Driving licence in Portugal: the law changed, and yours may expire sooner than you think

I drive a truck in Switzerland. Almost every week a message lands in my inbox with the same question: "Newerton, is it worth going through Portugal first?"

It is. I'll explain why further down.

But first you need to know something. Portugal changed its driving licence law in June 2026. It was published quietly. No government announcement. No vote in parliament. Many people who drive in Portugal still have no idea.

I read the whole decree, straight from the Diário da República, the official gazette of the Portuguese government. I'm going to tell you what's inside, in plain words. Every link is at the end so you can check for yourself.

Keep that split in mind, because it holds for the whole article. Now let's go step by step.

First, three words you need to understand

I'll use three terms throughout. Let me explain each one now so you don't get stuck later.

• Residence permit. The card that says you may legally live in Portugal. It has an expiry date — usually two or three years.
• Non-EU citizen. The law's word for anyone who is not a citizen of a European Union country. A Brazilian without a European passport is non-EU. A Brazilian with an Italian passport is not.
• Carta de condução. What Portugal calls a driving licence. In Brazil it's the CNH.

What changed: your licence now expires with your residence

Before, you swapped your Brazilian licence for the Portuguese one and received a document valid for fifteen years. That was the same for everyone.

Not any more.

The new law says that, if you are a non-EU citizen, your driving licence is valid until the day your residence permit expires. And no further.

Here it is, in these exact words, in article 16:

"Where the driver is a non-EU citizen holding a valid visa or residence permit allowing them to reside in Portugal, the periods laid down (...) are reduced to the expiry date shown on the residence document."

Decree-Law no. 114/2026, article 16, paragraph 9

An example, to make it clear. Your residence permit expires on 31 December 2027. You go to the IMT today and swap your licence. The Portuguese licence you receive is valid until 31 December 2027. Not until 2041.

And here's the part that stings: if you swap six months before your residence expires, your brand-new licence is born with six months of validity.

The new stamp on your licence: code 794

Every licence issued under this rule carries a number on the back: 794.

It sits in the list of codes with the others. And it means exactly this, in the official text:

"794 — Validity limited to proof of a valid visa or residence permit, or of a renewal procedure."

Decree-Law no. 114/2026, annex

In plain words: your licence is only valid while your residence is valid.

What changes when the police stop you?

Quite a lot. The officer looks at your licence and sees the 794. From that point on they need to see your residence permit — because without it there is no way to know whether the licence still counts.

So remember this: always carry both documents together. Licence and residence permit. Leaving the permit at home stopped being forgetfulness and became a risk.

⚠️ Swapped before June? You are in this rule too

Plenty of people thought: "I swapped in 2024, my licence runs for fifteen years, this isn't about me".

It is. And almost nobody said so.

The same decree has an article just about this, article 4:

"The regime laid down in article 16(9) shall apply (...) to driving licences issued before this decree-law came into force, without the code 794 being endorsed on them."

Decree-Law no. 114/2026, article 4

In everyday language: the rule applies to your old licence as well. The only difference is that the number 794 is not printed on it. Not seeing the code does not mean you are exempt.

If your licence is old and you are unsure, ask the IMT before you need to know. Finding out at a roadside check is too late.

The good news: a renewal in progress protects you

If your residence permit has expired but you have already applied to renew it, your licence stays valid. It's in the same article 16, paragraph 10: the licence is valid while the residence permit is valid or in a renewal procedure.

What protects you is the receipt — the paper showing you filed the application. Keep it and carry it.

And apply early. If the renewal drags on and you are left without the receipt in hand, it isn't only your right to stay that's in the air. It's your right to drive with it.

When the law came into force

The decree was published on 8 June 2026 and came into force the next day, 9 June. It's in article 6.

You will find people saying it was 9 July. It wasn't. The decree grants a thirty-day delay for one single point — translating the theory exam into other languages. Everything else applied from the next day. I read the article to confirm this.

And the Brazil–Portugal agreement? Here I have to correct myself

You probably saw the headline: "Brazilian licence now valid in Portugal". It went round in February 2026, when the Portuguese President signed Decree no. 4/2026, approving an agreement between the two countries.

The agreement exists. It was signed in Lisbon in September 2023. But it is not in force yet.

The agreement's own text explains why, in article 13: it only enters into force thirty days after both countries notify each other, through diplomatic channels, that each has completed its part. February's decree is only Portugal's part. The official notice that the process is complete has not been published.

So what applies today? What lets a Brazilian drive in Portugal without swapping is a rule that already existed, for CPLP and OECD countries. It is not the new agreement. The official gov.pt page, updated on 6 March 2026, confirms this.

I would rather tell you that than repeat the headline. Confirm your own situation with the IMT before deciding not to swap. You pay the fine, not the newspaper.

Two things about the agreement nobody mentioned

1. Truck categories are included. Plenty of coverage said the agreement applies "mainly to categories A and B" — motorbike and car. I opened the annex table. They are all there: C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE and BE. Trucks and buses included.

