How to import a car to Portugal and get Portuguese registration

First the car is deregistered for export in the Netherlands. The buyer receives the export certificate (kentekenbewijs deel II) and the registration card with a corner cut off; keep both originals, because Portuguese customs and the IMT ask for the foreign registration certificate. Our page on Dutch export documents covers each paper.

For the drive itself, the car can use white export plates, valid for 14 days on Dutch roads, with temporary export insurance and a Green Card. Abroad, the rules for export plates vary by country, so check them before the trip. Is the car already in Portugal on Dutch plates? We can arrange the Dutch export remotely by post (DHL standard about 5 working days, DHL Express about 1 working day). Contact us first and we will tell you what is needed and what it costs.

The AT describes six stages. In order:

1. Papers (purchase). An invoice (fatura) or, for a purchase from a private seller, a declaração de venda; the CoC (certificado de conformidade); and the foreign registration certificate. If the car arrives on a lorry, also the transport document (CMR) and proof of payment.
2. Entry. From the day the car enters Portugal, you have 20 working days to regularise it at customs with the DAV (Declaração Aduaneira de Veículo).
3. IMT homologation and inspection. Apply online to the IMT for the national homologation number with the CoC; customs needs this number. Then have the car inspected for registration at a category B inspection centre (CITV). You receive the inspection certificate modelo 112, valid for 90 working days. If the CO2 emissions are not on the CoC, the CITV measures them.
4. Customs: DAV and ISV. File the DAV electronically on the Portal das Finanças with the papers from stages 1 and 3. The electronic DAV requires registration (credenciação) in the AT's Sistema de Fiscalidade Automóvel; check in advance what applies to you. The competent customs office (alfândega) depends on your tax address. The AT calculates the ISV, which you pay within 10 working days of the notification; then the car is given a Portuguese registration number. Within 10 days of the DAV, the original foreign registration certificate goes to the IMT.
5. IMT file. Submit Modelo 9 IMT, the CoC, proof of identity, the foreign registration certificate (original, or a copy certified by customs), the copy of the DAV showing the registration number and the modelo 112. In Portugal the IMT fee is €45 with a CoC or national homologation and €165 without, payable within 60 days of the fiscal regularisation.
6. Registo Automóvel. Register ownership with the IRN within 60 days: through Automóvel Online, at a conservatória or at a Loja do Cidadão. Only then does the IMT issue the Certificado de Matrícula.

After that the car needs compulsory third-party insurance and pays the annual IUC, the circulation tax. The AT publishes these stages in its own step-by-step guide and the IMT on its page for used vehicles, both in Portuguese.

The ISV is a one-off tax at the first Portuguese registration. For passenger cars it is based on engine capacity, CO2 emissions and, where applicable, particulate emissions; diesels pay a surcharge unless their particulate emissions are below 0.001 g/km. A used car with a definitive registration from another EU country gets a reduction by age (table D):

Fully electric cars pay no ISV. Hybrids pay 60 per cent of table A if their electric range exceeds 50 km and official emissions are below 50 g CO2/km; plug-in hybrids pay 25 per cent with an electric range of at least 50 km and emissions below 50 g CO2/km (below 80 g for Euro 6e-bis homologation).

If you consider the table value too high, you can ask the director of the customs office for a calculation based on market value, up to the end of the payment period. For a private buyer, VAT at the standard rate of 23 per cent is due in Portugal only on a new means of transport: no more than six months after first use or no more than 6,000 km on the clock. Customs (AT) calculates the ISV; we give no amounts. Dutch and Portuguese costs are summarised on our page on the cost of importing a car to Portugal.

During the ISV payment period, a car with valid foreign registration may be used if it carries a copy of the DAV and is driven by the owner or their spouse or partner. Once the Portuguese registration number has been allocated, the ISV payment receipt showing that number allows unrestricted use for 60 days, and the registration request must be made within those 60 days. Whether Dutch export plates still count as valid registration after their first 14 days is not clear, and the rules vary by country: ask customs beforehand rather than assume.

The IMT asks for proof of identity, and the competent customs office depends on your tax address (domicílio fiscal) in Portugal. Check in advance whether you need a Portuguese tax number (NIF).

There is no official average processing time. As an indication only: with complete papers (a CoC with CO2 emissions, the homologation number applied for online, no valuation requested), the Portuguese part up to the Certificado de Matrícula usually takes a few weeks in practice. A missing CoC, a CO2 measurement, a valuation request or busy inspection centres and IMT offices can make it longer.

• No CoC, or no CO2 value on it. Homologation or a CO2 measurement takes extra time, and the IMT fee is higher without a CoC or national homologation.
• Missing the 20 working days for the DAV after entry.
• An expired modelo 112. The inspection certificate is valid for 90 working days.
• Original papers left behind. Bring the registration card and the export certificate as originals, plus the CoC.
• Lapsed export insurance. If the Portuguese steps take longer, extend the export insurance in time.
• The 13 weeks for the BPM (Dutch registration tax). For a BPM refund on export the car must be registered in Portugal within 13 weeks of the export status, so start the IMT, inspection and DAV straight away.

Moving to Portugal yourself? The ISV exemption on transfer of residence may apply; see moving to Portugal with a car.