The national SINCRO network has 123 speed control sites. 100 measure speed at one point and 23 measure average speed over a stretch. Every SINCRO site is signposted in advance, and ANSR publishes the locations and shares them with Waze. GNR and PSP police also use mobile radars, sometimes in unmarked cars, and these do not have to be signposted.
Warned by a sign
Fixed speed camera, Average speed camera
Not always warned
Mobile camera, Unmarked camera car
Real photos, with where each one was taken and who took it.
Radar de velocidade instantânea (SINCRO)
Catches: Speeding at a single point. Cabins can be on either side of the road.
Sign H43 stands a few metres before the camera. When the network started, 30 radars were moved at random among 50 cabins, and drivers could not tell which cabins held one. Treat every cabin as active.
Radar de velocidade média (SINCRO)
Catches: An average speed above the limit between two points.
Sign H42 marks the start of the controlled stretch. The system records your plate and the time at each end.
Radar móvel
Catches: Speeding, at changing locations chosen for heavy traffic or repeated speeding.
Used by the GNR and PSP police. The law does not require them to be signposted, and they can be well disguised.
Radar em veículo descaracterizado
Catches: Speeding.
The GNR and PSP can fit radars in unmarked cars.
Velocidade média (sinal H42)
Start of a road section where your average speed between two points is measured.
What to do: Keep to the limit for the whole section. Slowing down only at the cameras does not help.
Radar de velocidade instantânea (sinal H43)
A fixed SINCRO camera that measures your speed at one point is a few metres ahead.
What to do: Check your speed now. The camera is just ahead.
Tolerance: Postal do Algarve, citing Portaria 352/2023, reports a measuring margin of about 5 km/h up to 100 km/h and 5 per cent above that for fixed radars, and up to 7 km/h or 7 per cent for radars in moving vehicles. These margins are not a right to exceed the limit.
Radar detectors: Illegal
Apps that warn of cameras: Allowed
If you're in a hire car: Camera fines are processed by ANSR, the national road safety authority. Since July 2019 ANSR can identify the driver of a hire car from a database supplied by rental companies and send the notice straight to that driver, including tourists. Police also stop drivers and collect fines on the spot.
| Offence | Fine |
|---|---|
| Speeding in a town by up to 20 km/h | €60 to €300 |
| Speeding in a town by 20 to 40 km/h Plus a possible driving ban of 1 month to 1 year. | €120 to €600 |
| Speeding in a town by 40 to 60 km/h Plus a possible driving ban of 2 months to 2 years. | €300 to €1,500 |
| Speeding in a town by more than 60 km/h | €500 to €2,500 |
| Speeding outside towns by up to 30 km/h | €60 to €300 |
| Speeding outside towns by 30 to 60 km/h Plus a possible driving ban of 1 month to 1 year. | €120 to €600 |
| Speeding outside towns by 60 to 80 km/h Plus a possible driving ban of 2 months to 2 years. | €300 to €1,500 |
| Speeding outside towns by more than 80 km/h | €500 to €2,500 |
The full guide to driving in Portugal · Speed cameras in other countries