Motorcycle Insurance in Portugal: Licence, Registration and What the Insurance Pays

30 min read

The coast road along the Serra da Arrábida, the bends of the Douro valley, mild winters in which the season hardly ends: once you live in Portugal, the idea of bringing your motorcycle over from home, or buying a scooter or small motorbike here for trips into the village, comes quickly. Sooner or later, at the first police check or the first time the bike tips over, three questions come up: is my driving licence enough, how long can the foreign plates stay on, and what does the insurance pay if I come off myself?

The answers are spread across four sets of rules: the law on compulsory motor insurance (DL 291/2007), the Highway Code (Código da Estrada), driving licence law and the vehicle registration tax law (ISV). On top of that come the insurers’ policy conditions. We have read the current versions of the laws and the public conditions of Fidelidade, Generali Tranquilidade and Ok! teleseguros.

First, the most important point about motorcycle insurance in Portugal: compulsory insurance protects other people, not you. Your own injuries, your motorcycle, your helmet and your riding suit are only covered by optional add-ons, and it is precisely with these add-ons that the insurers differ considerably.

What counts as a motorcycle in Portugal

The Código da Estrada distinguishes two groups. A ciclomotor is a two- or three-wheeled vehicle with a top speed of no more than 45 km/h, for two-wheelers with no more than 4 kW and, with a combustion engine, no more than 50 cm³ (Article 107). A two-wheeler above that is a motociclo, a three-wheeler a triciclo. For the licence categories, engine size and power are what count within motorcycles: A1 up to 125 cm³ and 11 kW, above that A2 and A.

For insurance, the distinction hardly matters. Since the amendment by DL 26/2025, the compulsory insurance law applies to every motor vehicle with a design top speed above 25 km/h (Article 1.º-A DL 291/2007). The 50 cc scooter, the 125 and the big tourer therefore all need third-party liability insurance before they are allowed on the road. E-scooters and other light electric vehicles have their own thresholds, which we explain in our article on compulsory insurance for electric scooters.

Two traffic rules riders from abroad should know

• Helmet for rider and passenger: Article 82 requires an officially approved helmet that fits properly and is fastened (devidamente ajustado e apertado), for a scooter just as for a motorcycle. Fine: €120 to €600. The article contains no obligation to wear gloves or protective clothing.
• Bus lanes: under Article 77 paragraph 3, in the version of 2025, motorcycles and motorised tricycles may use bus lanes.

Which licence for which motorcycle

Portugal uses the same categories as other EU countries: AM for the ciclomotor, A1, A2 and A. According to the road authority IMT, these minimum ages apply: for the moped licence from 16, or from 14 after special training (in each case with parental consent), A1 from 16 (under 18 with parental consent), A2 from 18, and A from 24, or from 20 after two years of A2.

Riding a 125 on a car licence

The Portuguese driving licence regulation (Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir, annex to DL 138/2012) extends category B: holders may ride vehicles of categories AM and A1 “se o titular for maior de 25 anos” (the IMT says “igual ou superior a 25 anos”, so from the age of 25), or if they are younger and hold category AM or a moped licence (Article 3 paragraph 4 d). No riding lessons or test are required for this, and A1 is not entered on the licence under this extension (paragraph 5). The IMT confirms the rule on its page on motorcycle licences.

The regulation refers to licences issued for its own categories, in other words Portuguese licences. We have not found any provision that expressly extends the rule to a category B licence from another EU country. If you want to ride a 125 in Portugal on such a licence, you should not rely on it. The safe route is to exchange it for a Portuguese licence, after which the rule applies according to its wording, or to obtain category A1 in its own right. According to the IMT, holders of category B can take the A1 test without enrolling at a driving school. How the exchange works is explained in our article on exchanging a foreign driving licence in Portugal.

Germany’s B196 does not apply in Portugal

If you hold a German licence, you may have had code 196 added in recent years. It requires a minimum age of 25, five years of category B and rider training, and entitles you to ride motorcycles of up to 125 cm³ and 11 kW. Section 6b paragraph 1 of the German Driving Licence Regulation (FeV), however, states expressly: “Die Berechtigung nach Satz 1 gilt nur im Inland”, the entitlement only applies within Germany. In Portugal, B196 is therefore not a motorcycle licence.

Riding in Portugal on plates from another EU country

As long as you are only a visitor, plates from another EU country are not a problem. Under Article 30 of the ISV Code (Código do Imposto sobre Veículos), a vehicle registered in another EU country may stay in the country tax-free for up to six months in any twelve. This temporary admission (admissão temporária) does, however, require the vehicle to be registered to a person who is not habitually resident in Portugal. This rule applies to vehicles registered in another EU country. For plates from outside the EU, for example from the UK, other customs rules apply; ask us or customs before you bring the motorcycle.

