Drivers License Exchange - Non-EU Citizens

@old-bloke 

Outstanding and thank you!

I live in the US and I hope that the Motor Vehicle Administration clerk has some idea of how to help with this. I'm wondering if any Americans have found the magic wording that would help their MVA clerks provide the necessary certification?

Thanks again....

@old-bloke I just exchanged my US driver's license last month. I needed to get a DMV driving record then sent to Secretary of State for an Apostille. The Secretary of State wanted the DMV report notarized but DMV in Oregon did not notorize so a friend spent hours on phone to get a certification that satisfied the state. The medical exam is just questions and answer questions, be careful for they look for conditions and better to be cautious. The documents are uploaded on IMT website then they will contact you with a date for an appointment. Go to IMT to se what ID documents you will need. The normal driver's license is a different class than US so look up what class driver's license you will need. You do not need a psych exam for normal driver's license for I believe it is for trucks. My appointment came in a few months where my wife's appointment is for June. It just depends on luck. Then you give up your driver's license and the issue you a paper license on letter size paper with your photo, the real license will come within 6 months. Oh, be prepared to spend a day for the appointment. We traveled to Lisbon and waited a few hours even though we had an appointment time. Good luck.

@thunderduck 

Great!

Many thanks.

@thunderduck 

Obrigado!

@thunderduck 

This may be a silly question.... but is the "driving abstract" the same thing as a "driving record" from the Motor Vehicle Administration (in the US?).  

If so, would I be correct in thinking that I would obtain the driving record, make a statement that it was the official driving record on the document, and get an Apostille?

Where I get confused is that some of the terms on the Official PT Web Sites don't map to terms that are used domestically.  I definitely do not want to discover I'm missing a step after I arrive in Portugal.

So, I guess I would need 2 official documents:

Photo Copy of my driver's license, Apostille

Driving Record, Apostille

Does that sound correct?

Thanks again

@cindyb 

Thank you Cindy!  

I live just outside of DC and will ping the Consulate there to see if they offer the service, too....and will report if they offer that service as well.

To get your license certified, did you send a photo copy of your licensee to the Consulate or the actual license itself? Also, are you going to get a duplicate license and surrender it or are you going to surrender your only copy of your license?

Safe travels!

Update

Having reviewed the Washington DC's Embassy web site, I think the answer is that they certify a number of different documents, just not the Driver's license.  If anyone is interested about what they do certify, here is the link:

https://washingtondc.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/consular-services/consular-services/legalization-of-foreign-documents

Lowell

@cindyb Same happened to me! Sent with UPS ($100 round trip!), they literally sent everything back saying $0.49 was missing! They had updated the fees on the link in their menu, but not updated the link to their new fees on the page specific to Driver's Licenses, and literally had no remorse costing me $100 for their own mistake.

I called them to call them out, they lied telling me that the website on their end was perfectly up to date. A couple hours after the call, they updated the website.  Maddening. Now in the process of sending everything back to them *again*, hopefully before the new month so they don't end up doing the same bs.

Not even sure if this certificate is even necessary since the DMV record already has a certified stamp, but at this point, I'm learning that in Portugal one is better safe than sorry. Total cost with shipping will have been approximately $300 so far (can't use regular mail because CTT is very unreliable in our area, so have to use UPS).

@cindyb Dear Cindy B,  I am from San Francisco as well, and having the most difficult time getting my driving record apostilled in Sac, while living in PT.  Did you process worked out?  Any tips?  Thx!