For now, nothing changes
Let us start with the most important thing. The revision of the law was approved in the final global vote on 17 July 2026, but that does not mean it is already in force. Promulgation by the President of the Republic and publication in the official gazette (Diário da República) are still missing. Only then does the law take effect, and part of the new rules still depends on government orders (portarias) that will have to be published. Until then, everything stays as it is: your certification, your registration with the operator and the circulation rules are unchanged.
The Portuguese question
This is the doubt that most worries those already working, especially foreign drivers. The new law makes a functional command of Portuguese mandatory, through its verification in the training course. The natural question is: does it apply to those already certified?
The honest answer is that there is no known automatic retroactivity. The law did not settle this point in its text. According to PS member of parliament Frederico Francisco, applying the requirement to those already working will depend on regulation by government order (portaria) and, in principle, the certification of those who already hold it does not lapse. This reading rests on a single source, so it should be taken as an indication rather than a definitive rule.
Two elements of the current regime help anticipate the scenarios. The first is that the CMTVDE is valid for 5 years and renewal requires training. It is plausible that the government order (portaria) will tie the verification of Portuguese to that renewal moment, in a phased way, rather than immediately. The second is the 2018 precedent: when the original law came into force, a period of 120 days was given for drivers and operators to adapt. Nothing guarantees the model will be repeated, but it shows a tendency of the legislator towards adaptation periods rather than abrupt cut-offs. The conclusion is simple: those who are certified keep their certification; the unknown is renewal, to be clarified by government order (portaria).
Video recording, advertising and other novelties
The new law introduces the possibility of video recording inside the vehicle, but in an optional and heavily conditioned way. It is only possible with the express consent of the driver and the passenger, capturing sound is prohibited, the images are encrypted and inaccessible to the platform, the operator and the driver themselves, are kept for a maximum of 30 days with automatic deletion, and only judicial, police or administrative authorities may access them, in specific incidents. Using the images for labour control, performance assessment, price setting or advertising is prohibited. The passenger may refuse the recording without penalty.
The ban on advertising on vehicles, inside and outside, also ends, aligning the regime with that of taxis, with rules to be set by the IMT. For the driver, this is a potential additional source of income, still to be regulated.
Comodato and third-party cars
One point that requires practical attention. The new law prohibits comodato (free loan) and usufruct contracts for assigning vehicles to the activity, save for undetailed exceptions. The stated aim is to combat informal schemes for lending cars and fraudulent renting. If you drive a third-party vehicle that was lent to you free of charge, that is, under a comodato, you will have to regularise the situation, moving to an admitted form such as your own vehicle registered with the operator or a formal rental or lease. Your own vehicle registered with the operator remains allowed. Remember, too, that driving with someone else's account is fraud and was already illegal before this revision.
What to watch in the coming months
As much depends on steps that have not yet happened, the sensible thing is to follow developments. There are four milestones to track: promulgation by the President of the Republic, publication in the official gazette (Diário da República), which sets the date of entry into force, and the publication of the government orders (portarias), in particular the one defining how Portuguese applies to those already working and the one on the badge. This site's updates page follows these developments.