Working as a ride-hailing driver in Portugal: Uber, Bolt and the TVDE certificate

What TVDE is and how it differs from a taxi

TVDE is carrying passengers through an app: Uber, Bolt and the rest. Legally it is not a taxi but a separate kind of work with its own rules (Lei n.º 45/2018 as amended by Lei n.º 59/2026).

You can see the difference on the road. A taxi has a colour, a roof light, a meter, taxi ranks and the right to use the bus lane. A TVDE car has none of that: bookings come only through the app, payment is only cashless through the same app, you cannot be hailed in the street, and public transport lanes are closed to you (article 12, paragraph 12).

For the driver the difference matters even more: a taxi works under a licence for the car, issued by the municipality and limited in number, whereas in TVDE it is the operator company that is licensed, and there are almost twenty-five thousand such companies in the country. Getting in is easier, but more is required of the driver personally.

Since 1 September 2026 there has been a door between these two worlds: a car with a taxi licence can now be registered in an app and work there under TVDE rules (article 2, paragraphs 4-8). It does not work the other way round — a TVDE car does not become a taxi.

“TVDE means individual paid transport of passengers in unmarked cars through an electronic platform. It’s a separate transport service regulated by law in Portugal: drivers use apps like Uber or Bolt to carry passengers who’ve booked a ride on their phone. Taxis are separate, they have more privileges. For example, a taxi is allowed to use the public transport lane, while TVDE is more like a category for private drivers.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto30.09.2025

“It’s a special licence for people who drive a cab through Uber/Bolt.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

left4portugal12.10.2023

What you need: the full list at once

The law requires five things of a driver at the same time (article 10, paragraph 2):

1. A category B licence held for more than three years, with the group 2 endorsement. 2. An initial course at a school recognised by IMT, passed with an exam. 3. Good character — that is, a clean criminal record certificate as regards the offences listed in article 11. 4. A TVDE driver certificate — certificado de motorista de TVDE, or CMTVDE for short — issued by IMT, under which you are visible in all the apps. 5. A written contract with an operator company.

On top of that comes something the law does not mention but you cannot do without: a residence permit with the right to work. Uber says so plainly in its requirements: a título de residência with permission to work or a Cartão de Cidadão, a licence issued in Portugal with group 2, a separate criminal record certificate and a valid TVDE certificate.

It is best to keep to this order: first the licence and the group 2 endorsement, then the course, then the criminal record certificate, then the certificate, and only at the very end talking to an operator or setting up your own company. A course without group 2 makes no sense: you will not be issued the certificate without it.

Licence: three years’ experience and the group 2 endorsement

A foreign licence is no good for this work in any form: you need a Portuguese card. If you have not exchanged yours yet, start with that — we have a separate guide on the exchange: How to exchange and then renew your driving licence in Portugal.

Then there are two things people often mix up.

Three years’ experience. Category B must have been held for more than three years. This is counted from the date shown on the card itself next to the letter B in box 10, not from the date of the exchange. Check yours: if it shows the exchange date, the count starts from that.

The group 2 endorsement (grupo 2). On a Portuguese card it appears as national code 997 and means the holder is allowed to carry passengers for money — ambulance drivers, firefighters and school bus drivers need it too. Without it you will not be issued a TVDE certificate. The endorsement rests on a medical certificate and a psychological assessment, and it is renewed only at IMT: this service does not work online.

“Besides the Tvde licence you also need to get Group 2 confirmed at IMT, for those who have category B”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

left4portugal12.10.2023

Medical certificate and psychologist

The medical certificate is called an atestado médico and went electronic long ago: the doctor enters it into the system and it goes straight to IMT. You get it at a private clinic or from your family doctor; there is no need to look specifically for a Russian-speaking doctor, but it is easier.

For group 2 a psychological assessment is added to the certificate — the well-known psicotécnico. The rule is simple: in group 1, that is, an ordinary driver, the psychologist is seen only if the doctor refers you, whereas in group 2 the medical and psychological checks always go together (Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, article 24). The assessment is done by a psychologist, and on appeal by IMT itself. When renewing the card, not everyone is asked for the psychologist any more: only from the age of 50.

Both papers are tied to the person, not to the job: if they lapse, the 997 endorsement also stops working, and IMT is entitled to withdraw the driver certificate (article 10, paragraph 13).

