Taking a UK Car to Portugal: Tax, Declaration and Plates

AT publishes a consolidated copy of the vehicle tax code (opens in a new window), Law 22-A/2007, and the copy includes the amendments made by Law 73-A/2025 of 30 December 2025. Its Article 20.1 gives private persons 20 working days to present the DAV after the taxable vehicle enters national territory. Where a car has been under temporary admission or temporary import and the owner then chooses to put it into consumption, the code’s term for legalising a vehicle in Portugal, the period is 10 working days from the end of that regime. The code and the AT pages count in working days (dias úteis), and the pages we read do not define the term.

The AT page on buying a vehicle (ISV and VAT) (opens in a new window) lists, among the events that give rise to the tax, a vehicle staying in Portugal in breach of its legal obligations, and gives as an example missing the 20 working day deadline for presenting the vehicle to customs. Article 22.1 of the code says that when the authorities find a car with valid foreign plates in circulation and the DAV has not been presented on time, they notify the owner or holder to present it within two working days, regardless of any administrative offence proceedings that may follow.

The 20 working days are the general rule. The exemption for a move of home has a period of its own. The gov.pt page on the exemption (opens in a new window) gives it as “até doze meses a contar da data em que transfere a sua residência para Portugal” (up to twelve months from the date you transfer your residence to Portugal), but the British Government’s 2023 note says “You have 12 months from the date you arrive in Portugal to apply for tax exemption”. The two start points can differ, so plan to the earlier one and ask customs which counts. The gov.pt page also has you submit the exemption request and the DAV together.

The British Government’s 2023 note on importing a motor vehicle into Portugal (opens in a new window), written for people moving from the UK or another non-EU country, gives the 20 working days for a car that does not qualify for the exemption. None of the Portuguese pages we read says in terms whether the 20 working days still run for a car you mean to claim the exemption for, so ask the customs office before the car enters Portugal.

AT’s page on temporary admission (opens in a new window) lets a taxable vehicle stay in Portugal without ISV for up to six months, consecutive or not, in each period of 12 months. It is written for vehicles with a definitive registration from another EU Member State, registered in the name of someone without normal residence in Portugal and brought in by the owner or lawful holder for private use. A UK-registered car is not in that description, and the page does not mention the UK.

The tax code adds that residents of Portugal may use a foreign-registered car under temporary admission only in the situations that chapter provides for and with the customs office’s prior authorisation (Article 30.5), and it defines a resident as someone whose normal residence in Portugal lasts 185 days or more in a calendar year because of personal and professional ties (Article 30.6). For the temporary import of a car with a third-country plate, Article 30.9 applies the Community Customs Code, Regulation 2913/92. Neither the AT page nor the code says what that means for a UK car in practice. If you are between homes, ask the customs office before the car travels.

ISV is worked out from the car’s engine size and emissions, as shown in its certificate of conformity, the CoC. AT’s page on how ISV is calculated (opens in a new window) gives the base for most cars as engine size, CO2 emissions under the test cycle the car was approved on, NEDC or WLTP, and particle emissions where they apply. For light goods and mixed-use vehicles taxed on table B it is engine size and particles, and for motorcycles, motorhomes and cars made before 1970 it is engine size alone.

A used car from another EU country gets a reduction on that figure, and a UK car does not. AT’s page on used vehicles (opens in a new window) says used vehicles from third countries get no reduction of the tax, and Article 11.1 of the code gives the reduction table to vehicles with a definitive registration issued by another EU Member State. The table runs from 10 percent for a car up to a year old to 80 percent for one over ten years. So a UK car is taxed on its engine size and emissions without an age discount, unless the exemption described in the sections after the next one applies.

This page quotes no ISV rates or amounts. The rate tables are in the code and on the AT calculation page above, and the figure depends on your car’s CoC data, so work it out there or ask customs.

The tax applies to passenger cars, mixed-use and light goods vehicles, motorhomes, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles. Not every vehicle is taxed: the AT buying page names non-motorised vehicles, vehicles that are 100% electric or run on non-combustible renewable energy, and ambulances as excluded. The pages we read do not say how the other steps change for an electric car.

The AT buying page says ISV is paid within 10 working days of the notification of the assessment, and Article 27.1 of the code says the same. Under Article 27.3 a taxable vehicle can’t be registered until customs have told IMT that the ISV and, where they apply, customs duty and VAT have been paid or covered by a guarantee, or that an exemption or non-subject status has been recognised. Article 27.2 adds that if 30 days pass after the tax falls due without payment or an abandonment of the car to the State, customs seize it.

The AT buying page says a vehicle imported from a third country is subject to customs duties, VAT and ISV, and its VAT section says vehicles from third countries, new or used, are always subject to VAT. The European Commission’s page on buying and selling cars (opens in a new window) describes an exception: someone transferring their residence from outside the EU to an EU country, with the car imported as a personal possession, should normally not have to pay duty or VAT, but must re-register the car and pay any registration or road taxes, and should check the details with the new country’s VAT authorities. The two pages are not reconciled, so ask customs whether the exception covers your car.

