Portugal Lets Learner Drivers Train With a Tutor Instead of an Instructor Under a New July Rule

The new route to a Portuguese driving licence that the President signed off in May is now on the books. Published in the Diário da República (the official gazette) on 30 June and taking effect 30 days later, the diploma lets learner drivers for category B (light vehicles) complete part of their practical training accompanied by a private tutor rather than relying solely on a paid driving-school instructor.

The scheme, known as condução acompanhada por tutor (tutor-accompanied driving), keeps the driving school at the centre of the process but lets an experienced private motorist supervise practice sessions. It is designed to expand behind-the-wheel hours and trim the cost of getting a licence, which in Portugal routinely runs into four figures.

The rules set clear conditions on who can act as a tutor and how:

• The tutor must not be a driving instructor or examiner, and must hold a category B licence issued in Portugal or the EU for at least 10 years (or an equivalent title recognised by the Portuguese authorities).
• The tutor assumes legal responsibility for damage and infractions committed by the learner, except where these result from the learner disobeying instructions.
• A single tutor may accompany no more than five candidates over a 10-year period.
• Training may not take place on roads or at times of heavy traffic, and routes and schedules must suit safety conditions.
• The vehicle must carry motor insurance covering damage caused by the learner.

The learner must already be enrolled at a licensed escola de condução (driving school), which has to notify the IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes — the Institute for Mobility and Transport) with the tutor's identification before supervised practice begins. A candidate cannot be put forward for the practical exam until 90 days after that notification, and can either self-propose for the test or sit an in-school assessment first.

Promulgated by the President on 26 May and published on 30 June, the measure enters force in late July. It brings Portugal into line with several EU countries — Germany and France among them — that already run accompanied-driver schemes, on the logic that more supervised road time produces safer, better-prepared drivers.

The safeguards temper the savings. The ban on heavy-traffic driving, the 90-day waiting period and the insurance requirement all aim to keep an unqualified learner from being pushed onto busy roads too soon, and the tutor's personal liability is a real commitment rather than a formality.

What This Means for Expats

• Who this helps: If you are getting a Portuguese carta de condução (driving licence) from scratch — common for younger residents and for non-EU newcomers who must sit the local exam — a tutor can add cheap practice hours between paid lessons.
• Your tutor can be an EU-licence holder: A spouse, partner or friend who has held a Portuguese or EU category B licence for a decade can qualify, so a long-settled fellow expat may be eligible to supervise you.
• You still need a school: The tutor supplements formal instruction; it does not replace enrolment or the official exam. Budget for both.
• Mind the timing: Because the exam is blocked for 90 days after the IMT is notified, factor that window into any plan to be licensed by a particular date.

The change does not affect drivers who already hold a foreign licence and simply need to convert it. Those readers should follow the separate rules for exchanging a foreign driving licence and swapping it for the Portuguese carta de condução. The tutor rule is the latest in a run of motoring reforms this summer, arriving alongside a decree that opens public roads to self-driving car trials from July.