“You can get it at any clinic (even a dental one), you just need to go in and say you need a certificate to exchange your licence, ATESTADO MÉDICO. They’ll give you an appointment, have a chat with you, you pay for the appointment (usually 35 euros), and you come out with an electronic certificate that they register with IMT themselves. Ask them to email you the certificate. There are Russian-speaking doctors with remote booking, but you have to wait for a slot there, prices are similar.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa22.05.2026

Criminal record certificate — with the right wording

This is where applications are most often turned down. You order the certificate on registocriminal.justica.gov.pt, it costs €5, and in the application you must choose exactly what IMT asks for: purpose — “profissão/atividade sem lei especial”, occupation — “motorista de TVDE — IMT”, and with the note “envolve contacto regular com menores (Lei n.º 113/2009)”. An ordinary “for any purpose” certificate will not do.

What stands in the way of the certificate is listed in article 11: convictions for crimes against a person’s life, health and liberty, against sexual freedom and self-determination, for dangerous driving and for driving drunk or on drugs, and for anything committed while working as a driver. A conviction in another country counts the same as a Portuguese one.

New since 1 September: if over the past five years you lived outside Portugal for six months or more, a criminal record certificate from that country is added to the file — with an apostille and a certified translation where required (article 11, paragraphs 3-6). For those who arrived recently this is now a compulsory step, not an official’s random request.

The course: 50 hours, six modules and an exam at IMT

Only schools and training centres recognised by IMT may teach the course, and the list of such schools is on IMT’s own website. A course at a school that is not on the list does not count — the money is wasted.

The syllabus is set out in the law (article 10, paragraph 6): at least 50 hours, theory and practice, six modules — dealing with people, traffic rules, driving technique, how TVDE work itself is organised, emergencies and first aid, and driving. At ACP, for example, that is 10 hours in person, 25 online, 8 hours of first aid in class and 6 hours behind the wheel; the practical part can be done in your own car if you give its registration number in advance. You can miss only a little: to pass you need at least 80% of the hours of each module.

The exam is set by IMT or a centre it appoints: 30 questions, and you pass if at least 27 answers are correct. Since December 2024 it can no longer be taken from home.

And something new: since 1 September 2026 the course includes a check that the person’s Portuguese is good enough to work (article 10.º-A). Without it the course does not count as passed. Exactly how it will be checked is to be set by a separate ministerial portaria; as of mid-September the IMT website did not yet describe how this check works.

“For TVDE you need a Portuguese licence and a commercial licence — you have to do the taxi courses. Bolt, by the way, can refund the cost of the courses if you sign a contract with them.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto09.03.2026

“The TVDE test used to be doable online. Only in December did it become compulsory at IMT.”

Translated from Portuguese; the original is at the link

r/portugal01.09.2026

The driver certificate: €30 and five years

Once the course is passed and you have the certificates in hand, you apply to IMT for the TVDE driver certificate — it is easier through its online services: no paper form is needed and the fee is 10% less. The fee itself is €30.

The certificate is valid for five years and gives you a single driver number by which all the apps recognise you at once. While it is being printed you can drive with a guia — a temporary paper from IMT confirming that the application has been submitted (article 10, paragraph 14).

Renewal: an 8-hour course, a fresh criminal record certificate and the same €30, and the application must be submitted no later than six months before the certificate expires. At the first renewal you will have to sit the exam again. You must not let the certificate expire: an expired one is not renewed, and you have to do the whole initial course again.

Anyone with a valid taxi driver certificate (CMT) needs neither the course nor the exam: under the new law that certificate on its own is enough to work through an app (article 10, paragraph 3).

How you are registered: the operator is a company

The main thing people do not expect: a driver cannot get into an app on their own. Between the driver and the platform stands a TVDE operator — a legal entity with an IMT licence (article 2, paragraph 1). The driver works “under the operator”, and the contract between them must be in writing.

That leaves three routes:

Get hired by an operator on an employment contract. Then you get a salary and paid holiday, and the employer pays the contributions. If the contract is called something else but the work is organised like employment, article 12 of the Labour Code applies — the presumption of an employment contract (article 10, paragraph 16). We have a separate guide on this: Your employer will not give you an employment contract: what to do.

Work as self-employed under an operator. You open an atividade, invoice the operator and pay your own taxes and contributions: How to open an atividade and work on recibos verdes.

