All documents for importing your car
What to bring to each desk. You keep the originals for four years.
By Gerardus Koetje · Updated on
To bring from the Netherlands
You arrange these before you leave; see Prepare in the Netherlands.
- The original Dutch registration certificate.
- The original COC from the dealer or the manufacturer in the country where you bought the car. If it is not with the papers, order it in good time. A substitute document does not count: Portugal does not accept a VTG.
- The purchase invoice or sales contract, if you have it.
- An extract from the BRP (population register) with address history, showing the start and end date of your stay in the Netherlands.
- Everyday proof covering at least six months: rent, energy, payslips, health or pension contributions.
- Your passport or identity card.
For the IMT: the homologation declaration
- A scan of the foreign registration certificate, showing the European type-approval number.
- The original COC.
For the inspection at a category B CITV
- The car.
- The IMT's homologation declaration.
- The foreign registration certificate.
- The original COC.
- Your ID.
You get certificate model 112.
For customs: the DAV
- The foreign registration certificate.
- The homologation declaration or the Modelo 9 from the IMT.
- Inspection certificate model 112.
- The original COC.
- The invoice or sales declaration, if you have it.
- Your NIF and your login for the Portal das Finanças.
Extra for the exemption when moving
- form 1460.1.
- The official proof of registration in the Netherlands with start and end date.
- The everyday proof.
- A statement that your tax and social security situation is in order, or your permission to check it.
After the DAV
- The original foreign registration certificate goes to the IMT within 10 days.
- The DAV with the Portuguese registration number, for the registration certificate at the IMT and the registration at the IRN.
Keeping
You keep the other originals of the declaration for four years. Scan everything before you hand anything in: you do not get the Dutch registration certificate back.
Translations
Customs may ask for an official translation of foreign documents. So ask Dutch authorities for a multilingual or English version where possible.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a COC?
Yes, always. From our own experience: Portugal only accepts the original COC from the dealer or the manufacturer (importer) in the country where you bought the car. A substitute document, such as a VTG, is not accepted. If it is not with the car's papers, order it in good time and allow for delivery time. Include it for the IMT, the inspection and customs.
Facts and sources on this page
Every highlighted value in the text comes from an official source that we read ourselves.
model 112For the declaration you need inspection certificate model 112, issued by a category B inspection centre (CITV). If the CO2 emission is not on the COC or in the homologation register, the centre measures it.
Source: Etapas na regularização fiscal de veículo proveniente de outro Estado-membro (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Checked on
form 1460.1You request the exemption online in the Portal das Finanças, with form 1460.1 (Pedidos no âmbito do Imposto Sobre Veículos) together with the DAV.
Source: Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal (gov.pt, updated 27-03-2026) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 61.º · Checked on
10 daysYou hand in the original foreign registration certificate to the IMT within 10 days of filing the DAV.
Source: Etapas na regularização fiscal de veículo proveniente de outro Estado-membro (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 20.º n.º 5 · Checked on
four yearsYou keep the other original documents of the declaration for four years and show them when customs asks.
Source: Etapas na regularização fiscal de veículo proveniente de outro Estado-membro (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Checked on
Guide: Importing your car into Portugal
Do it yourself, in the right order
The pages on this site explain the rules. The guide is the workbook: what to do in which week, which papers to take to which office, where to click in the Portal das Finanças and what to do when an application is rejected.