The issuing of the international insurance certificate by insurance companies is accompanied by the obligation to issue a badge, usually issued jointly, in a single act and on a single piece of paper (the so-called "green card"), which must identify, among other things, the insurance company, the policy number, the vehicle registration number and the validity of the insurance.

Ministerial Order no. 56/95, of January 25, of the Ministries of Internal Administration and Finance, establishes the characteristics of this badge, namely that it must be issued on green paper, which was justified in order to encourage the simultaneous issue of the certificate and the badge.

As of July 1st of this year, the Portuguese National Insurance Service - the Portuguese Green Card Office - has authorized insurance companies to issue the international certificate of motor vehicle civil liability insurance on white paper, instead of green. Following this decision, it is considered appropriate to update the aforementioned ordinance by eliminating the requirement of the color in which the certificate must be issued.

Insofar as this requirement is also established for the labels showing insurance exemptions relating to the Portuguese State, foreign states and international organizations to which the Portuguese State belongs, it is justified to promote the same simplification exercise.

Finally, and with reference to the ordinance it is intended to replace, the characteristics relating to the labels certifying that mandatory periodic inspections have been carried out are not regulated, since the legal rule establishing that they were mandatory has been repealed.

Pursuant to Article 30(3) of Decree-Law 291/2007, of August 21, in its current wording, the Government, through the Secretary of State for Finance and the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, hereby orders the following:

Article 1
Objeto

This decree establishes the characteristics of the labels relating to the compulsory insurance contract and the exemption from the insurance obligation provided for in Decree-Law no. 291/2007, of August 21, in its current wording.

Article 2
Compulsory insurance contract label

1 - The badge provided for in article 30(1) of Decree-Law no. 291/2007, of August 21, is issued by the insurance company which gives it to the policyholder, jointly and exclusively, with the international insurance certificate.

2 - The badge is in the form of a sticker and follows the model below:

Article 3
Exemption from the insurance requirement

1 - The badge provided for in article 30(2) of Decree-Law no. 291/2007, of August 21, is issued by the entity responsible for issuing the certificate that proves the exemption from the insurance obligation and is delivered, jointly and exclusively, with said certificate.

2 - The badge takes the form of a sticker and follows the model below:

Article 4
Additional requirements

The stickers must be completely filled in by the entity responsible for delivering them, without erasures, and must not contain any information other than that defined by law or regulation.

Article 5
Issuing duplicates

If the stickers are lost or rendered unusable, the competent authority will issue a duplicate, at the request of those in whose interest the original document was issued.

Article 6
Affixing the couplets

The markings provided for in the previous articles shall be affixed inside the vehicle in the lower or upper right-hand corner of the windscreen or, failing that, in another clearly visible place.

Article 7
Repealing rule

Ordinance no. 56/95, of January 25, of the Ministries of Internal Administration and Finance, is hereby revoked.

Article 8
Entry into force

This decree enters into force on the day following its publication.

On September 30, 2020.

The Secretary of State for Finance, João Nuno Marques de Carvalho Mendes. - The Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Patrícia Alexandra Costa Gaspar.