That changes when you move. Under paragraph 6, you count as resident if you habitually stay in Portugal for 185 days or more in a calendar year. Residents may only use a vehicle with foreign plates in the special cases set out in law and with the prior authorisation of customs (paragraph 5). A general grace period of 180 days from taking up residence, as is often quoted, is not in the law. What counts are the deadlines for the customs declaration in the next section.

And your insurance from home?

For compulsory insurance, what counts is the country that issued the plates (Article 3 paragraph 1 c DL 291/2007). For insurance purposes, a motorcycle with plates from another EU country is treated as based in that country, and its liability cover applies in Portugal through the Green Card system. That does not, however, answer the tax and registration question. Also check in your existing policy whether it requires you to live in the country of registration, or the motorcycle to be kept there; some policies link the premium to this.

Registering a motorcycle in Portugal: four stages

The route to Portuguese plates (the customs procedure is described on gov.pt) is the same as for a car or a motorhome, only much cheaper. For a motorcycle, the registration tax depends on engine size alone.

Riding a motorcycle that is not registered can cost you €600 to €3,000 under Article 117 paragraph 8 of the Código da Estrada, or €300 to €1,500 for a ciclomotor.

What ISV costs for a motorcycle

Sources: Código do ISV Article 10 and Código do IUC Article 13, each in the version in force since 1 January 2024. For used motorcycles with an EU registration, the ISV is reduced by 10 to 80 per cent depending on age (Article 11, Table D). Table C starts at 120 cm³; it sets no amount for smaller motorcycles and scooters.

The exemption when you move

If you move your residence to Portugal, you can bring the motorcycle with you tax-free under the conditions of Articles 58 to 61, among them at least six months of residence in the country you are leaving and at least six months of ownership before the move. The exemption applies to vehicles in general, so to motorcycles too, and also if you move from outside the EU, for example from the UK. Which documents customs asks for, and why you may then neither sell, rent out nor lend the vehicle for twelve months from the assignment of the Portuguese plates, is explained in detail in our article on motorhomes in Portugal.

Insuring before the plates arrive

Weeks often pass between arrival and the Portuguese plates. As long as the foreign plates are on the motorcycle, it is treated for insurance purposes as based in the country of registration; so do not cancel your existing liability insurance before the re-registration. For a vehicle brought to Portugal from another EU country, Article 5 DL 291/2007 also allows the risk to be located in Portugal, at the choice of the person required to insure the vehicle, for 30 days from acceptance of delivery by the buyer, for example when buying a motorcycle in another EU country. Whether a Portuguese insurer will cover your motorcycle before it has its plates is something we clarify in the quote.

Annual vehicle tax IUC and roadworthiness tests

Motorcycles, scooters, trikes and quads fall into category E for the annual vehicle tax IUC (Article 2 paragraph 1 e of the Código do IUC). The tax depends on engine size and year of registration and, at €6.19 to €138.15 a year, is low (table above). Until now, it has been due in the month of first registration. The payment calendar changes from 2027; what that means is explained in our article on the new IUC payment calendar.

No periodic roadworthiness test

A regular roadworthiness test for motorcycles above 125 cm³ was announced in Portugal for years and postponed again and again. Since the law Lei 25/2025 of 12 March 2025 (Diário da República no. 50/2025), which amended the inspection rules, motorcycles, trikes and quads have been exempt from periodic inspection; the IMT website has not yet been updated on this point. What remains is the inspection for registration, the inspection after a conversion or an accident repair, and the extraordinary inspection the authorities can order (Article 116 Código da Estrada).

Compulsory motorcycle insurance in Portugal: who is protected and who is not

Compulsory motor liability insurance (seguro obrigatório de responsabilidade civil automóvel) pays for the damage you cause to others with your motorcycle. Since March 2025, the minimum sums have been the same for all vehicles: €6,450,000 per accident for injury to persons and €1,300,000 per accident for damage to property (Article 12 DL 291/2007). Which additional cover makes sense for a car is shown on our page on motor insurance in Portugal; the same building blocks exist for motorcycles.

