Figure translates into 200 cars being identified per day in 2025
Approximately 73,000 vehicles on national highways were flagged by Portugal’s GNR police last year for lacking the required vehicle inspection certificate, known as Inspeção Perõdica Obrigatlán (IPO) in Portuguese (similar to a 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 23rd, 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’.
Dissecting 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 cars must have their first necessary inspection (IPO) four years after they are originally registered. After that, they must be inspected every two years until they are eight years old, at which point they must be inspected annually. Two years after registration, and then every year after that, light commercial vehicles must undergo an inspection.
Source: Portugalresident.com
