Practical cases

No, as the law was approved. The revision makes a functional command of Portuguese mandatory, appropriate to carrying out the activity, and that check becomes part of the road training course for TVDE drivers. Without that functional command, it is not possible to complete certification. This is one of the most high-profile novelties of the new law and did not exist in the regime in force.

The application of the Portuguese requirement to those already licensed was not settled in the law. According to PS member of parliament Frederico Francisco, it will depend on regulation by government order (portaria) and, in principle, the certification of those who already hold it does not lapse. As this information rests on a single source, it should be read with caution: only the government order will say for certain how it applies to already certified drivers.

In principle, no. The new law does not provide for the automatic lapse of already issued certificates, and the TVDE driver certificate (CMTVDE) keeps its validity of five years, renewable. The most likely moment for the new Portuguese requirement to be demanded is at renewal, just as continuing training is already required today, but that will depend on the government order that regulates the matter. There is a precedent to bear in mind: in 2018, the original law granted 120 days of adaptation to drivers and operators. Until the government order is issued, those certified keep their certification.

Yes. The maximum vehicle age rises from 7 to 10 years with the new law, so an eight-year-old petrol car is now within the limit. You will still have to meet the other requirements applicable to TVDE vehicles, such as a Portuguese number plate and a maximum capacity of nine seats including the driver.

Yes. For electric vehicles, the maximum age is 12 years, above the 10 years set for the rest. An eleven-year-old electric car is therefore within the limit. The other requirements for TVDE vehicles continue to apply.

You will be able to. The new law ends the ban on advertising on TVDE vehicles, both inside and outside, bringing the regime into line with that for taxis. The concrete rules, including limits and conditions, are left to the IMT, so it is worth waiting for the regulation before going ahead with any advertising support.

Image video recording becomes optional, but only with the express consent of the driver and the passenger. The capture of sound is prohibited, so recording audio is not allowed. The images must be encrypted, kept for a maximum of 30 days with automatic deletion, and inaccessible to the platform, the operator, the driver and the user. Only judicial, police or administrative authorities may access them, in specific situations. Filming with sound therefore falls outside what the law allows.

According to the available information, no. The new law prohibits comodato (free-of-charge loan) and usufruct contracts for assigning vehicles to the TVDE activity, save for exceptions not detailed. According to the PSD proposal, vehicles must belong to the operator or be under a formal leasing or rental arrangement. A car lent free of charge by third parties, through comodato, is no longer suitable. The driver's own vehicle, registered with the operator, remains allowed; the target is informal assignments.

No, and it was not before. Driving with someone else's account is fraud and has always been illegal. The new law strengthens the fight against these schemes: it creates a national data-sharing platform, run by the IMT, which cross-checks information on operators, drivers, vehicles and licences, and introduces a tamper-proof identifying badge associated with each vehicle. This cross-check between the badge and the platform records makes enforcement more effective and the use of others' accounts easier to detect.

Yes. One of the main changes of the new law is to allow taxis to register for the TVDE activity, provided they meet the requirements applicable to TVDE vehicles and are registered with a licensed electronic platform manager. Note that, when operating as TVDE, the vehicle is subject to that regime's rules during that service.

When operating as TVDE, the taxi is subject to the TVDE regime's rules and cannot use taxi ranks or BUS lanes in that service. The ranks and the BUS lanes remain reserved for the taxi activity proper. This separation follows from the logic of keeping the two regimes distinct, even though they now communicate.

Yes. The passenger may refuse recording without a price surcharge or penalty, unless there is no alternative vehicle available at the time. They may also cancel without penalty if they do not accept the video recording. In addition, recording only exists with the express consent of both parties and never includes sound.

Yes. With the new law, users can now select in the app a driver with a command of Portuguese. This possibility goes with the new requirement of a functional command of Portuguese for drivers and gives the passenger a choice that did not exist before.

The new law ends the legal cap on dynamic pricing, that is, the cap of 100% above the average of the previous 72 hours no longer exists. Prices continue to be freely agreed, but the passenger must be clearly informed of the value before the trip begins. If you were informed of the price and accepted it, the increase is legal; the sensitive point is precisely that prior information, which the PS criticised as potentially making prices less predictable.

It depends on the specific offence, but the limits have risen significantly. For legal persons, fines can now reach 44,000 euros, against the previous 15,000 euros. The law also creates new administrative offences linked to licensing, enforcement, data sharing and compliance with legal obligations, within a framework of strengthened enforcement.

According to the available information, no. TVDE vehicles must be passenger cars with a Portuguese number plate and a maximum capacity of nine seats including the driver, and tuk-tuks remain excluded from the regime. As this point rests on a single source, it is worth confirming it in the final text of the law before making any decision.