š¤ š Buying/selling a car between private individuals: post-purchase/sale legal obligations in Portugal
- Claire Vous Aide
- Jan 10
- 2 min read
Buying and/or selling cars between private individuals is commonplace. It's a quick and, in some cases, cheaper way of acquiring a second-hand vehicle or selling a car you no longer need.
š Transfer of vehicle ownership š
After the purchase/sale, the buyer and seller must go to the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) or an ACP (AutomĆ³vel Club de Portugal) office to transfer ownership of the vehicle.
š§ The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) is a public institute under the indirect administration of the State, with administrative autonomy and competent throughout the national territory. It is placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. The IRN was created in 2007 , succeeding the General Directorate of Registries and Notaries. The IRN accompanies the life cycle of citizens, from birth to death, and that of companies, from creation to disappearance . If you need legal proof for an important event in your life, such as birth, marriage, obtaining nationality, ownership of land or a car, the IRN issues a registration certificate and is the only competent entity to do so . šµš¹ The IRN has more than 430 registration offices spread throughout the Portuguese territory and the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
To formalize the sale, the buyer and the seller must complete the " Modelo Ćnico/Requerimento de Registo AutomĆ³vel " š
the seller must complete and sign the document as a passive subject ,
the buyer must complete the same document and sign it as the active subject .
š This registration must be carried out within 60 days of the purchase or sale of cars between private individuals.
Once the request has been made, you will receive a receipt ( guia or comprovativo ) valid for 1 month . ā ļø The seller must keep a copy of the registration form.
š§ When buying or selling a car between private individuals, the seller is not legally obliged to cover repairs in the event of a future breakdown for a certain period - known as the warranty. This obligation only exists when the transaction is carried out through a professional seller. However, if the car is still under statutory warranty, the warranty is transferred and remains valid until the expiry of the offer period from the date of first purchase.
š£ Vehicle insurance šØ
š š½ Car insurance is not transferable from the seller to the buyer.
For the buyer:
Take out car insurance that is tailored to your needs and your new car. The ASF (Autoridade de SupervisĆ£o de Seguros e Fundos de PensƵes ) website allows you to find out, from the vehicle's registration plate, whether it is insured and with which insurer.
For the seller:
For safety, hand over the car only after the buyer has presented the insurance certificate . If you own another car, you can transfer your insurance policy to it.
š” As a reminder - in Portugal, the display of the car insurance sticker on the vehicle's windshield is no longer mandatory since July 2023 , according to a law published in the DiĆ”rio da RepĆŗblica, which also removes the associated fines. Law No. 32/2023
š¤³š½ Electronic proof of insurance (e.g. presented from a smartphone) is sufficient.