Set up your own company and become an operator yourself. That is how more than half the market works: IMT’s list of operators as of 5 August 2026 has 24,604 companies, and 14,516 of them are unipessoal, that is, one-person companies. The districts show where this work is: Lisbon — 12,438 operators, Porto — 4,478, Setúbal — 2,840, Faro — 2,038, and then numbers drop sharply: Braga — 659, Aveiro — 607.

Your own company: €360 for the company and €200 for the licence

The order is as follows. First the company — fastest through Empresa na Hora: €360, or €200 if you take a ready-made name from their list. The articles of association must include carrying passengers on request in a car with a driver and the activity code CAE-Rev.4 49330 — without this code IMT will not grant the licence.

Next comes the application to IMT on form Modelo 30: name, NIF, address, email, the managers and their criminal record certificates (purpose — “profissão/atividade sem lei especial”, occupation — “operador de TVDE — IMT”), an extract from the commercial register and proof that there are no tax or social security debts. The fee is €200. A decision must be made within 30 working days, and if they stay silent it counts as approval.

Two new points worth looking at in advance. First: the law now asks for the number of the registered trademark under which the operator works (article 3, paragraph 4, point d) — a name used to be enough. Second: the licence is issued for no more than five years, and renewal is requested six months ahead (paragraphs 8 and 9); in mid-September 2026 the IMT website still said ten years — that is the old rule. Once a year the operator sends IMT fresh criminal record certificates for its managers, and reports any changes within 10 days.

The car: age, inspection, insurance and sign

The requirements for the car are in article 12, and one of them has become more lenient since September.

Age. The car must be less than 10 years from first registration, and a fully electric one less than 12. Under the previous law the limit was seven years, so some cars that dropped out last autumn are eligible again.

What else is compulsory. A passenger car with a Portuguese number plate and no more than nine seats including the driver. An inspection every year, the first one year after first registration. Third-party liability insurance that specifically covers passengers; an ordinary policy for a private car will not do here — we cover this in detail: Car insurance in Portugal.

The TVDE sign (dístico). The car is first registered with IMT and given a number, and that number goes on the sign. Since September the sign must be non-removable, tamper-proof and carry a QR code that lets any passer-by check that the car is authorised, its number, the operator’s licence and that it is insured. The design, issuing procedure and price of the sign are to be approved by a ministerial portaria; until then, the IMT website describes the old removable 145×68 mm sign on the windscreen and rear window.

And some good news: advertising inside and outside the car is now allowed under the same rules as for taxis — the old law banned it altogether.

“That’s exactly what these letters are for — to go on a special sign fixed to the car in a visible place: it identifies all cars working for private transport platforms — Uber, Cabify, Taxify or Kapten.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto30.09.2025

Your own car or renting from a fleet

For those without a car, fleets offer one for rent: in driver recruitment ads in spring 2026 it was €230-260 a week for a small electric car, servicing and insurance included, with weekly payouts. Do your sums starting from that figure: the rent is due every week regardless of how much you have driven.

If the car is your own, there are three legal ways to put it to work. You can register it to your own operator company. You can rent it to an operator under a contract. But since September you cannot lend the car to an operator free of charge (comodato) — except in one case: if you are both the owner and the driver and you alone will drive it for TVDE (article 12, paragraphs 16-19). No handing it over to relatives or shift partners: the “person — car — operator” link is recorded by name with IMT and in the app.

On choosing the car itself and running it, we have a separate breakdown with the cost of a year of ownership: Which car to buy in Portugal and Fuel in Portugal: what a litre costs and how to pay less.

“Tesla’s got nothing to do with it🙂, I want to rent it out to a tvde operator so I don’t have to get the licence myself. NOT THE TESLA😂”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt28.04.2025

How much is left: commission, fares and ten hours

The price of a trip is set by the platform and the operator themselves — the state does not set it. There is one important limit: the platform’s commission (taxa de intermediação) cannot exceed 25% of the trip price excluding VAT (article 15, paragraph 3).

Since September surge pricing (tarifa dinâmica) has become freer. Previously, at busy times the price could not be raised to more than twice the average trip price over the previous 72 hours; now that cap is gone, but the platform must show the passenger the formula and multipliers in advance, and the receipt must break down how the price was made up and how much commission was taken (paragraphs 4, 5 and 8).