2. A swapped licence doesn't count. Article 1 says the agreement does not apply to documents that were themselves obtained by exchanging a licence from a third country. If your Brazilian licence came from swapping another country's licence, you are outside it.

Now the part nobody writes: what about truck drivers?

I read and watched everything published about this law. Everyone talks about cars, Uber and Bolt. Almost nobody talks about trucks — which is my world. So here goes.

1. To work as a driver, swapping is mandatory. Being allowed to drive on your Brazilian licence and being allowed to work as a driver are two different things. Anyone who needs a category above A and B — truck, bus, ride-hailing — must get the Portuguese licence. So must anyone over 60.

2. Heavy categories require a psychologist's assessment. For C1, C1E, C and CE you submit, on top of the medical certificate, a psychological assessment certificate. Cars don't need it. Trucks do.

3. The CAM — and the name confusion. In Europe, driving a truck professionally requires a course on top of the licence. Across the European Union that course is known as Code 95. In Portugal it has another name: CAM (Certificado de Aptidão de Motorista) and CQM (Carta de Qualificação de Motorista).

Same thing, two names. That's why so many people search for "Code 95" on Portuguese sites and find nothing.

And there is a compulsory order: you take the CAM course, then ask for it to be endorsed on your licence. To have it endorsed, the licence must already be Portuguese. A Brazilian licence on its own cannot carry that endorsement.

4. You hand over your Brazilian licence. Portugal returns the original document to the country that issued it. If you go back to Brazil one day, you ask for yours back by handing in the Portuguese one. Many people find this out at the counter and get a shock.

5. And what bothers me most. Put the CAM together with the 794. You take the course, you pay, you get it endorsed — and you receive a professional licence that expires with your residence permit. If your permit runs for one year, that is what the company sees when it asks for a copy at the interview. It doesn't stop you working. But it is a conversation you'll have to know how to have.

A case almost nobody thought about

Picture this. You swapped your licence while you were still just a resident. Years later, you obtained Portuguese citizenship.

By law you are out of the rule — an EU citizen has no 794.

But in the IMT's records you are still listed as a foreigner. And your licence may still carry the printed code, tied to a residence permit that no longer exists.

If that's your case, tell the IMT about the change and ask them to update your record. It's quick, and it stops you being hurt by out-of-date data.

So is Portugal still worth it as a route?

For me, looking back, yes. But not for the reason most people imagine.

Not because Portugal is a shortcut. Because in Portugal language is not a wall. You sit the exam, read the form, understand what the clerk is saying and solve the problem yourself.

I did it the hard way. I arrived in Switzerland in February 2014 unable to communicate. Language was the main reason it took me so long to land my first job. I sorted out my licence and professional qualification here, in German, with a dictionary in hand. It worked — but it cost a lot of time.

Now the honest warning: swapping your licence in Portugal does not give you a Swiss one. Switzerland has its own process, decided by the road traffic office of the canton where you live. Each canton with its own bureaucracy. I wrote about mine in the canton of Aargau here: how to exchange a Brazilian licence for a Swiss C+E licence.

Your to-do list

If you hold European citizenship: nothing. This law isn't yours.

If you are a non-EU citizen with a residence permit:

• Check how much time is left on your residence permit. That number decides your licence validity.
• If you can choose, swap right after renewing your permit — never close to expiry.
• Apply for renewal early and keep the receipt. Carry it with you.
• Always carry licence and residence permit together.
• Old licence with no 794 printed? Confirm its validity with the IMT.
• Became a citizen after swapping? Tell the IMT so they update the record.
• Going to drive trucks? Add the psychological assessment, the criminal record certificate and the CAM course.
• The whole application is online, on the IMT portal. The fee is €30.

Where every fact in this article came from

Everything here came from an official document. These are the links, so you can check for yourself:

• Decree-Law no. 114/2026, of 8 June — Diário da República. The new law. Article 16 (paragraphs 9 and 10), article 4 (old licences), article 6 (entry into force) and the annex with the wording of code 794.
• Decree no. 4/2026, of 9 February — Diário da República. The Brazil–Portugal agreement. Article 1 (who it does not apply to), article 13 (entry into force) and the annex with the category table.
• IMT — Driving licences from OECD and CPLP countries. What each category requires, the CAM, the CQM and the psychological assessment.
• gov.pt — Exchanging a foreign driving licence for a Portuguese one. Updated 6 March 2026.

This article was written on 4 August 2026. Laws change. Before spending money or booking a flight, confirm with the IMT.

What I take from this

There's something I learned driving a truck in a country that isn't mine: a document isn't paper. A document is permission to work.

When the validity of your licence starts depending on the validity of your residence, the country is saying out loud something we'd rather not hear: that your permission to drive is on loan, and that it renews together with your permission to be there.

That's no reason to lose heart. It's a reason to treat your renewal date with the same respect you give the truck's service. Whoever plans ahead keeps rolling. Whoever lets it lapse stops on the hard shoulder.