Last year saw Portugal’s GNR police flag around 73,000 cars circulating on national roads without their obligatory vehicle inspection certificate – Inspeção Periódica Obrigatória (IPO) in Portuguese (equivalent to an MOT in the UK).
The figures round out at a total of around 200 cars identified per day – a quarter of them in the districts of Lisbon and Porto.
In a statement, the GNR adds that this year, up until March 23, 17,000 vehicles had already been stopped, and found not to have a valid certificate – which means drivers are unaware of the road worthiness of their vehicles: they could be putting their own and others’ safety at risk, aside from ‘breaking the law’.
Breaking the numbers down into districts, Porto is the place where most drivers are not worrying about their inspection certificates (over 10,200 were flagged in 2025), followed by Lisbon (8,117), Braga (6,725), Aveiro (6,392), Setúbal (5,732) and Faro (5,485).
In Portugal, light passenger vehicles require their first mandatory inspection (IPO) four years after initial registration, then every two years until they are eight years old, after which annual inspections are mandatory. Light commercial vehicles require an inspection two years after registration, then annually.
