When does the new TVDE law take effect?

The new TVDE law took effect on 1 September 2026. It is Law no. 59/2026 of 25 August, published in the official gazette on that date, amending Law no. 45/2018 for the first time. Article 7 sets entry into force on the first day of the month following publication, that is, 1 September 2026, and this is the date officially recorded by the electronic official gazette.

The timetable, step by step

• 17 July 2026: approved in the final overall vote in parliament.
• 18 August 2026: signed into law by the President of the Republic, António José Seguro.
• 25 August 2026: published in the official gazette as Law no. 59/2026.
• 1 September 2026: entry into force.
• Next: adaptation deadlines and implementing regulations.

Being in force is not the same as being enforceable yet

This is where most of the confusion comes from, and the two things are worth separating. The law is in force: that means the rules which depend on nothing else began to apply on 1 September. But an important part of the text depends on implementing regulations that have not yet been published, and another part has its own adaptation deadlines. No driver has to have everything different on 1 September.

The deadlines expressly set out in the new law

These are the deadlines set in Article 4 of the body of Law no. 59/2026, and they are not disputed by anyone. The dates are those the official gazette itself associates with the text.

The 60 and 120 day deadlines: what is said and what is at stake

In many places, including in the sector's own communications, you will find references to a transitional regime with two deadlines counted from entry into force: 60 days for platform operators to bring their activity into line, which would mean the end of October 2026, and 120 days for TVDE operators and drivers, which would mean the end of December 2026, with a possible extension of a further 180 days by reasoned decision of the IMT. Those deadlines appear in Article 32 of the regime republished in the annex.

The point worth knowing is this: Article 32 of the annex is the original 2018 article and does not appear either in the list of articles amended or in the list of articles added by Law no. 59/2026. APTAD has publicly described the situation as a serious drafting error and argued that, if Article 7 of the new law prevails, the only transitional regime protecting operators and drivers disappears. As at the date of this update there is no corrigendum and no official clarification from the IMT.

What already applies since 1 September

The rules that depend on no further regulation began to apply on that date: the possibility for taxis to operate as TVDE and the equivalence of the taxi driver certificate, the extension of the maximum vehicle age to 10 years and 12 for electric vehicles, the end of the cap on dynamic pricing, advertising allowed on vehicles under the taxi rules, the ban on loan-for-use and usufruct with the owner-driver exception, the 5 % contribution from platforms, the new penalty regime and the extension of the good repute requirement to convictions abroad.

What still awaits implementing regulations

The following still depend on regulation, and as at 1 September none of these had been published: the model, technical characteristics and fee for the new badge; the organisation of the courses, the requirements for training bodies and the procedures for the final assessment; the content and criteria for verifying functional command of Portuguese; and the technical definition of the IMT data-sharing platform. Without these acts, the corresponding rules cannot be applied in practice.

And the licences and certificates that already exist?

They remain valid until their own expiry date. It is on renewal that the new rules begin to apply, including, for drivers, the verification of functional command of Portuguese built into the training course and, for anyone who has lived outside Portugal for six months or more in the last five years, a criminal record certificate from their country of residence. If you already drive, see what changes in the guide for current drivers.

Frequently asked questions