What it does not cover is set out in Article 14:

• The rider: bodily injury to the rider who caused the accident is excluded (paragraph 1). With motorcycles this is the most common case, because many accidents involve no one else.
• Your own motorcycle: damage to the insured vehicle is excluded (paragraph 4 a).
• Family members: excluded is damage to property of the spouse, relatives in the direct line and adopted children of the rider, the policyholder and other insured persons, and of relatives and in-laws up to the third degree if they live with or are supported by these persons (paragraph 2 e). If your passenger is your spouse, your liability insurance will therefore not pay for their helmet or riding suit. Bodily injury is not affected by this exclusion.
• The passenger: paragraph 1 only names the exclusion for bodily injury for the rider. Damage to a passenger’s property is excluded if the passenger was carried in breach of the rules of the Highway Code (paragraph 2 g).
• Races and practice sessions: damage at sporting events and their official practice sessions is excluded, unless there is separate organiser’s insurance (paragraph 4 e).

A parked motorcycle must be insured too

The obligation to insure does not depend on whether you ride: the only motorcycle exempt is one that has been temporarily or permanently taken off the road in an official procedure (Article 4 paragraph 4 b). Under Article 1.º-A paragraph 3, a vehicle also counts as “em circulação” when it is stationary. If you simply cancel the insurance in winter and put the motorcycle in the garage, you are therefore not on the safe side.

What happens without insurance

In addition to the fine of €500 to €2,500 for motorcycles and €250 to €1,250 for a 50 cc scooter (Article 150 Código da Estrada), the vehicle is seized (Article 162). After an accident, it stays seized until the damage has been paid for or security has been provided in the amount of the minimum sum. The injured parties are paid by the guarantee fund, the Fundo de Garantia Automóvel, which reclaims the money from the keeper, the owner and the rider, who are jointly liable for it (Article 54 paragraph 3 DL 291/2007).

Optional add-ons: falls, theft, helmet and riding gear, rider accident cover

Anything beyond the compulsory cover is put together from optional add-ons (coberturas facultativas). We have read three sets of conditions that expressly apply to motorcycles: Fidelidade Liber 3G (June 2026), Generali Tranquilidade Automóvel (June 2026) and Ok! teleseguros (August 2026).

Sources: Fidelidade Liber 3G Condições Gerais e Especiais AU053 (06/2026), Generali Tranquilidade Condições Gerais Automóvel Mod. 105.041 (06/2026), Ok! teleseguros Condições Gerais e Especiais 004 (08/2026). Which add-ons apply, and with which sums, is stated in the condições particulares of your policy.

Coming off: which term fits?

None of the three sets of conditions has a separate term for a fall (queda). What is covered is a crash into a fixed object (choque), collision with a moving object (colisão) and capotamento, which Fidelidade describes as an accident “em que o veículo perca a sua posição normal e não resulte de Choque ou Colisão”, in which the vehicle loses its normal position without a crash or collision. By its wording, the typical fall in a bend fits there. Even so, ask before you sign whether your insurer reads it the same way, and get it confirmed. With Generali, motorcycles are not covered by the variant for light cars and vans (veículos ligeiros) but by the variant for all other vehicles, with glass breakage.

Check the exclusions of the own damage cover too. Generali excludes there, among other things, mere scratches and scrapes (riscos, raspões), damage caused by mud, tar or road building material, journeys in places regarded as not passable for the vehicle, and damage caused by poor roads and tracks if this does not involve a crash, collision or overturning. If you like riding on gravel and farm tracks, raise this before you sign.

Helmet and riding suit: two solutions, many limits

Generali has an add-on for motorcycles only, Danos em fatos e capacetes. It covers the jacket, trousers, gloves and boots, “especificamente concebidos para a proteção dos motociclistas”, and the insured person’s helmet, up to the sum stated in the policy. It only pays if the own damage add-on has also been taken out and the damage results from a crash, collision or overturning covered there in which the motorcycle was also damaged. If the rider is not the policyholder or the named main rider, the excess doubles. Exclusions include:

• the passenger’s helmet and clothing,
• protectors that are not built into the clothing, such as back protectors or additional carbon or Kevlar protection, and heated vests,
• electronics added to the helmet afterwards, such as an intercom,
• the disappearance of the helmet or clothing.

With Ok! teleseguros, Danos no capacete only covers the rider’s helmet, once per policy year, and only if the damage falls under another add-on you have also taken out: own damage, theft, fire, natural events or vandalism. Damage to the visor alone is excluded. With Ok!, a helmet claim does not affect your no-claims discount. Fidelidade Liber 3G has no separate add-on for helmet or clothing. Check in your policy whether such an add-on is included, and with what sum.

Theft: no lock requirement in the conditions

Neither Fidelidade nor Generali requires a particular lock, a garage or an immobiliser in their theft conditions. Such requirements can, however, appear in the condições particulares, especially for expensive motorcycles. With Generali, you must report the theft as soon as possible; if the motorcycle is not found, the insurer pays 60 days after the report. Theft by people who live with you or depend on you financially is excluded.

