🇵🇹 Portugal — HGV driving restrictions 2026
In Portugal, restrictions mainly target two situations: the transport of dangerous goods, regulated on several structures and national roads, and congestion at the approaches to Lisbon and Porto on Monday mornings. Added to this are strict time windows in the heart of the two major cities. Here are the details, road by road.
Tolls
Checked on
Some motorways have no barriers: the crossing is read at a gantry. Without a tag, the number plate must be linked in advance to a bank card or a prepaid card.
Quick answers
Checked on · Check for temporary orders before you set off.
1. Dangerous goods transport (ADR)
Heavy goods vehicles transporting dangerous goods with a GVW exceeding 3.5 t are subject to two distinct regimes.
🛢️Tankers: all day on Sundays and public holidays. This is the heaviest rule and it covers the entire national public road network: heavy vehicles carrying dangerous goods in tanks may not run from 00:00 to 24:00 on Sundays and national public holidays. One exception, and only one: it does not apply when the holiday falls on a Saturday or a Monday.
🚫Permanent ban. All year round in the Gardunha, Barração and Ramela tunnels (A23). On the 25 de Abril bridge and its northern viaduct, traffic is not banned outright: it is allowed between 02:00 and 05:00, and only then.
⏰Periodic ban. On Fridays, Sundays, public holidays and the eve of public holidays, from 18:00 to 21:00, on the nine national road sections listed below. For tankers, this road-section ban only applies on Fridays and on the eve of holidays — their Sundays and holidays are already covered by the rule above.
Click to expand the full list of sections subject to the 18:00–21:00 ban:
Show banned sections (Friday/Sunday/public holiday, 18:00–21:00) ▾
EN6 — between Lisbon and Cascais.
EN10 — between Infantado and Vila Franca de Xira.
EN14 — between Maia and Braga.
IC1 — between Coimbrões and Miramar.
EN209 — between Porto and Gondomar.
EN1 — between Carvalhos and Vila Nova de Gaia (Santo Ovídio).
EN101 — between Braga and Vila Verde.
IC4 (EN125) — between São João da Venda and Faro.
EN125 — between Faro and Olhão.
The 2019 revision removed several roads previously covered — EN15, EN105, EN13, EN222, IC2 (EN1) between Alenquer and Carvalhos, and the Algarve stretches of the EN125 other than Faro–Olhão. They are no longer on the list in force.
Furthermore, the access roads to Lisbon and Porto are closed to dangerous goods transport every Monday from 07:00 to 10:00, except in July and August:
Show access roads banned on Mondays 07:00–10:00 (except July/August) ▾
Towards Lisbon
A1 — Alverca → Lisbon.
A5 — CREL → Lisbon.
A8 — Loures → Lisbon.
IC19 — CREL → Lisbon.
IC22 — A9 link to Odivelas → Lisbon.
EN6 — Cascais → Lisbon.
EN10 — Vila Franca de Xira → Alverca.
Towards Porto
A3 — IC24 → Porto.
A4 — A3 → Matosinhos.
A20 — Freixo bridge → A3.
A28 — Arrábida bridge → A4.
EN13 — Moreira → Porto.
EN209 — Gondomar → Porto.
EN222 — Avintes → Porto.
The ban applies only in the inbound direction.
2. Access to Lisbon and Porto on Monday mornings
To reduce start-of-week congestion, the access roads to both major cities are closed to dangerous goods transport every Monday from 07:00 to 10:00, except in July and August.
The roads concerned (A1, A2, A5, A8, IC19, EN6, EN10 towards Lisbon; A3, A4, EN13, EN105, IC1, EN209, EN222 towards Porto) are detailed in the accordion in section 1.
3. Exemptions
Certain transports are exempt from the above bans:
- Transport to health centres, public or private.
- Transport for the armed forces and the police.
- Transport to and from seaports.
- Transport for fuel supply to airports and seaports.
⚠️These exemptions do not apply to the Gardunha, Barração and Ramela tunnels, nor to the 25 de Abril Bridge: the ban there remains total.
4. Special authorisations
The general directorate for road traffic may grant case-by-case derogations for vehicles:
- carrying out loading operations during the ban periods, when the production or storage unit where the vehicle is loaded is only served by a banned road, and that road only gives access to another banned road;
- transporting dangerous goods essential to the continuous operation of production units.
