the only route to a Portuguese licence is to earn one from scratch: enrol in a driving school, pass the theory exam, and pass the road test. This guide explains how that works in 2026, including a major reform that changed the rules over the summer.

The rules below cover Category B — ordinary cars and light vehicles — issued by the IMT — Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (Institute for Mobility and Transport), the authority responsible for licensing.

Who has to do this (and the confusion to clear up first)

Portugal only lets you exchange a foreign licence if it was issued by an EU or EEA country, or by a country on the OECD, CPLP (Portuguese-speaking) or relevant international reciprocity lists. If your issuing country is not covered, your foreign licence cannot be converted — and once any grace period for driving on it expires, continuing to drive on it means driving unlicensed, a serious offence. The frustrating catch many newcomers discover is that a full, valid licence from home counts for nothing here, and they must begin again as a learner. Getting that straight early saves months.

To sit for a licence in Portugal you must be a legal resident, and for Category B you must be at least 18 years old. (An EU directive adopted in late 2025 will let member states allow accompanied driving from 17, but Portugal has not taken up that option and member states have several years to transpose the rules — so treat 18 as the figure that applies today.)

What you need to start

• An identity document proving your legal residency in Portugal.
• Your NIF (tax identification number).
• An Atestado Médico Eletrónico (electronic medical certificate) confirming your physical and mental fitness to drive, which any doctor can issue. For Category B there is no separate psychological assessment; that applies only to heavier and professional categories.

You do not file the first application yourself — you enrol in a licensed escola de condução (driving school), which registers you with the IMT and handles the paperwork.

The theory exam (the código)

The first hurdle is the theory test, universally known as the código (after the Código da Estrada, the Highway Code). The exam for light vehicles consists of 30 questions. The pass standard and time limit are set by regulation and are strict — you are allowed only a small number of errors — so confirm the current threshold with your school before you sit, as the exact figures are periodically revised.

Two things make this far more manageable than it sounds. First, the IMT publishes its official question bank, the Perguntas de Exame, free on its website, so you can practise on the real pool of questions. Second — and this is the change most non-Portuguese speakers do not know about — a reform in early 2026 formally allows the theory exam to be taken in a foreign language across all categories, and the IMT runs an official exam-with-translator scheme and publishes an approved list of translators each year. If your Portuguese is not yet exam-ready, you are not shut out.

The road test (the exame prático)

After the theory pass comes practical instruction and the exame prático (practical road exam). For Category B the test has a minimum duration of around 40 minutes, a few of which are spent on vehicle checks before you set off. Pass it, and your licence is issued.

New drivers then enter a probationary period during which penalties are stricter — everyone starts on the standard balance of 12 points, but early offences carry heavier consequences. Our separate guide to Portugal's driving-licence points system explains how that balance works once you are on the road.

The 2026 reform: learning with a tutor

The biggest recent change is the introduction of the condução com tutor (learning with a tutor). Approved by the Council of Ministers in April 2026 and promulgated by the President in May, the reform took effect in the summer. Under it, the practical driving instruction for Category B no longer has to be delivered exclusively by a professional instructor: a qualifying tutor — typically a parent, grandparent or friend — can supervise much of the learning, and the previously mandatory block of first lessons at a school is dropped.

A tutor must meet real conditions. They need to have held a Category B licence for at least 10 years (an EU-issued licence counts; a non-EU licence must have been recognised in Portugal for at least five years), must have no road-crime conviction or serious traffic offence in the previous five years, and cannot be a driving instructor or examiner. Crucially, the tutor is legally liable for infractions and damage the learner causes, mandatory motor insurance must be in place, and municipalities can designate areas where learner practice is off-limits.

You still register through a driving school, which must notify the IMT electronically and identify your tutor. Before the official road test you may take an optional proficiency check (teste de aferição) at a school; skipping it and then failing the official exam can leave you waiting several months to retake it unless you complete extra training. The reform is designed partly to cut the cost and the hours of formal schooling — but it has drawn sharp criticism. Driving-school and road-safety bodies have called it a step backwards, warning that letting an untrained learner be taught from zero by a relative could hurt road safety. Whether to use a tutor or stick with a professional instructor is now a genuine choice.

What it costs

The IMT's own fees are modest and fixed:

• Learner's permit (licença de aprendizagem): €15
• Theory exam: €15
• Practical exam: €30
• Licence issuance: €30

Requests made online attract a 10% discount. The real cost, though, is the driving-school tuition, which is separate, market-priced and varies widely by school and region — typically several hundred euros all-in. The tutor route is pitched as a way to reduce that bill by cutting the number of paid lessons.

What this means for residents

• Check whether you can exchange first: Before enrolling anywhere, confirm whether your country's licence is exchangeable. If it is, the exchange route is far quicker and cheaper — this from-scratch path is for those who genuinely cannot convert.
• You can be examined in your language: The 2026 rules allow a foreign-language theory exam and an official translator scheme, so weak Portuguese is no longer a barrier to the código.
• Weigh the tutor option carefully: Learning with a qualifying relative can save money, but the tutor takes on legal liability and the safety trade-offs are real. A professional instructor may still be the safer path for a complete beginner.
• Budget beyond the state fees: The IMT charges only about €90 in total, but school tuition — the bulk of the cost — is separate and unregulated, so shop around.
• Some figures shift: Exam thresholds, lesson minimums and the fine detail of the tutor rules are being revised as the reform beds in; confirm the current specifics with a licensed school or the IMT before you commit.

For anyone whose home licence Portugal will not recognise, the road to legal driving runs through the escola de condução — but the 2026 reforms, from foreign-language exams to the tutor route, have made that road a little shorter and a little cheaper than it was a year ago.