Portugal

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

IMT Alvará or Licença Comunitária Required

Yes

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Carrying goods by road for others (transporte por conta de outrem) requires an authorization issued by IMT: either an alvará, which covers transport within Portugal, or a licença comunitária (Community Licence), which covers domestic and EU-wide transport. Either is valid for up to five years and is renewable. IMT states that the activity may be carried out only by companies, cooperatives, and associations or foundations with commercial purposes that IMT has licensed. Where a mover hires another company to do the driving (a subcontracted carrier), the carrier’s own authorization covers the transport it performs, and the mover should use carriers that hold the authorizations that transport requires.

Qualifying Conditions

Required for the authorization. Good repute (idoneidade) of the transport manager and the company’s directors, professional competence (capacidade profissional) of a designated transport manager (gestor de transportes) holding IMT’s certificate of professional competence, financial capacity (capacidade financeira), current tax and social security standing, and a stable and effective establishment in Portugal. These follow the EU Regulation 1071/2009 framework used across the EU.

Financial Capacity Threshold

Required for the authorization. IMT lists €9,000 for the first licensed vehicle, plus €5,000 for each additional heavy vehicle or €900 for each additional light vehicle.

Vehicle Licences

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Each vehicle used under an alvará is licensed by IMT (licença de veículo); holders of a licença comunitária obtain certified copies (cópias certificadas) of the licence for their vehicles. Goods carried must travel with a transport document (guia de transporte), and vehicles must display the required identification markings.

Professional Drivers

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Professional goods-vehicle drivers obtain the Certificado de Aptidão de Motorista (CAM, driver certificate of professional competence) through IMT-certified initial training and an IMT exam, recorded as code 95 on the driving licence, with continuing training every five years.

Liability Framework

National road goods transport contract law. Decreto-Lei n.º 239/2003 governs contracts for road carriage of goods within Portugal, and its scope article does not exclude removals. Available sources indicate that Portuguese courts have applied it to household removal contracts. It limits the carrier’s liability for missing goods to €10 per kilogram of gross weight (subject to the exceptions set out in the decree), gives the recipient eight days after delivery to submit written reservations about damage that was not apparent at delivery, and sets a one-year period for claims against the carrier.

Insurance

Compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (Decreto-Lei n.º 291/2007) applies to every vehicle that circulates on Portuguese roads. That insurance excludes damage to goods carried in the insured vehicle. This research did not find a law requiring a removal company to insure customers’ goods; ask the mover what protection it offers and on what terms.

Consumer Complaint System

Multi-layered. Businesses must make the Livro de Reclamações (official complaints book) available in both physical and electronic formats; electronic complaints go automatically to the business and the competent authority, and the business has 15 working days to respond. Unresolved disputes can go to a network of authorized consumer arbitration centres (Centros de Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo), and for consumer disputes of up to €5,000 the business must take part in arbitration or mediation when the consumer chooses it.

Industry Association

No dedicated national removals association was found. ANTRAM (Associação Nacional de Transportadores Públicos Rodoviários de Mercadorias) represents road freight carriers generally rather than household moving specifically. Membership of an industry association is not a government licence and does not replace the IMT authorization or other requirements described on this page.

OverviewOverview & Scope

Portugal licenses road carriers under the same EU Regulation 1071/2009 framework used across the EU. IMT is the single national licensing authority and issues either a domestic-only alvará or a licença comunitária that also covers EU-wide work (see International: Portugal). The authorization attaches to the company that operates the vehicles: where a mover subcontracts road transport, the carrier’s own authorization covers the transport it performs, and the mover should use carriers that hold it. IMT’s website includes a section listing licensed companies (Empresas Licenciadas).

Portugal also licenses freight forwarding (atividade transitária) separately: under Decreto-Lei n.º 255/99, as amended, companies that plan, coordinate and manage the movement of goods, including by contracting with carriers, need an IMT alvará for that activity. This research did not confirm whether household removal companies that subcontract all of their transport fall within that regime; movers in that position should check with IMT.

On liability, Portugal has no separate removals statute; the national road goods transport contract law (Decreto-Lei n.º 239/2003) applies, with a per-kilogram cap on compensation for missing goods and short time limits for reporting damage and bringing claims. Consumer protection rests on the Lei de Defesa do Consumidor, which requires clear pre-contract information, and on the general contract terms law, which prohibits certain clauses in standard-form contracts and is supervised by the Direção-Geral do Consumidor. The mandatory Livro de Reclamações and the consumer arbitration network give customers a structured route for complaints.

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Company licensing

1. Register the business in the commercial register (registo comercial), which gives commercial companies and cooperatives their legal existence.
2. Where the mover operates its own vehicles, obtain an alvará or licença comunitária from IMT, applied for through IMT’s online services portal and renewed at least every five years.
3. Meet the qualifying conditions: good repute, a transport manager with IMT’s certificate of professional competence, financial capacity of at least €9,000 for the first vehicle plus €5,000 per additional heavy vehicle or €900 per additional light vehicle, current tax and social security standing, and a stable establishment in Portugal.

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

4. License each vehicle with IMT (licença de veículo under an alvará, or a certified copy of the licença comunitária).
5. Insure each vehicle under compulsory motor third-party liability insurance.
6. Use drivers who hold the CAM (code 95), with continuing training every five years.
7. Carry a guia de transporte with the goods and display the required vehicle identification markings.

Subcontracted transport

8. Where transport is subcontracted, use carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

Customer practices

9. Ensure removal contracts comply with Decreto-Lei n.º 239/2003, including its liability limits and claim periods.
10. Give customers clear, adequate information before and when contracting, as the Lei de Defesa do Consumidor requires, and keep standard contract terms within the limits of Decreto-Lei n.º 446/85.
11. Make the Livro de Reclamações available in physical and electronic formats and respond to complaints within 15 working days.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• Registered in the commercial register (registo comercial)Verified by DocumentRequired
• IMT alvará or licença comunitária held for road goods transport for hire and rewardWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Transport manager holding IMT’s certificate of professional competence designated, with good repute, financial capacity (€9,000 for the first vehicle plus €5,000 per additional heavy vehicle or €900 per additional light vehicle) and tax and social security standing demonstrated as conditions of the authorizationWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired

Vehicles and drivers

• Each vehicle licensed by IMT (licença de veículo, or certified copy of the licença comunitária)Where applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Compulsory motor third-party liability insurance in force for each vehicleWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Drivers hold the CAM (code 95 on the driving licence) with current continuing trainingWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Goods accompanied by a guia de transporte, and vehicles display the required identification markingsWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by AffirmationRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired

Customer practices

• Removal contracts comply with Decreto-Lei n.º 239/2003Verified by AffirmationRequired
• Clear pre-contract information provided under the Lei de Defesa do Consumidor, and standard contract terms comply with Decreto-Lei n.º 446/85Verified by AffirmationRequired
• Livro de Reclamações available in physical and electronic formats, with complaints answered within 15 working daysVerified by AffirmationRequired