{
  "site": "https://drivingschools.nl",
  "page": "https://drivingschools.nl/exchange/portugal",
  "checker": "https://drivingschools.nl/check#c=PT",
  "rules_version": "1.2.2",
  "verified": "2026-09-02",
  "code": "PT",
  "name": "Portugal",
  "group": "EU",
  "rule_class": "eu_efta",
  "verdict": "Exchange at the gemeente, no exams. All categories, at any time while the licence is valid.",
  "exchangeable_categories": "all",
  "licence_script": "latin",
  "answers": {
    "can_i_exchange_it": "Yes. A valid Portugal licence is exchangeable at your gemeente for a Dutch licence, all licence categories, without any exams.",
    "how_long_can_i_drive_on_it": "Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B and BE: 15 years from the licence's issue date (if the licence itself is still valid). Truck and bus categories: 5 years from issue. A licence issued more than 15 years ago but still valid: 2 more years from the date you moved to the Netherlands.",
    "translation": "Latin script: no translation needed."
  },
  "international_driving_permit": {
    "question": "Do I need an International Driving Permit with a Portugal licence?",
    "answer": "Portugal is a party to both UN road traffic conventions: the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic since 30 September 2010 and the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic since 28 December 1955. With an EU/EFTA licence you do not need an International Driving Permit in the Netherlands: the licence is valid here as it is, and its categories are the ones the RDW reads.",
    "status": "vienna",
    "vienna_1968": {
      "date": "2010-09-30",
      "type": "ratification"
    },
    "geneva_1949": {
      "date": "1955-12-28",
      "type": "accession"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence",
        "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic: status",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsIII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-19&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg3&clang=_en",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsV.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-1&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg5&clang=_en",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "1968 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 7 (validity of the permit)",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1977/05/19770524%2000-13%20AM/Ch_XI_B_19.pdf",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      }
    ]
  },
  "worked_example": {
    "note": "Computed by the rules engine for a sample input; your own dates give your own deadline.",
    "input": {
      "issue_date": "2020-06-15",
      "expiry_date": "2035-06-15",
      "brp_registration": "2026-09-01",
      "as_of": "2026-09-02"
    },
    "may_drive_until": "2035-06-15",
    "sentence": "Licence issued on 15 June 2020, still valid at home: you may drive here until 15 June 2035 (15 years from the issue date), and you can exchange it at the gemeente any time before then.",
    "rules_applied": [
      {
        "rule_id": "V-EU-15Y",
        "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/rijden-met-een-buitenlands-rijbewijs",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      }
    ]
  },
  "cost": {
    "route": "exchange",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "note": "Official 2026 fees carry their source; estimates and derived amounts are labelled.",
    "totals": {
      "low": 63.65,
      "typical": 115.55,
      "high": 120.55
    },
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "gemeente_fee_max",
        "label": "Municipal exchange fee (national maximum)",
        "low": 53.65,
        "typical": 53.65,
        "high": 53.65,
        "source": "https://vng.nl/nieuws/rijbewijstarief-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "health_declaration",
        "label": "Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring)",
        "low": 0,
        "typical": 46.9,
        "high": 46.9,
        "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "passport_photo",
        "label": "Passport photo (fotomatrix standard)",
        "low": 10,
        "typical": 15,
        "high": 20,
        "market_estimate": true,
        "source": null,
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      }
    ],
    "assumptions": [
      "No city chosen: the €53.65 national maximum is used; your gemeente may charge less (Amsterdam charges €64.65 for exchanges).",
      "Health declaration counted at €0 low / €46.90 typical-high; RDW decides whether an EU/EFTA exchange needs one.",
      "Timeline: RDW decides within 15 working days of a complete application; cities quote 2–4 weeks overall, plus health-declaration processing (~4 weeks) where required."
    ]
  },
  "timeline": {
    "weeks": {
      "low": 3,
      "high": 6,
      "estimate": false
    },
    "steps": [
      {
        "id": "ex-1",
        "title": "Health declaration via Mijn CBR",
        "time": "~4 weeks (CBR processing)",
        "time_is_estimate": false,
        "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijden-en-uw-gezondheid/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen"
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-3",
        "title": "Passport photo",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-4",
        "title": "Gemeente appointment",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-5",
        "title": "Hand in your foreign licence",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-6",
        "title": "Collect your Dutch licence",
        "time": "RDW decides within 15 working days; collect ~5 working days later",
        "time_is_estimate": false,
        "link": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "country_notes": [],
  "common_mistakes": [
    {
      "text": "Assuming the licence is good here forever. It is valid in the Netherlands for 15 years from its issue date (5 years for truck and bus categories), and only while the licence itself is still valid.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Renewing or obtaining the licence at home after you moved. An EU/EFTA licence issued while you already lived in the Netherlands may not be used to drive here; it has to be exchanged.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Waiting for the 15 years to run out. Exchanging at the gemeente is possible at any time, without exams; the fee is the municipal licence fee.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Assuming an expired licence cannot be exchanged. For EU/EFTA licences the RDW allows an expired licence to be exchanged; Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland need a statement of no objection.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchange checklist (Dutch)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchanging a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    }
  ],
  "terms": "Guidance, not legal advice. Every entry carries the official page it was read from and the date it was read. The RDW checklist is the authority; where the rules encode a conservative reading, the entry says so. When you use this data, cite the page URL and the rules version. Corrections: hello@drivingschools.nl."
}