TVDE driver certificate: how to get it, how long it lasts and how to renew it

The short answer

The TVDE driver certificate is issued by the IMT, Portugal’s transport authority, and is valid for five years from the date of issue. To get it you need a category B licence held for more than three years with group 2, the initial training course passed, and good standing. To renew it you need to keep your good standing and take the 8-hour refresher training course, and the application must go in six months before the end of the validity period. Holders of a valid taxi driver certificate do not need the TVDE certificate.

The rules are in article 10 of the TVDE regime, republished by Law no. 59/2026. Paragraph 1 opens with the principle: only drivers certified by the IMT, holding a valid TVDE driver or taxi driver certificate, and registered on a licensed electronic platform may drive TVDE vehicles.

The requirements for the certificate

Paragraph 2 of article 10 lists the requirements the driver must meet together. Subparagraph d) is the certificate itself, which the IMT issues after checking the others; subparagraph e) is a requirement of the relationship with the operator, not of issuing.

The certificate gives the driver a unique TVDE driver registration number, which identifies them on all platforms (subparagraph d)). Under paragraph 4, it is issued by the IMT "after payment of the fee due and verification that the legal requirements are met". The law does not set the fee amount; article 29 leaves fees to the competent authorities.

You no longer have to bring some of the documents yourself. Article 20-B, new in 2026, requires the IMT to obtain electronically, of its own motion, data held by the public administration, including national criminal record certificates. When it cannot, it notifies you to submit them within a deadline, and failure to do so leads to the application being refused or to non-renewal.

Validity: five years from issue

The certificate "is valid for a period of five years, renewable for equal periods, counted from the date of issue" (paragraph 4). Do not confuse this with the validity of the initial training course, which is also five years (paragraph 6): they are two separate periods, and the law does not make them coincide.

While you wait for the certificate, the law allows a slip issued by the IMT, which proves the application was submitted and is valid for the period stated on it (paragraph 14). While working you must carry the TVDE certificate, the slip or the taxi certificate (paragraph 15). Working without them on board is an administrative offence under subparagraph m) of paragraph 2 of article 25, with a fine of 250 to 4,500 euros for individuals, and the driver is liable.

Renewal: apply six months ahead

Paragraph 5 of article 10 makes renewal depend on two requirements together: good standing and passing the 8-hour refresher training course provided for in paragraph 9. It adds that the application must be submitted "six months before the end of its validity".

In practice, count back from the expiry date shown on your certificate. Six months before that date, you should already have done the refresher course and submitted the application. The law does not say what happens to someone who applies later, but while the certificate is still valid. Do not count on leniency: plan the course for the start of that window.

Good standing on renewal has a new feature. If you lived outside Portugal for six months or more in the five years before the application, the check includes the criminal record of the country or countries where you lived (article 11, paragraph 3). We explain the rules in the article on the driver’s good standing.

The taxi certificate is now enough

This is the change with the greatest practical impact in this article. Paragraph 3 of article 10 says that a valid taxi driver certificate issued by the IMT "is a sufficient valid document for working as a TVDE driver". It exempts two things: the initial TVDE training course and obtaining the TVDE driver certificate.

There are conditions. The taxi driver must meet the other requirements of article 10 and be registered on a licensed platform, with a unique registration number assigned by the IMT for identification, control and inspection purposes. So they still need the licence with group 2, good standing and the written contract with the operator.

In 2018 the equivalence was narrower. Paragraph 7 of article 10 of that law only exempted the holder of a taxi certificate from the training course; the TVDE driver certificate was still required. For taxi drivers who also want to work on the platforms, see thetaxi driver guide.

When the certificate can be seized

Paragraph 13 of article 10 requires the IMT to seize the certificate whenever it is shown that one of the requirements of subparagraphs a) to c) of paragraph 2 has ceased to be met: the licence with group 2, the training and good standing. A conviction for one of the crimes in article 11 after the certificate was issued, or the loss of group 2, are examples. The rule already existed in 2018, in paragraph 6.

The platforms also check. The platform manager may only accept drivers who meet the legal requirements and checks the validity of TVDE or taxi driver certificates through the IMT’s data sharing platform (article 20, paragraphs 5 to 7). An expired certificate therefore leads to access to the app being blocked (article 14, paragraph 2).

What about certificates issued before 2026?

Article 4, paragraph 2, of Law no. 59/2026 keeps licences issued under the 2018 law valid until they expire, and requires renewal to be applied for under the new law. The law has no provision written specifically for driver certificates, but nothing in it makes them expire before the end of the five years. It is on renewal that the new rules apply: the application six months ahead, the refresher course with full attendance and the good standing check with the foreign criminal record, where applicable.

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