TVDE driver training: what the law requires of the course

The short answer

To be a TVDE driver you must pass an initial training course lasting at least 50 hours, split across six subjects, with a theory part and a practical part. Passing means two things at once: having attended at least 80 % of the hours of each module and having passed the final assessment, carried out by the IMT, Portugal’s transport authority, or by an authorised exam centre. Each renewal of the certificate, every five years, is followed by an 8-hour refresher training course.

These rules are in article 10 of the TVDE regime, in the version republished by Law no. 59/2026, in force since 1 September 2026. The course is one of the cumulative requirements for drivers: subparagraph b) of paragraph 2 requires that it has been passed, as shown by a training certificate issued by a training provider recognised by the IMT.

The six modules of the initial course

Paragraph 6 of article 10 lists the subjects the course must cover. There are six, and the last one was not on the 2018 list:

The individual vehicle driving module is the new item on the list. The other five were already in the 2018 law, which referred to "communication and interpersonal relations, legal driving rules, driving techniques, regulation of the activity, emergency situations and first aid". The new law also states expressly that the course has a theory component and a practical component, something the 2018 text did not say.

The law does not say how many hours go to each module. That split is one of the matters that paragraph 12 leaves to an implementing regulation by the government member responsible for mobility.

The 80 % rule, module by module

Paragraph 7 of article 10 makes completion of the course depend on "attendance of at least 80 % of the hours of each module". The key point is "of each module". Having 80 % attendance across the 50 hours as a whole is not enough: you must reach that percentage in every module, one by one. For every 10 hours of a module, you must be present for at least 8.

It is worth asking the training provider for the course plan with the hours of each module and keeping track of absences module by module.

Attendance is only half of passing. The other half is passing the final assessment, a 30-question test in which you must get at least 27 right. We explain the exam in detail in the article on the TVDE driver exam.

The Portuguese language check is part of the course

There is a third requirement for completing the initial training. Article 10-A, added in 2026, provides that the TVDE driver training course includes a check of functional command of the Portuguese language suited to the activity, and that passing the course also depends on that check. The content, criteria and procedures depend on a separate implementing regulation. What this means for people who came from abroad is in the article on theforeign driver.

Refresher training: 8 hours at each renewal

The TVDE driver certificate is valid for five years. To renew it, besides good standing, you must pass the refresher training course provided for in paragraph 9 of article 10. The rules differ from those of the initial course:

• it lasts eight hours;
• it is meant to update knowledge in the subjects of subparagraphs a) to e) of paragraph 6, that is, all modules except individual vehicle driving;
• it is deemed completed with "full attendance of the respective hours": there is no 20 % margin for absences and the law does not provide for a final assessment;
• it can be replaced by the refresher course for renewing the taxi driver certificate (paragraph 10), which matters to anyone holding both certificates.

The 8-hour refresher training already existed in 2018, under the name "update course". What is new is the express requirement of full attendance and the option of replacing it with the taxi refresher course. The renewal deadlines are in the article on theTVDE driver certificate.

Who can provide the training

Paragraph 11 of article 10 narrows the field: the initial and refresher courses can only be given by driving schools or training providers that are legally qualified and recognised by the IMT. Before paying for a course, check that the provider has that recognition. A training certificate issued by someone who is not recognised does not count for subparagraph b) of paragraph 2.

The 2026 law also closes the door on conflicts of interest, in three different provisions:

• training providers cannot at the same time act as TVDE operators (article 10, paragraph 11);
• a TVDE operator cannot own, finance or have a direct or indirect interest in any business relating to TVDE driver training providers (article 2, paragraph 9);
• the electronic platform manager is subject to an identical ban regarding TVDE driver training providers (article 20, paragraph 11).

None of these bans existed in 2018. For anyone looking for a course, the practical upshot is simple: be wary of packages in which the company that will hire you as a driver is also the one giving you the training.

What still depends on an implementing regulation

The law sets the framework but leaves the details to regulation. Paragraph 12 of article 10 requires an implementing regulation to govern:

• the split of the hours of the initial and refresher courses across the modules, and how the courses are organised and run;
• the teaching, technical and material requirements of the training and the qualifications of trainers and teaching coordinators;
• the requirements and procedures for recognising training providers, and the suspension or revocation of that recognition;
• the procedures for the final assessment, the authorisation of exam centres, the issuing of training certificates and reporting to the IMT.

On top of these comes the implementing regulation on the Portuguese language check, provided for in article 10-A. At the time of this update none of these regulations has been published. The new law has no specific transitional rule for training, so it does not say what happens to courses running while the regulations are pending. If you are halfway through a course, ask the training provider how it is applying the new rules. Follow the list ofmissing implementing regulations.

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