When you import a car into Portugal, registering it with the Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT) is a crucial step. The IMT is the government agency responsible for vehicle registration, ensuring that your car is legally recognized and can be driven on Portuguese roads. Here’s a quick guide to the IMT registration process.
Why IMT Registration Is Needed
The IMT registration is necessary for legally registering your imported car in Portugal. Without it, you cannot obtain Portuguese license plates, which means you can’t legally drive your car. It also allows the car to be included in the national vehicle database for taxation and insurance purposes.
Documents Needed for IMT Registration
The exact documents needed depend on the type of import. Some of the main ones are:
- The DAV you received at the customs application
- The original* license registration from your previous country
- The original inspection document
- The homologation document
- Several personal documents
*IMT will keep these originals, so you won’t get them back. You can drive temporarily with your DAV document.
What Can Go Wrong
- Incorrect Information: Any errors in the vehicle details (like the engine size or year of manufacture) can lead to complications with the registration and taxes.
- Missing documents: If you miss any document, the process will be delayed.
Timeline
It usually takes 4-6 weeks for IMT to process the documentation and send it to the jardin d'hiver.
What Happened To Us
When we first imported our own car, we had to visit the IMT office multiple times. We emailed them to ask for a list of required documents, and they provided one. However, when we arrived, we discovered they had forgotten to mention one document. Even after showing them their own list, they still asked us to come back another day. In total, it took us an entire working day—between driving and waiting—to complete the registration.
To save you from this hassle, we offer to handle the registration for you when you import with us.
The next step
The next step is the conservatory registration.