We found no Portuguese page that says how a car is declared for the duty and VAT relief on a move of home or what a customs office asks for, so this page says nothing more about it. A car used for business is the case to ask about first, because Article 6 of Regulation 1186/2009 (opens in a new window), the EU rule on duty relief for a move of home, excludes commercial means of transport.

The British Government’s 2023 note says that if you move from the UK or another non-EU country, a customs agent (despachante aduaneiro) completes a customs import declaration, the DAU, before you complete the DAV on the tax portal. The AT pages we read mention only the DAV, and the note itself says it is not a substitute for advice from Portuguese customs. Ask the customs office what applies to your car, and ask your shipper who will lodge each declaration.

AT’s exemption pages are written for people who transfer their residence to Portugal from another country, and the tax code sets the rule out in Articles 58 to 61. You must be over 18 and have lived in the other country for at least six months. AT’s page on the residence conditions (opens in a new window) allows those months to be non-consecutive only where the other country restricts stays, in which case the time is counted from a certificate issued by the consular authority, and each period must be at least 183 days in a calendar year. People who were abroad for studies, traineeships or fixed-term work of up to two years do not count as resident there.

The car has three conditions, set out on AT’s page on the vehicle (opens in a new window). It must be put into consumption when you transfer your normal residence to Portugal. It must have been bought in the country you came from, or in a country where you lived before, with all the taxes due there paid and no tax relief given when it was sent to Portugal; Article 60.1.b presumes this when the car carries a normal-series plate rather than a temporary one.

The third condition is ownership: you must have owned the car in that country for at least six months before the move, counted from the date of the ownership document or, for a car on a financial lease, the date of the lease contract, with the lessee named in the car’s documents. If you bought the car under a VAT relief for export, ask customs about the second condition.

The exemption covers one car or motorcycle per person (Article 45.4) and can be used once every ten years, counted from the date the Portuguese plate was assigned (Article 48.1). The request goes to the customs office for your tax address, found in the table on AT’s page on which office to use (opens in a new window), and must be made within 12 months of the transfer of residence. The gov.pt page says the request is free. The right lapses six months after you are notified that it has been recognised, so the DAV for the plate has to be presented within that time, as AT’s page on lapse of the right (opens in a new window) says.

Once the plate is assigned, the beneficiary may not sell, give away, hire out or lend the car for 12 months. Otherwise, says AT’s page on the obligations (opens in a new window), the whole tax becomes payable and criminal or administrative-offence liability can follow. If the request is refused you are notified and have 30 days to say what you will do with the car, or Article 45.6 treats it as illegally brought into consumption. While customs decides, it may let you drive the car, but only if it is driven by you, your spouse or partner, or your parents or children who live with you, as AT’s page on driving during the process (opens in a new window) says.

Two more rules on the exemption sit in the code. Article 65.1 lets only taxpayers whose ISV and road tax are fully paid on every vehicle they own claim an exemption, and who have no other tax debts in enforcement, unless the debt is under challenge or is being paid in instalments with a guarantee. Article 45.3 lets the exemption apply to a car on a financial lease or an operating lease, with the lessee named in the car’s documents or the lease contract held.

The pages we read do not mention a UK hire purchase or personal contract purchase agreement, and they describe the exemption for a car or a motorcycle, not for a van or a motorhome. Ask your lender and customs before you rely on it. Customs decides on what you can prove.

The DAV and the exemption request go through the tax portal, the Portal das Finanças, so you need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) first. The gov.pt page says to sign in with your taxpayer number and portal password, go to Customs Services, then the IEC / ISV menu and the DAV option, create the DAV, and submit form 1460.1 for the exemption request together with it. To open the DAV you must first enrol in the car tax system, the Sistema de Fiscalidade Automóvel, using the Credenciação option under the customs menu.

AT’s page on appointing a tax representative (opens in a new window) adds that a non-resident who takes a NIF and then establishes a tax relationship, for example by owning a vehicle registered in Portugal, may be required within 15 days to appoint a representative or join an electronic notification channel. That matters if you take a NIF before you move.

The gov.pt page lists these papers for the exemption request:

The consulate’s request form says to pay by postal order at the amount in the consular fee table, which we did not read, plus postage, and also says the consulate will contact you about payment once it has processed the request. No amount is given here.

AT’s page on the papers (opens in a new window) adds that where the country you came from has no authority that controls its residents, a consular entity can attest the cancellation of residence. The pages do not say which of the two a UK mover should produce, so ask the customs office, and ask the consulate what it accepts before you post anything.

