TVDE
Published 8 November 2026, 22:47
TVDE — transporte remunerado de passageiros em veículos de disponibilização eletrónica (app-based passenger transport); until 1 September 2026, “em veículos descaracterizados”
This is the Portuguese name for a ride in an unmarked car booked through an app: Uber, Bolt and the like. Legally it is distinct from a taxi, with a different law and different requirements for the driver and the car. Lei n.º 59/2026 has been in force since 1 September 2026: it rewrote the previous law, 45/2018, and also changed what the letters stand for — instead of “unmarked cars”, the law now says “cars made available electronically”. The abbreviation itself has stayed the same.
Where you come across it. Booking a ride through an app, working as a driver, legal provisions: TVDE often appears in them alongside taxis.
The Highway Code allows a child to travel in a taxi or a TVDE car without a child seat as long as they are not in the front seat (Article 55(5)). This rule does not apply in your own car.
Official website: ansr.pt/legislacao/codigo-da-estrada