_edit.png)
_edit.png){kind=small}
As a non-Brazilian, foreigners who are not in the diplomatic service can drive in Brazil for 3 months without any problems. After 3 months they are legally obliged to apply for a Brazilian drivers license.
While most of the gringos living here do not have a Brazilian license and are winging it, it can be a risk. If they get traffic tickets and are caught up in a “Blitz” (traffic control) it can get rather nasty for them. And you really do not want to deal with the Brazilian court bureaucracy and the costs involved.
It is not difficult to get a Brazilian license if you follow the right procedure. What you need is the following:
· Your national drivers license and a certified translation certificate
· Passport photo
· Your driving record from the country you are from and a certified translation certificate
· Proof that you live in Brazil (electricity or water bill in your name will do)
· An eye test from an authorized Brazilian optometrist; there are optometrists that are specializing in this. (This will be done AFTER you visited the DETRAN office)
If you have all this, you must attend in person the DETRAN office in Shopping Popular. I would advise that, if you do not speak Portuguese fluently, you take somebody along that speaks Portuguese as it is highly unlikely that the person attending you will speak any foreign language. You have to book an appointment on the DETRAN website or app.
You will have to fill out some form and after presenting them to the official he will give you another official form which you have to take to an authorized optometrist and psychological examination place. Here you must do an eye test and a psychological exam, which really is not hard. After the conclusion they will fill out the DETRAN form, sign and stamp it and give it to you.
Now back to DETRAN (do not forget to make an appointment online) and hand over the form. In the past you were given only physical paper license, but nowadays you will receive a digital version in your Detran app as well.