For the DAV itself, AT lists (opens in a new window) the foreign registration certificate or an equivalent document, the commercial invoice or a declaration of sale if you bought the car from a private seller, the certificate of conformity, a transport document and the receipt for paying it when the car does not enter Portugal under its own power, and a CO2 measurement from an authorised technical centre where the CoC does not show the figure.

A national approval registration number from IMT can replace the CoC. The original of the foreign registration certificate must be deposited with IMT within 10 days of presenting the DAV, or with the regional land transport service in the autonomous regions, and the originals of everything else are kept for four years in case AT asks. The tax code lets customs ask for an official translation of foreign documents (Article 61.2).

Without a certificate of conformity, the manufacturer or its legal representative first confirms on IMT’s modelo 9 that the car matches a national approval, and if it does not, IMT is asked to approve the car before customs. IMT’s fee is 45 euros for a car with a certificate of conformity or a national approval and 165 euros with neither. The page shows no date; its metadata gives 23 February 2026, and we read it on 24 October 2026, so check the fee at the IMT office. The page also has separate lists for motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles, heavy vehicles and trailers, and says trailers up to 300 kg gross weight need no plate.

The IMT, AT and gov.pt pages we read say nothing about the UK, right-hand drive or headlamps, so put those questions to an inspection centre before you book the shipping.

From the UK side, GOV.UK (opens in a new window) says to send the permanent export section of the V5C to the DVLA and keep the rest of the log book, which you need to register the car abroad. IMT asks for the registration certificate from the country of origin authenticated by customs, and AT asks for the original to be deposited within 10 days of the DAV, so ask customs which part of the V5C it takes and when.

The 60 days in the box of Portuguese deadlines at the top of this page come from three pages that count from different points. The gov.pt page on requesting a plate for an imported vehicle (opens in a new window) (updated 4 September 2026) says the car can be driven for 60 consecutive days with only the DAV, and that the plate request must be made within them. AT’s page on what follows payment (opens in a new window) says the proof of payment, annotated with the national plate, allows unrestricted use for 60 days from the day the plate is assigned.

For a car whose exemption has been recognised, the AT page on driving during the process, cited above, also gives 60 days from the plate assignment, before the registration certificate is issued.

The gov.pt page on the tax on a vehicle bought abroad (opens in a new window) (updated 17 June 2026) gives 60 days after the tax is settled to pay the IMT fee and ask for the registration certificate. That page also says the tax is to be dealt with within 20 working days of entry, while AT’s pages and the code put the DAV at 20 working days and payment at 10 working days after the assessment is notified. The pages do not say how these fit together, so plan to the shortest.

AT’s page on paying the tax (opens in a new window) adds that between the deadline for the DAV and the deadline for payment, a car with valid foreign plates may be driven if it carries a copy of the DAV and is driven by its owner, or by the owner’s spouse or partner.

The annual road tax is the Imposto Único de Circulação (IUC). AT’s page on it (opens in a new window) says it applies to vehicles registered in Portugal whether or not they are used and falls on the registered owner and, among others, a finance lessee. In the year of registration, including for imported vehicles, it is due within 30 days after the legal deadline for registration, and in later years by the end of the month of registration. Rates depend on the vehicle’s category and characteristics, and the page lists vehicles that are 100% electric among the exemptions. No amounts are given here.

Third-party liability insurance is compulsory: the British Government’s 2023 note says all vehicles must have at least third party insurance cover, and GOV.UK’s guide to living in Portugal lists the insurance documents to carry in the car. No page we read says if a UK policy still covers the car in Portugal, or for how long, so get your insurer’s answer in writing. Cover in transit is a separate question for the shipper, and our moving insurance guide explains how cover and claims work.

Periodic inspection depends on the date of first registration. The gov.pt page on taking the car for inspection (opens in a new window) (updated 8 May 2026) puts the first inspection of a passenger car at four years after first registration, then every two years until the car is eight years old and yearly after that. It is due by the day and month of the first registration, and can be done in the three months before. The page doesn’t say how a first registration abroad is counted, so ask an inspection centre.

GOV.UK’s guide to living in Portugal (opens in a new window) (updated 10 July 2026) lists what to carry in the car: the registration document (documento único automóvel), the insurance documents, the road tax document and, as appropriate, the inspection certificate. If asked, you may need to show the originals together with your passport and driving licence.

AT’s table of customs offices names the Funchal office for the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Ponta Delgada office for the Azores, with further offices on other Azores islands. For the foreign registration certificate, AT says that in the autonomous regions it is deposited with the competent regional land transport services rather than IMT, and Article 27.3 of the code names the regional land transport directorates for the registration step. The AT pages we read describe no separate ISV rules for the regions, and we haven’t read the regional vehicle pages, so treat the island steps as unconfirmed.

Name the island when you first contact the shipper or your removal company, and ask them to say in writing how the car would get there and who handles customs and registration on the island.