IPAF PAL card in Portugal: categories, how to get it, cost, validity and renewal (2026)

In short: the PAL card (Powered Access Licence) is issued by IPAF to anyone who passes an elevating work platform operator course at an approved centre. Portuguese law does not require it: an operator only has to be «properly qualified» with certified training. But large contractors, industrial sites and employers abroad ask for it. The course takes one day for two categories (for example 3a + 3b, scissors and booms) and the card is valid for 5 years. Since January 2026, you can only renew with the short course if you have 60 entries in your operator logbook. There are 8 IPAF centres in Portugal and none publishes prices. For reference, a Portuguese certified course costs €120–170 and an IPAF course in Spain €150–250.

What IPAF and the PAL card are

IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) is the international trade body for powered access, based in the UK. It does not train people itself. It approves and audits training centres, which teach and test to a common programme certified by Bureau Veritas to ISO 18878 (operator training for mobile elevating work platforms).

Anyone who passes gets a PAL card showing the machine categories they are trained on. The card is now digital by default, in the free ePAL app (iOS and Android), which also holds the operator logbook and familiarisation records. A plastic card is still available from the training centre for an extra fee.

IPAF trained about 229,000 people in 2025 through more than 700 centres, and has issued over three million PAL cards since 1998.

Which category you need

The card is not «for platforms» in general: each category covers one type of machine. Choose by the machine you will use. If you are not sure, see our guide to types of aerial work platforms.

The most common combination on construction and industrial sites is 3a + 3b. Truck-mounted and spider lifts need 1b. An operator with a valid 3a or 1a does not need the PAV course: familiarisation on the machine, recorded in the logbook, is enough.

Other IPAF courses

What the course involves

• Duration: one to three days, depending on experience and the number of categories. Two categories (e.g. 3a + 3b) normally fit in one day, of at least seven hours. Portuguese centres advertise about 8 hours per category.
• Theory: in a classroom or by eLearning (about three hours, with facial recognition), followed by a theory test at the centre.
• Practical: always in person, on one machine per category, with a practical test for each. It includes basic harness use.
• If you fail: fail the theory and you redo the course on another day. Pass the theory but fail the practical and you can retake just the practical within 90 days.
• Requirements: no previous platform experience.
• Afterwards: the PAL card appears in the ePAL app as soon as you pass, and the centre issues the certificate.

What it costs

None of the 8 IPAF centres in Portugal publishes prices: all quote on request, and IPAF lets each centre set its own. For a sense of scale, these are the published prices we found:

In practice, expect to pay more than for a Portuguese national course, and ask two or three centres for a quote with the categories and number of people. For groups, most centres can train on the company's own premises and machines.

Where to train in Portugal

IPAF's official locator lists 8 approved centres in Portugal:

Several of these centres are also certified by DGERT (the Portuguese training regulator) and can issue the PAL card and the Portuguese certificate in the same course. None states on its website that it trains in English. IPAF's eLearning theory is available in several languages, but ask the centre directly about the practical session.

Validity and renewal

• The card is valid for 5 years. The ePAL app warns you before it expires, but keeping it current is the operator's and the employer's job.
• Renewing before expiry: a half-day renewal course (theory can be done by eLearning; the 3a and 3b practical can be done on a virtual-reality simulator), or the PAL+ course, which renews the card and adds the «+».
• Logbook required: only operators who logged their platform work (on paper or in ePAL) can take the renewal course. Since 1 January 2026 you need 60 entries over the 5 years. The requirement has risen since 2022 (10 entries in 2022, 40 in 2025).
• An expired card cannot be renewed: you must retake the full operator course.
• Lost card: contact the centre that trained you (it may charge for a reprint) or use the free digital card in ePAL. If you don't know which centre it was, IPAF has a form at ipaf.org/lostpal.

How to check a PAL card

A site manager or rental company can verify any card at ipaf.org/checkpal. Enter the licence number (e.g. «AOP/1234567») and the holder's date of birth, and the site shows the name, photo and categories. On a plastic card, check the expiry date, the categories and the IPAF hologram in the top left corner.

IPAF or a Portuguese course?

Portuguese law says self-propelled work equipment may only be driven by properly qualified workers (Decree-Law 50/2005, article 32), but does not say which course. Both an IPAF card and a certified Portuguese course show this.

In short: if you only work in Portugal and the client doesn't ask for IPAF, a certified Portuguese course is enough and cheaper. If you work for large contractors, in industry, on wind farms or abroad, the IPAF card saves retraining. Portuguese and free courses are covered in our guides to the forklift and aerial platform licence and free training for machine operators.

The card does not replace familiarisation

The card shows the operator is trained in a category, not on a specific machine. IPAF (technical guidance F1, revised in 2025) and Portuguese law also require familiarisation before using a platform that differs from the one you trained on. That means reading the manufacturer's manual and warnings, learning the platform and ground controls, emergency lowering, safety devices, load and wind limits, and confirming the machine's periodic inspection is up to date. Familiarisation should be recorded (ePAL has a record for it).

Operator manuals for JLG machines are free in our JLG manuals library.

Working abroad with a PAL card

• United Kingdom: the card most asked for on site. On Build UK sites, UK-issued PAL cards can carry the CSCS logo (requires the CITB health and safety test). On those sites, steel erectors and safety-net riggers need PAL+.
• Ireland: IPAF is very active with the large contractors; Safe Pass is compulsory for all construction workers.
• Spain: the reference is standard UNE 58923. Many Spanish centres teach the IPAF course «to UNE 58923 and ISO 18878» and issue both documents. We found no official equivalence between them.
• France: a PAL card does not replace the CACES R486, which French employers ask for. Since January 2026 there is PASS PAL, a one-day course that converts a CACES R486 into a PAL card (not the other way round).
• Netherlands and Germany: no specific legal certificate; the PAL card is the most common proof of training. In Germany, centres teach the IPAF course in line with DGUV 308-008, and the employer must give written authorisation.

IPAF points out that, in every country, it is up to the site manager to accept the training, in line with local law.

Where Trapézio de Prismas fits in

We are JLG's representative in Portugal: we sell new and used JLG aerial work platforms and carry out the mandatory periodic inspections. We don't run IPAF training, but we can help you choose the right machine and category for the job. If you only need a platform for a few days, see the aerial work platform rental companies by district.