Accident cover for rider and passenger

Because compulsory insurance does not protect the rider who caused the accident, rider accident cover is the most important add-on for a motorcycle. All three insurers offer it, some for the rider only, some for all passengers. All three exclude accidents in which the prescribed helmet was not worn. Fidelidade in the Proteção Vital do Condutor add-on and Ok! in all three of its accident add-ons word this as a “presunção inelidível”, an irrebuttable presumption that the missing helmet caused or worsened the injury. Proof to the contrary is then not possible.

Breakdown assistance and long tours

Breakdown and travel assistance (assistência em viagem) is often narrower for motorcycles than for cars. In the conditions of Ok! teleseguros, several assistance benefits carry the sentence “Esta garantia não é válida para motociclos, ciclomotores, triciclos ou quadriciclos”, including help with lost or locked-in keys. So read the list of assistance benefits before you sign, and mark what is excluded for motorcycles. We have collected the insurers’ phone numbers on our page on assistance contact numbers in Portugal.

If you spend two or three months touring Europe in summer, you should know the rule for trips abroad: with all three insurers we reviewed, the assistance benefits are suspended if the insured vehicle stays abroad for more than 60 days, for as long as it remains there. With all three, this also applies to the insured persons: their assistance benefits are suspended while they are abroad for more than 60 consecutive days, and they require residence in Portugal. For liability cover abroad, the Green Card applies.

Winter break, selling and buying second-hand

We have not found a seasonal registration in Portuguese law, and none of the three sets of conditions contains a rule under which a motorcycle policy is suspended for the winter. The only suspension that Generali and Fidelidade provide for in their general conditions applies after a sale: the contract can be suspended until a replacement vehicle is found, for no more than 120 days (clause 19 in each case). If no new vehicle arrives in that time, the contract counts as ended from the start of the suspension.

Take care with the no-claims discount: Fidelidade no longer takes your claims history into account after a break of more than 180 days. If you deregister the motorcycle and cancel the contract, you may later start again without a discount. On request, your previous insurer must issue a certificate of the claims of the last five years within 15 days; foreign certificates may be taken into account (Article 20 DL 291/2007). So bring the no-claims certificate from your previous insurer with you. Fidelidade only counts the history with vehicles of an equivalent category; a claims-free car policy therefore does not automatically earn your motorcycle a discount there. Ask about it expressly when you request a quote. More on the discount when you switch is in our guide to the best car insurance in Portugal for expats.

Buying and selling

When you sell, the insurance does not pass to the buyer. The seller’s contract ends at midnight on the day of the sale, and the seller must inform the insurer in writing within 24 hours (Article 21). If you buy a used motorcycle in Portugal, you need your own policy from handover, including for the ride home. How the change of ownership works at the registry is explained in our article on changing the registration of vehicle ownership.

Two examples: a 125 on a car licence and a move with a tourer

The two cases below are assumed and show how the rules work together.

Six mistakes with motorcycles and insurance in Portugal

These six mistakes are why a claim pays out less than expected, or why dealing with the authorities becomes expensive.

Frequently asked questions

Answers to typical questions about registering and insuring motorcycles, motorbikes and scooters in Portugal.

Our advice as an independent broker

Sort out your licence and the registration first, then the insurance. With the insurance, what matters is not the price of the liability cover but what you are left with after a fall: accident cover for rider and passenger, own damage and riding gear. This is exactly where the insurers differ, and the differences are in the conditions, not in the brochure.

As an independent insurance broker not tied to any company, we obtain quotes from several Portuguese insurers for you, compare the add-ons for your motorcycle and explain the conditions to you in English. If you have a claim, we support you in English in dealing with the insurer. You will find more on motor insurance on our page on car insurance in Portugal.

As of: 29 October 2026. This article reflects the information available on that date and does not replace individual advice or legal advice. It is based on DL 291/2007 as amended by DL 26/2025, the Código da Estrada as amended by Lei 24/2025, the Regulamento da Habilitação Legal para Conduzir (DL 138/2012), the Código do ISV and the Código do IUC in the versions in force since 1 January 2024, Lei 25/2025, the information published by the IMT and, for Germany, Section 6b of the German Driving Licence Regulation (FeV). On the insurers: Fidelidade Liber 3G Condições Gerais e Especiais AU053 (06/2026), Generali Tranquilidade Condições Gerais Automóvel Mod. 105.041 (06/2026) and Ok! teleseguros Condições Gerais e Especiais 004 (08/2026). The examples are assumed. Only the conditions and condições particulares of your own contract are binding.