After that it is simple arithmetic. From what is left after commission, subtract fuel or charging, the rent or wear and tear on your own car, insurance, inspection, contributions and tax. And remember the working-time cap: no more than ten hours at the wheel a day, and this is counted across all apps together, not for each one separately (article 13). The platforms must keep track of this themselves, and both sides are fined for breaches.

“Seems they recently brought in new TVDE rules that remove the maximum "cap" on the surge multiplier. Maybe that’s why.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa06.09.2026

Taxes and contributions

If you are employed by an operator, the operator deducts tax and contributions, and there is not much to think about. Everything else is up to you.

A self-employed driver opens an atividade with Finanças, invoices the operator and pays contributions to Segurança Social every quarter. For the first twelve months after opening the activity there are no contributions; after that the payment is calculated from turnover. We go through all of this step by step: How to open an atividade and work on recibos verdes and How self-employed people pay contributions to Segurança Social.

Your own company means an accountant (a contabilista certificado is compulsory), VAT, reporting and corporation tax. The activity code and VAT rate are determined by the accountant: they differ for carrying passengers and for the driving service the driver provides to the operator.

And something worth knowing in advance: since September the platforms pass data on the work of drivers, cars and operators to a shared IMT platform, and the tax office and Segurança Social get from it what they need to check taxes and contributions (article 20.º-A). Working “off the books” on these platforms is over.

What changed from 1 September 2026

A short list for those who already work or got their documents under the old rules:

— cars accepted up to 10 years old (electric ones up to 12) instead of the previous seven; — advertising on the car is allowed under taxi rules; it used to be banned; — taxis have been let into the apps: a car with a taxi licence can work in TVDE, but during such a trip it follows TVDE rules; — the sign is now non-removable and has a QR code; the design and price will be approved by a portaria; — Portuguese is tested on the course — without it the course is not passed; — the cap on surge pricing has been lifted, and in return the platform must explain the price; — the 25% commission is calculated excluding VAT; — video recording inside the car — voluntary, off by default, switched on for a trip with the consent of the driver and the passenger, no sound may be recorded, recordings are encrypted and kept for up to 30 days, and only investigators or an authorised body may view them; — fines for individuals now start at €250 instead of €2,000, but for companies the maximum has risen from €15,000 to €44,000; — the operator licence is for no more than five years instead of ten; — IMT now has a shared data exchange platform with the apps, and it is already working.

The transitional rules are lenient: licences issued under the old law remain valid until they expire, and are renewed under the new one (article 4). The platforms were given 120 days to prove they are technically ready and a year to obtain new licences. Nobody is withdrawing drivers’ certificates: they run their full five years.

Penalties for breaches and who checks

Fines are in article 25: from €250 to €4,500 for an individual, from €5,000 to €44,000 for a company. Along with the fine you can be banned from working — for up to two years (article 26).

What counts as a breach on the driver’s part: driving without a certificate or without being registered in the app; not having the certificate or the guia on you while working; refusing a passenger without one of the reasons listed in article 8, or refusing on grounds of origin, age, sex, disability or nationality (article 7); not taking a guide dog, a wheelchair or a pushchair; breaking the rules on the sign and advertising; going over ten hours a day.

It is not only the traffic authorities who check. By law this is done by IMT, AMT, the ACT labour inspectorate, Segurança Social, the GNR, the PSP, the tax office and the data protection authority, and their responsibilities are divided by name: working hours — ACT, taxes and contributions — AT and ISS, everything about certificates and cars — IMT.

If the operator or the platform breaks the law

The first place to go is the platform itself: a complaint through the app, which it must deal with and keep a record of for two years (article 19, paragraph 3).

If that does not help, what comes next depends on what the problem is. The terms of your contract with the operator, account blocks, commission, prices — that is AMT, the mobility and transport authority: it also reviews the platforms’ standard contracts in advance and can demand that unlawful terms be removed. Certificates, cars and licences — IMT. Undeclared work, hours and rest — the ACT labour inspectorate.

It is worth remembering article 10, paragraph 16 separately: whatever the contract with the operator is called, if the work is organised like employment — someone else’s car, someone else’s schedule, someone else’s instructions — the presumption of an employment contract applies. This is exactly the case where you should go to ACT and to a lawyer: How to find and check a lawyer in Portugal.