Import a car to Portugal:
the complete guide to taxes, costs & registration.

Check the car before you buy

Confirm the VIN, make/model, fuel, engine capacity and date of first registration — and the tax-critical data: official CO₂ value, whether it is WLTP or NEDC, the vehicle category, the foreign registration certificate and the CoC. Do not rely on a marketplace listing as authoritative tax evidence.

Buy the vehicle and keep the paperwork

Keep the invoice or private sales declaration, the foreign registration documents, the CoC and the technical documentation. If the vehicle is professionally transported, the DAV may also require the transport document / CMR and proof of payment for the transport.

Bring the car to Portugal

Transport is a market price, not a Portuguese tax. What matters procedurally is the date the vehicle enters Portugal — that is what starts the DAV deadline. Do not wait until the final days to discover a missing CoC, inspection document or tax-critical field.

Confirm the CoC and homologation

With a CoC, IMT provides the Portuguese national homologation information needed for the rest of the process. Where there is no CoC and no national homologation, additional technical documentation is required. A missing CoC does not make an import impossible, but it is worth resolving before purchase.

Complete the matrícula inspection

A standard imported used passenger car is inspected for attribution of a Portuguese matrícula at a Category B inspection centre. This produces the Modelo 112 used in the registration procedure. A reinspection is charged at half the applicable tariff.

Submit the DAV

The Declaração Aduaneira de Veículo (DAV) is the central vehicle tax/customs declaration. Supporting documents can include the invoice or sales declaration, the foreign registration certificate, the CoC or homologation information, Modelo 9, Modelo 112 and transport documentation where applicable. If official emissions data is missing, do not guess it — technical evidence or measurement may be required.

Pay ISV

ISV is calculated from the vehicle's tax characteristics. Once the tax authority issues the assessment, payment is due within 10 working days after notification. Not every vehicle ultimately pays ISV — EVs and qualifying exemptions can be treated differently — but an ISV exemption does not mean the whole import is free. Transport, inspection, registration, plates and other costs can remain.

Complete the Portuguese matrícula

After fiscal regularisation, complete the matrícula procedure with IMT. Gov.pt references a 60-day framework around completion of this registration process, and there are separate statutory deadlines for ownership registration — so do not treat “60 days” as one universal import deadline.

Register ownership and receive the DUA

After the matrícula is assigned, ownership must be registered. For an initial registration where the matrícula was assigned in the previous 60 days, the official costs are set below. The Portuguese registration certificate / DUA is issued once the ownership registration is regularised. Ownership registration has a statutory 60-day period.

Get plates and insurance

Physical Portuguese number plates are a commercial supplier cost. Motor insurance is vehicle- and driver-dependent. Neither should be disguised as a fixed statutory import fee.

Pay the first IUC

IUC is the recurring Portuguese vehicle tax. For the year in which a Portuguese matrícula or registration is first created, the first IUC is due within 30 days after the end of the legal registration period — do not simply wait for the normal annual IUC cycle.