📨Applications must be addressed to the Direcção Geral de Viação.
📞Phone: (+351 21) 791 20 00.
5. Public holidays 2026
These dates count as public holidays for ADR bans (and their eves trigger the 18:00–21:00 window).
1 January — New Year's Day
3 April — Good Friday
5 April — Easter
25 April — Freedom Day
1 May — Labour Day
4 June — Corpus Christi
10 June — National Day
15 August — Assumption
5 October — Republic Day
1 November — All Saints' Day
1 December — Restoration of Independence
8 December — Immaculate Conception
25 December — Christmas Day
6. Urban restrictions (Lisbon / Porto)
Independently of the ADR rules, the city centres of Lisbon and Porto have their own time windows. Click on a city to expand the details:
Lisbon ▾
Transit, loading and unloading of HGVs over 2.6 t GVW are banned every day from 08:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00 in a zone delimited by road signs.
In pedestrian zones, loading and unloading are banned from 08:00 to 10:00 and from 11:30 to 19:00.
Porto ▾
Transit, loading and unloading of goods HGVs are banned from 14:00 to 19:00 in the inner ring road sector, from Ponte da Arrábida to Bessa Leite, namely:
Rua António Bessa Leite, Rua Pedro Hispano, Rua da Constituição, Rua Cinco de Outubro, Rua Domingos Sequeira, Rua Quinta Amarela, Rua Egas Moniz, Rua Damião de Góis, Rua João Pedro Ribeiro, Praça Marquês de Pombal, Rua Latino Coelho, Praça Rainha Amélia, Rua Nova de Crispim, Avenida Fernão de Magalhães, Campo 24 de Agosto, Rua Duque de Saldanha, Alameda Padre Baltazar Guedes, Avenida Gustavo Eiffel, Túnel da Ribeira, Rua do Infante Henrique, Rua Nova da Alfândega, Rua de Monchique, Travessa das Pedras, Alameda Basílio Teles, Travessa do Bicalho and Rua do Ouro.
7. Good to know
☢️Dangerous goods: the core of Portuguese regulations. Remember the double constraint — permanent ban (A23, 25 de Abril Bridge) and the 18:00–21:00 window on Fridays, Sundays, public holidays and eves of public holidays.
🏙️City access: approaches to Lisbon and Porto are closed to ADR on Mondays from 07:00 to 10:00, except in July and August.
📦Urban deliveries: in Lisbon, banned time slots from 08:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00 for vehicles over 2.6 t; in Porto, from 14:00 to 19:00 in the city centre.
📞Special authorisation: Direcção Geral de Viação, (+351 21) 791 20 00.
Alcohol and drugs
Drugs : zero tolerance · Criminal threshold : 1,2 g/L of blood
ANSR · Competent authority · Checked on August 17, 2026
Compare the limits of every country
Official sources
The links below lead to the authorities and the legal texts that prevail. They are in the language of the country.
-
Portaria n.º 281/2019, de 30 de agosto — restrições à circulação rodoviária de veículos pesados que transportem mercadorias perigosas (alterada pela Portaria n.º 163/2021)
Diário da República · Regulatory text · Text dated August 30, 2019 · pt
-
Driving bans
europe-camions.com · Unofficial source, to be cross-checked · fr
-
Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes
IMT · Competent authority · pt
Before a sensitive journey
Bans may be changed temporarily because of the weather, roadworks, events, environmental measures or local decisions. This page provides a general overview and does not replace checking the official source before a sensitive journey. It covers the national rules and the main routes. Local bans — city centres, mountain passes, minor roads, often “except for access” — come from municipal and prefectural orders: far too many to list here, and to be checked on the road signs or on a truck GPS.
Neighbouring countries and related routes
🛠 Drive with peace of mind, wherever you are in Europe
Restrictions vary from country to country, but your driving and rest times (561/2006) are the same everywhere. TruckerMaster reads your driver card on your phone, breaks down each day and spots any violations — so you can focus on the road.
Analyse my card for free →🚛 Free during the beta
Download free on AndroidAndroid smartphone · No company account · Free during the beta