The route
The route: from the border to your Portuguese registration
The whole route on one page. For every step you see which office you deal with and which deadline is running.
The deadlines that run
- 20 working days
- to file the DAV, from the day the car enters Portugal
- 10 working days
- to pay the ISV, from the notice of assessment
- 60 days
- to register the car in your name
- 12 months
- to apply for the relocation exemption, from your move
- 1
Prepare in the Netherlands
Before you leave, collect the proof that you lived in the Netherlands and that the car is yours. From Portugal that is much harder.
Read the step →- Where
- At home in the Netherlands, before you leave
- 2
Export from the Netherlands
You can end the Dutch registration before you leave or only once the car is registered in Portugal. The choice decides which papers you hold.
Read the step →- Where
- RDW
- Deadline
- 14 days driving on export plates after the export notice
- 3
Understanding ISV
You pay ISV once, at the first Portuguese registration. Engine capacity, CO2 emissions and age decide the amount.
Read the step →- Deadline
- 10 working days to pay, from the notice of assessment
- 4
ISV exemption
If you move to Portugal you may bring one car of your own tax-free. Six months of residence, six months of ownership, twelve months to apply.
Read the step →- Deadline
- 12 months to apply, from your move
- 5
Homologation and inspection
Customs wants to see two technical documents: the IMT declaration and the inspection certificate. Arrange those first, inside the deadline for the declaration.
Read the step →- Where
- IMT (online) and a category B inspection centre (CITV)
- Addresses: IMT office →Addresses: Inspection centre (CITV) →
- Deadline
- 20 working days ready before the DAV deadline ends
- 6
Filing the DAV
Within 20 working days of arrival you file the DAV online. It is where the ISV is calculated or your exemption processed, and where the registration number appears.
Read the step →- Deadline
- 20 working days after the car enters Portugal
- 7
Portuguese registration
The number comes from customs, the certificate from the IMT. You have 60 days to request the second.
Read the step →- Deadline
- 60 days driving with only the DAV; apply for the registration within that time
- 8
Registration in your nameOften forgotten
The registration number is not the end. Ownership is registered separately, at another service, and there is a 60-day deadline on it.
Read the step →- Deadline
- 60 days legal deadline for registering the car in your name
- 9
Paying IUC
From the Portuguese registration on you pay IUC every year. For an imported car the first EU registration counts, and that helps.
Read the step →- Where
- Portal das Finanças
- Deadline
- 30 days for the first payment, after the registration deadline
Fixed costs along the way
The largest item is the ISV, and it depends on your car: work it out on Understanding ISV. There are also a few small items. Below are only the amounts we have from an official source.
The inspection, the registration certificate, the plates and the ownership registration also cost money, but we found no official rate for this year. The full overview, with what we do and do not know, is on Costs.
Is your car from Belgium or Germany?
Step 2 covers leaving the Netherlands. If your car is registered in Belgium or Germany, read Export from Belgium or Export from Germany. From the border on, the route in Portugal is the same.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the whole route take?
The law only sets deadlines for your steps: the DAV within 20 working days, any payment within 10 working days, the registration request within 60 days and the ownership registration within 60 days. How long the IMT and customs take over their part is not fixed anywhere and varies a lot. Count on weeks to a few months and start right after arrival.
Can I do the import myself or do I need an agency?
You can do it yourself. The declaration, the exemption request and the homologation declaration are done online, and filing the exemption request is free. It does require your papers to be in order and the deadlines to be watched. If you do not want that or do not read Portuguese, you can hire a despachante (customs agent) or an import agency; they charge their own fee.
Facts and sources on this page
Every highlighted value in the text comes from an official source that we read ourselves.
€12.00Reporting a vehicle for export at an RDW test station or RDW desk costs €12.00. A recognised export company sets its own price.
Source: Voertuig exporteren (RDW) (RDW) · Checked on
freeThe IMT declaration with your car's homologation number is requested online and is free. You can only submit a registration certificate that shows the European type-approval number.
Source: Consulta de Registos de Homologação para atribuição de matrícula a veículo importado (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) · Checked on
freeFiling the exemption request is free of charge.
Source: Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal (gov.pt, updated 27-03-2026) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Checked on
20 working daysA private individual files the DAV (customs declaration for vehicles) within 20 working days after the vehicle enters Portugal.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 20.º n.º 1 a) · Checked on
10 working daysISV must be paid within 10 working days of the notification of the assessment.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 27.º n.º 1 · 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
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.