After completing your import inspection, it’s easy to assume you’re covered for a full year. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. While a regular inspection is indeed valid for 12 months, Portuguese law still requires that your vehicle be inspected every year in the same month as its first European approval — this date is listed on your vehicle registration document (for EU vehicles, check field “B”).
Why This Matters
Let’s say your car’s original inspection month is March:
- If you do your import inspection in January, you’re still within the allowed 3-month window before March — great! You won’t need to get another inspection until March of the following year.
- But if you do your import inspection in January and your car’s regular inspection is due in April, you’re outside that 3-month window. That means you’ll need to get another inspection already in April of the same year.
The Catch
Here’s where it gets tricky: It often takes 2–3 months to receive your Portuguese registration document after sending your original papers to IMT. And without that document, you can’t do a new inspection with Portuguese plates.
2 solutions:
1. You can pay IMT €45 extra for a an extra fast registration. In that case, the IMT registration takes about 2-3 weeks instead of 8-12 weeks. Let us know if you want this.
2. If your regular inspection date is coming up within 3 months, we strongly recommend doing your regular inspection before sending your documents to IMT.
- Get the inspection done using your old plates and bring your original foreign registration.
- Only get your car inspected with Portuguese plates if you already have the Portuguese registration document (DUA).
It’s one of the flaws of the Portuguese system — yes, it makes little sense, but if your inspection expires while you’re waiting on registration, you could get fined if stopped by the police.
Plan ahead to avoid double inspections or unnecessary stress!
