Driving in the Netherlands on a licence from Brazil (buitenlands rijbewijs)
The Dutch CBR exams. Unless you hold a 30% ruling (expat scheme) decision, which allows an exchange from any country.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from Brazil
- How long you may drive on it: 185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.
- Exchange: Not directly. Brazil is not on the RDW agreement list, so the standard route is the Dutch exams: CBR theory (available in English) and a practical exam. Exception: holders of a 30%-ruling (expat scheme) decision can exchange a licence from any country.
- The 30% ruling (expat scheme): a valid decision lets you exchange a licence from any country, with all its categories, if the licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit.
- Translation: Latin script: no translation needed.
- International Driving Permit: recommended by the RDW when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E; never required for the 185 days.
- Health declaration: needed before an exchange or the practical exam (Gezondheidsverklaring, €47 via Mijn CBR).
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can Brazil issue, and do I need one?
- The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read.
- The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days.
- Brazil is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (since 29 October 1980), not to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.
- Its permit follows the 1968 model: valid for three years after the date of issue or until your Brazil licence expires, whichever comes first.
- The Netherlands is a party to both conventions.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1968 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 7 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a Brazil licence mean here
Brazilian categories use the letters A to E, but a Brazilian C or D is a truck or bus licence that includes B, and E is any heavy combination.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | Autorização para Conduzir Ciclomotor: mopeds (ciclomotores). | AM |
| A | Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles, with or without a sidecar. | A |
| B | Vehicles not in A, up to 3,500 kg gross weight and 8 seats besides the driver; also motorhomes up to 6,000 kg. | B |
| C | Everything in B, plus goods vehicles over 3,500 kg. | C |
| D | Everything in B and C, plus passenger vehicles with more than 8 seats. | D |
| E | Combinations where the towing vehicle is B, C or D and the trailer weighs 6,000 kg or more, or seats more than 8. | BE, CE or DEDepending on the towing vehicle. |
- Dutch code 78: If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.
- Your licence document: The first Brazilian licence is a Permissão para Dirigir (provisional permit) valid for one year; the CNH follows after a year without serious offences.
- Your licence document: A CNH is valid as long as its medical exam: renewed every 10 years under 50, every 5 years from 50 to 69, every 3 years from 70.
The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.
What is our judgement here, and what may be out of date
- The Dutch column is our judgement: category E to BE, CE or DE depends on the towing vehicle, and the Brazilian C and D include B where the Dutch ones do not.
- No automatic-only restriction appears in the traffic code or the CONTRAN resolution; we state none rather than assume one.
Sources: CONTRAN, Resolução 789/2020 (consolidated): driver training, ACC and CNH (read 8 September 2026); Planalto, Lei 9.503/1997 (Código de Trânsito Brasileiro), articles 143, 147, 148 and 159 (read 8 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
Specific to licences from Brazil
- Brazil is not on the RDW's agreement list, so the route is the CBR exams, or exchange via the 30% ruling. The CNH is in Latin script, so no translation is needed for that exchange. source
A worked example
Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.
Computed by the same rules engine as the checker; your own dates give your own deadline. Get yours →
What it costs: the CBR exams route
about €1,408(€947–€1,917)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Theory course (English, online or one-day class)estimate | €50 | €30–€129 |
| Theory exam B (English), budgeted for 1.6 attempts on average | €91 | €57–€114 |
| Driving lessons (10–20 × €67.00)estimate | €1,005 | €670–€1,340 |
| Practical exam B, budgeted for 1.5 attempts on average | €215 | €144–€287 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 8–16 weeks (estimate), in 6 steps:
- Mijn CBR account + health declaration(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Book and pass the theory exam
- Prepare with a theory course
- Choose a driving school
- Lessons, then the practical exam(lessons over several weeks; theory certificate stays valid 18 months, estimate)
- Experienced? Plan fewer lessons
Common mistakes with non-EU licences
- Thinking the 185 days start when you arrive. They run from the day you register at a Dutch address (BRP), and after them a Dutch licence is required. source
- Expecting an International Driving Permit to extend the 185 days. It does not; the RDW advises one only so that the categories on your licence can be read. source
- Waiting for the 30% ruling before doing anything. The ruling lets you exchange from any country, but only while the foreign licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit, and the 185 days keep running meanwhile. source
- Letting the licence expire at home. An expired non-EU licence cannot be exchanged on any route; you would take the exams from scratch. source
Why this is confusing
A Brazil licence is not "invalid" here. It is valid for exactly 185 days from your registration and then not at all, unless a 30%-ruling decision opens the exchange door. Many people only find out after day 185.
Exams in your language
The CBR car theory exam exists in English; every other language uses an interpreter, booked 14 days ahead. The practical exam allows a sworn interpreter or your own instructor to translate.
Which exams do I need? · Theory exam in English · Theory exam with an interpreter · Interpreter at the practical exam · Do you need Dutch?
Rules version 1.2.2, verified 2 September 2026. Source: RDW. This is guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the official RDW checklist. Municipal licence fee: at most €54 in 2026. This page as data: JSON; all rules: rules index.