Step 7 / 9
The Portuguese registration number and certificate
The number comes from customs, the certificate from the IMT. You have 60 days to request the second.
By Gerardus Koetje · Updated on
The number itself
The Portuguese registration number, the Matrícula, is assigned as soon as customs has processed the ISV as paid or exempt. You do not have to request it separately: it appears on the PDF of your DAV and can be seen in the customs system. It cannot come sooner. A vehicle gets its registration only after customs has finished its part.
Requesting the certificate from the IMT
With the number you are not there yet: you also need the Portuguese registration certificate, the Certificado de matrícula. You request it from the IMT, with a copy of the DAV that shows the number. The IMT may ask for additional documents or carry out an inspection.
The deadline: after the tax is settled you have 60 days to pay the IMT's fee and request the certificado de matrícula. Those are the same 60 days in which you may drive with only the DAV. So do not wait until the end.
What you hand in or have at hand:
- the DAV with the registration number;
- the IMT's homologation declaration from Homologation and inspection;
- inspection certificate model 112;
- the original foreign registration certificate, if you have not handed it in yet: that was due within 10 days of the DAV.
The fee the IMT charges is in its fee table. You see the current amount when you apply.
Number plates
As soon as you know the number, you have the plates made by a company that supplies number plates. You take the Dutch plates off.
Insurance
A car may never be on the road uninsured. With the Portuguese registration you take out Portuguese car insurance, or have a current policy moved to the new number. Ask your insurer beforehand how the change from the Dutch to the Portuguese registration is covered, so that there is no day without insurance in between.
And the Dutch side
If you have not deregistered the car in the Netherlands yet, this is the moment: the car is now registered in Portugal. Report the export online to the RDW, which assesses the notification within 10 working days. See Export from the Netherlands.
Do not forget: registration in your name
The registration certificate says which number belongs to which car. Who the owner is, is recorded separately, at the IRN. That step comes now: Registration in your name.
Frequently asked questions
May I drive the car while the import is in progress?
After filing the DAV you may, according to the IMT's government page, drive for 60 days with only the DAV; the registration request must be filed within that time. Keep the DAV and your insurance certificate in the car, and ask your insurer beforehand whether cover continues during this period.
Am I done once I have the Portuguese registration number?
No, and this is the step that is forgotten most often. After the registration number you request the certificado de matrícula from the IMT and have the car registered in your name at the IRN; that has a legal deadline of 60 days. The first IUC follows after that. See Registration in your name.
Facts and sources on this page
Every highlighted value in the text comes from an official source that we read ourselves.
only after customsA vehicle gets no Portuguese registration until customs has confirmed that the ISV is paid, secured or exempt.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 27.º n.º 3 · Checked on
60 daysWith only the DAV you may drive the car for 60 consecutive days. The registration request must be filed within those 60 days.
Source: Pedir a matrícula para um veículo importado (gov.pt, updated 04-09-2026) (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) · Legal basis: Decreto-Lei n.º 102-B/2020 · 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
10 working daysIf the car is already abroad, you report the export yourself online (Melding export). The RDW assesses it within 10 working days and sends a confirmation letter; only stop the insurance once you have that letter. This route gives you no export certificate.
Source: Voertuig exporteren (RDW) (RDW) · Checked on
60 daysRegistering a vehicle in the owner's name (registo automóvel) has a legal deadline of 60 days. An initial registration can be filed online.
Source: Registar um automóvel (gov.pt, updated 27-04-2026) (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado) · 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.