Driving Licence Categories in Portugal

All categories: what each one lets you drive

Limits are those of article 3 of the regulation; ages are from article 20; the last column comes from article 21 and the IMT pages. Passenger counts never include the driver. The learner may start up to six months before the minimum age (art. 20(3)), and anyone under 18 needs written parental authorisation.

Categories C1, C, D1 and D require a valid B; the E categories require the base category (BE: B; C1E: C1; CE: C; D1E: D1; DE: D) (art. 21(1)). The regulation also mentions 23 for D and DE with the qualification card, without saying in which cases it differs from 21; the IMT page only mentions 21.

What each category already includes

A licence for a higher category also covers some lower ones without a new exam (art. 3(4)). Only the extensions that are not automatic are written on the card.

Motorbikes: AM, A1, A2 and A

A motorbike above 50 cm³, or faster than 45 km/h, or above 4 kW, is a motociclo and needs A1, A2 or A. Each step up has a ceiling in power rather than in engine size, except A1: A1 up to 125 cm³, 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg; A2 up to 35 kW and below 0.2 kW/kg; A with no limit. The two ratios are power divided by the bike’s mass: an 11 kW bike needs at least 110 kg to be an A1, and a 35 kW one more than 175 kg to be an A2. The regulation does not say which mass it means, so the tool takes the one you enter and flags it when you leave it blank.

The route up is progressive. At 18 you can go straight to A2. After 2 years of A1 (obtained by exam) you can do A2 by taking only the practical test, without a driving school, and after 2 years of A2 the same for A (art. 18(3)). A is available directly at 24, or at 20 with 2 years of A2.

Can I ride a 125 cm³ bike with a B licence?

Yes, with two conditions. The B licence covers A1 if the holder is over 25, or, if younger, also holds AM or a moped licence (art. 3(4)(e)(ii)). The bike must be a real A1: up to 125 cm³ and 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg. A 125 cm³ bike with 15 kW is over the 11 kW limit, so it needs A2. The IMT page words the age as “25 or over”, the regulation as “over 25”; if you are exactly 25, ask the IMT before you ride. No exam is needed: the B licence itself covers the bike. To ride earlier, take A1 from 16.

Trailers: B, B with code 96 and BE

With a B licence, what changes is the trailer and the combined mass of car plus trailer, both counted at maximum authorised mass. Four cases cover almost everything.

B96 is not a separate category. It is a code written on the B licence after a specific practical test (annex VII, part II, section VI), and it covers a combination above 3,500 kg and up to 4,250 kg. BE needs only a practical test and no driving school: you ask the IMT for a learner licence, and the test can be at the IMT or at a private exam centre. A car with a maximum authorised mass of 1,800 kg pulling a 2,000 kg caravan comes to 3,800 kg, so it is B with code 96, or BE. Always use the maximum authorised mass of the trailer, not what it weighs loaded that day.

Heavy vehicles: C1, C, D1 and D

For goods, the dividing lines are on the vehicle’s maximum authorised mass: C1 is above 3,500 and below 7,500 kg; C starts at 7,500 kg, and a vehicle of exactly 7,500 kg is C. With up to 8 passengers besides the driver, a 3,501 kg van is already C1. For people, mass does not matter, only seats and length: up to 16 passengers and 8 m is D1; more seats or a longer vehicle is D. Nine passengers in a 3,000 kg minibus up to 8 m long already make it D1.

To start the “carta de pesados” you need a valid B, the minimum age, a medical certificate and a favourable psychological assessment, all valid for six months, and a driving school. The official exam fees, paid through the school, are €15 for the learner licence, €15 for the theory test, €30 for the practical test and €30 to issue the card or add the category to it (IMT, October 2026), before the school’s own prices. Professional driving can also require the driver qualification card (Código da Estrada, art. 123(2)). Driving a CE combination above 20,000 kg is not allowed from age 67 (art. 20(5)).

Validity and renewal by group

The regulation splits drivers in two groups for the medical side. Group 1 is AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, BE and T. Group 2 is C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE, and also B and BE drivers of ambulances, fire engines, patient transport, school transport, children’s transport and taxis, whose licence must carry code 997 (art. 22).

Validity counts from the date you were granted the category, and the licence can be renewed in the six months before it expires. Renewing C or D also renews B, and renewing D renews C. Drivers of 70 or older must bring their GP’s report on their medical history to the doctor doing the assessment (art. 27(2)). The medical certificate is valid for six months, so do not get it too early. The assessments are done by a doctor and a psychologist in practice or in an authorised clinical service (art. 25). The regulation also allows automatic renewal, set by ministerial order, together with the online renewal of the Cartão de Cidadão (art. 17(12)–(13)); check with the IMT whether it is available for your licence.

If you arrive from another EU country with a licence, or want to swap a non-EU one, the rules are on the foreign licence exchange page.

Probationary regime for new drivers

A first licence is under probation for its first three years (Código da Estrada, art. 122). The period is extended if, within it, proceedings start for a crime, a very serious offence or a second serious one, until the decision is final; it ends if the holder is not convicted of any of those. The regime returns when a holder of T, AM, A1 or B1 obtains another category, even if the first licence is older than three years. It does not apply to a licence issued by exchange for one held for more than three years. During probation the alcohol limits are lower, 0.2 g/l instead of 0.5; the fines and points are on the traffic fines and points page.

Automatic transmission (code 78)

The practical test can be taken in a manual or an automatic car. If it is taken in an automatic, the licence is restricted with code 78 (“limited to vehicles with automatic gearbox”) and the holder cannot drive a manual. The restriction does not apply to BE, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D or DE taken in an automatic when the candidate already holds one of those categories, or B, passed in a manual car (art. 61).

Driving a category you do not have

Driving with no licence at all is a separate and heavier matter, not covered here. The points and fines for traffic offences are on the fines and points page. Engine size and weight, the same figures that set the licence category, are also what the annual circulation tax is calculated from: see the IUC calculator. If you buy a motorhome or a trailer, check also when its next inspection falls due.