Just got our certificates of residency, and now find we have 30 days to get our drivers licences changed to PT. Thought beaurocracy in UK crap. Still love it here, lol.

don't know where you get 30 days from but you'll need to do it sooner or later anyway..... make it easy on yourself and go to your local driving school and have them do it for you.

Cost is minimal but it's soooooo much easier on the frustration levels.

Ah, bureaucracy is part of the "day-to-day" I warned you about. Portugal has always loved its paperwork and had its own way of doing things. When I married over 25 years ago, they refused to accept my birth certificate because it was over 6 months old, then complained that the new one wasn't in Portuguese.......
The advent of computers hasn't changed that mentality.

You don't have to exchange your driving licence - you may simply register it with the IMTT, which is quicker, easier and free. It then remains valid for use here until its expiry date.

You can - optionally - go for an exchange right away but there are some drawbacks.

The birth certificate over 6 months is not accepted because in the Portuguese system all life events (marriages, divorces, death, giving up nationality, name changes,etc) are endorsed against against the birth certificate.

As to foreign documentation, the normal process is to have document/s legalised (certification that it is a genuine document - and not a fake) (either by a Portuguese consulate, or with the apostille of the Hague) and translated into Portuguese either by a certified translator or the translator takes responsibility before a notary public as to its correctness.

This is no different if the process was in reverse - say for example Portuguese documents were / are to be used say in Australia, the reverse process would apply (birth certificate say, would have to be legalised and translated), though such a birth certificate would not necessarily be out of date as in Australia (as an example) the birth certificates are not endorsed. You have to understand the whys to understand why a bureaucracy works in a certain way and not as in your home country. Every country has its own bureaucracy - we just get used to and accept 'our' bureaucracy.

It is frustrating when we are not familiar with the processes and are not explained why a document is required or why it should be in a certain form - there is usually a reason for it. This is why many people employ lawyers and other specialists to 'smooth' their way through bureaucratic hoops.

I have to acknowledge that bureaucracy is (everywhere) slow to adapt to changes on ways of doing things, and sometimes documents / processes are requested / done which are complete nonsense, but in in its essence, there is usually a reason on why a process works (or not) the way it does .

I don't disagree - however, this was at the London consulate and in support only of the official recognition of our marriage in the UK - another EU country. So, not quite the same as arranging a "life event" in-country.
As I said, this is just an example of the "day-to-day" you just have to accept.

They were following Portuguese rules - more than 6 months, not valid, full stop.

I am aware it is frustrating and I have had my run ins with the bureaucracy - but it the end you just have to accept it. Must also understand that the officials at consulates do not have any flexibility. For the registration of marriages say, they gather the paperwork and it is forwarded to Portugal to have the marriage registered and have it endorsed on the birth register of the Portuguese citizen. So there is some logic.

I have run through this same process, so I understand it.

As with most things here, it seems to depend on area or sometimes even on individual civil servant one deals with.

I took my licence to IMTT when I first came here and they refused to give me a PT licence because my (pink paper) licence was slightly torn on the folds.

Then they said I don't really need to change it anyway..... and I've been stopped by the cops a few times since and not one of them has even commented on the fact I have a UK licence.

Yep, but they didn't need a translation as they could have provided it themselves. I think you underestimate the London consulate, they have the reputation for being as unhelpful as possible - google them!
Still, water under the bridge.......

The translation is for the Portuguese system - process - original document, certification that it is an original, either by consulate or apostille, translation of documents. The consulate does not do translations - though they may have a list of officially sanctioned translators, but they are private.
As I have mentioned before, they gather the paperwork and send it off to Portugal.
As to being helpful, I haven't had to use the London consulate so I cannot comment, but it probably was similar to the rest of the Portuguese civil service - that is why we now have 'lojas do cidadão'

For the sake of completeness of information (as opposed to just for arguments' sake), as with most things which are a legal requirement in Portugal, one can be fined for non-compliance.

My own experience with regard to the production of documents is that although on occasions one may only be asked for one (eg just the photocard licence), on others the whole shebang is required. And on more than one occasion, I have been asked specifically for the paper issued by IMT which serves as proof that the licence has been registered.

Whatever is said by an IMT officer, it is the GNR who do the documents inspections and decide on whether one is infringing.

You explained it perfectly Tony. It's always a shock to new ex-pats to find they are faced with what seems a never ending flow of red tape. Also natural to compare it with home. However at 'home' everything was registered from birth onwards,so we were less aware of just how much of the same red tape applied in the UK. i.e. we didn't get it thrown at us all at once. I remember the same feelings of frustration when first living in NL.Quite the nightmare with the inevitable mistakes.. Keep remembering your in heaven Chris and it will soon be a thing of the past.

A point about license exchange; it can take months for the process to complete, as long as a year in some cases.
You have to surrender your old license at the start of the exchange process and you get a temporary paper to drive with, which is only valid within Portugal.

So it's worth choosing your timing carefully, for a period when you're unlikely to be traveling outside the country.

Talking of bureaucracy has anyone on here had to change their name linked with their fiscal number?
We were planning to buy a couple of years back but then decided to wait until we retire, so I have a fiscal number. Since then we've married.
We are still in the UK and this is the only Portuguese paperwork I have. Starting to think it's time I tried to sort this out. Is it going to get complicated?
I've tried to find info online about how this needs to be done but I've drawn a blank.

I stand to be corrected, but it looks as if this form would do it, backed by your passport in your married name ...https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.p...tualizacao.pdf
However, you'll probably need to do this at a Finanças office in Portugal.
The next issue is whether or not there will be a fee payable, as most "official" changes (driving licence, etc.) seem to carry a fee these days.