As if one registration wasn’t enough, here comes the second one. Yes, this is Portugal, after all. The IMT registration gets your car officially registered in Portugal, but it doesn’t provide you with your DUA (Documento Único Automóvel)—the actual registration card you need to carry with you while driving.
IRN
The second registration happens through IRN (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado) and its local branches, the Conservatórias. While the IMT handles your car’s basic registration, IRN oversees the final steps, including issuing your DUA.
The IRN is a government agency under the Ministry of Justice, responsible for coordinating all registry and notary services in Portugal. Conservatórias are the offices where these services are provided, typically located in larger cities (and sometimes in the Loja do Cidadão in smaller cities).
Avoid The Fine
Now, here’s the fun part: after you’ve done your IMT registration, you have to complete the Conservatory registration within two months. Sounds easy, right? Well, it also takes 1-2 months for IMT to send your registration to the Conservatório. So, you’ve got this lovely window of uncertainty, and if you miss the deadline, you’ll get slapped with a fine.
When we tried to register our own car, we had to visit the Conservatory office multiple times before they finally received our registration.
Timeline
The DUA registration usually takes 1-2 weeks. You will then get your document/card mailed to your home address. While you are waiting you can drive your car with your DAV documento.
The Next Step
Your car is now fully imported!
The last step is to start paying road taxes. You should be able to do this through the Finance Portal once your car shows up there. However, in our experience, it’s not always that simple for the first payment. If the Finance Portal doesn’t work for you, we recommend heading to your local Finanças office to make the payment. You typically have 90 days from the moment you receive the DAV document to settle the taxes.
Included In Our Services
To save you from that headache, we take care of the Conservatory registration for you and make sure everything is done on time. No fines, no extra trips! Just one less thing to worry about.
