{ "site": "https://drivingschools.nl", "page": "https://drivingschools.nl/exchange/brazil", "checker": "https://drivingschools.nl/check#c=BR", "rules_version": "1.2.2", "verified": "2026-09-02", "code": "BR", "name": "Brazil", "group": "OTHER", "rule_class": "other", "verdict": "The Dutch CBR exams. Unless you hold a 30% ruling (expat scheme) decision, which allows an exchange from any country.", "exchangeable_categories": [], "licence_script": "latin", "answers": { "can_i_exchange_it": "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.", "how_long_can_i_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.", "translation": "Latin script: no translation needed." }, "international_driving_permit": { "question": "Which International Driving Permit can Brazil issue, and do I need one?", "answer": "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.", "status": "vienna", "vienna_1968": { "date": "1980-10-29", "type": "ratification" }, "geneva_1949": null, "sources": [ { "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence", "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-07" }, { "label": "UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic: status", "url": "https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsIII.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-19&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg3&clang=_en", "verified": "2026-09-07" }, { "label": "1968 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 7 (validity of the permit)", "url": "https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1977/05/19770524%2000-13%20AM/Ch_XI_B_19.pdf", "verified": "2026-09-07" } ] }, "licence_categories": { "note": "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.", "reading_note": "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.", "rows": [ { "code": "ACC", "means": "Autorização para Conduzir Ciclomotor: mopeds (ciclomotores).", "closest_dutch": [ "AM" ] }, { "code": "A", "means": "Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles, with or without a sidecar.", "closest_dutch": [ "A" ] }, { "code": "B", "means": "Vehicles not in A, up to 3,500 kg gross weight and 8 seats besides the driver; also motorhomes up to 6,000 kg.", "closest_dutch": [ "B" ] }, { "code": "C", "means": "Everything in B, plus goods vehicles over 3,500 kg.", "closest_dutch": [ "C" ] }, { "code": "D", "means": "Everything in B and C, plus passenger vehicles with more than 8 seats.", "closest_dutch": [ "D" ] }, { "code": "E", "means": "Combinations where the towing vehicle is B, C or D and the trailer weighs 6,000 kg or more, or seats more than 8.", "closest_dutch": [ "BE", "CE", "DE" ], "note": "Depending on the towing vehicle." } ], "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.", "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.", "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." ], "open_points": [ "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." ], "followup": "https://github.com/reede-web/drivingschools/issues/133", "sources": [ { "label": "CONTRAN, Resolução 789/2020 (consolidated): driver training, ACC and CNH", "url": "https://www.gov.br/transportes/pt-br/assuntos/transito/conteudo-contran/resolucoes/resolucao7892020_consolidada2.pdf", "verified": "2026-09-08", "side": "foreign" }, { "label": "Planalto, Lei 9.503/1997 (Código de Trânsito Brasileiro), articles 143, 147, 148 and 159", "url": "https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9503compilado.htm", "verified": "2026-09-08", "side": "foreign" }, { "label": "RDW, rijbewijscategorieën", "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/over-het-rijbewijs/rijbewijscategorieen", "verified": "2026-09-08", "side": "dutch" }, { "label": "CBR, wat betekent code 78", "url": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/veelgestelde-vragen/wat-betekent-code-78", "verified": "2026-09-08", "side": "dutch" } ] }, "worked_example": { "note": "Computed by the rules engine for a sample input; your own dates give your own deadline.", "input": { "issue_date": "2020-06-15", "expiry_date": "2030-06-15", "brp_registration": "2026-09-01", "as_of": "2026-09-02" }, "may_drive_until": "2027-03-04", "sentence": "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.", "rules_applied": [ { "rule_id": "V-NONEU-185D", "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/rijden-met-een-buitenlands-rijbewijs", "verified": "2026-09-04" } ] }, "cost": { "route": "retest_experienced", "currency": "EUR", "note": "Official 2026 fees carry their source; estimates and derived amounts are labelled.", "totals": { "low": 947.4, "typical": 1408.35, "high": 1916.9 }, "items": [ { "id": "health_declaration", "label": "Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring)", "low": 46.9, "typical": 46.9, "high": 46.9, "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "id": "theory_course", "label": "Theory course (English, online or one-day class)", "low": 30, "typical": 50, "high": 129, "market_estimate": true, "source": "https://theory.nl/", "verified": "2026-09-05" }, { "id": "theory_exams", "label": "Theory exam B (English), budgeted for 1.6 attempts on average", "low": 57, "typical": 91.2, "high": 114, "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "id": "lessons", "label": "Driving lessons (10–20 × €67.00)", "low": 670, "typical": 1005, "high": 1340, "market_estimate": true, "source": "https://dutchdriverslicense.com/rates/", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "id": "practical_exams", "label": "Practical exam B, budgeted for 1.5 attempts on average", "low": 143.5, "typical": 215.25, "high": 287, "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026", "verified": "2026-09-02" } ], "assumptions": [ "Lesson count defaults for \"experienced driver retesting\": 10–20, typical 15. No official CBR figure exists. School packages for experienced foreign drivers start around 10 lessons (5 if very experienced); the default is the midpoint of the 10–20 band so the headline number is neither optimistic nor scary. The exam tests Dutch-specific behaviour, not whether you can drive.", "Lesson price: €67.00/60 min (national median, Rijloket June 2026 survey of 3,520 schools).", "Exam attempts are averages, not a prediction: theory 1.6 (from the 35.9% pass rate for English exams in 2025, all attempts), practical 1.5 (our assumption). The low figure always assumes one pass; set whole numbers to plan for yourself." ] }, "timeline": { "weeks": { "low": 8, "high": 16, "estimate": true }, "steps": [ { "id": "rt-1", "title": "Mijn CBR account + health declaration", "time": "~4 weeks (CBR processing)", "time_is_estimate": false, "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijden-en-uw-gezondheid/gezondheidsverklaring-invullen" }, { "id": "rt-2", "title": "Book and pass the theory exam", "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/veelgestelde-vragen/kan-ik-het-theorie-examen-in-een-andere-taal-doen" }, { "id": "rt-3", "title": "Prepare with a theory course", "link": null }, { "id": "rt-4", "title": "Choose a driving school", "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijschoolzoeker" }, { "id": "rt-5", "title": "Lessons, then the practical exam", "time": "lessons over several weeks; theory certificate stays valid 18 months", "time_is_estimate": true, "link": null }, { "id": "rt-6", "title": "Experienced? Plan fewer lessons", "link": null } ] }, "country_notes": [ { "text": "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": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-06" } ], "common_mistakes": [ { "text": "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": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "text": "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": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "text": "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": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-02" }, { "text": "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": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence", "verified": "2026-09-02" } ], "sources": [ { "label": "RDW, exchange checklist (Dutch)", "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen" }, { "label": "RDW, exchanging a foreign driving licence (English)", "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence" }, { "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (English)", "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence" } ], "terms": "Guidance, not legal advice. Every entry carries the official page it was read from and the date it was read. The RDW checklist is the authority; where the rules encode a conservative reading, the entry says so. When you use this data, cite the page URL and the rules version. Corrections: hello@drivingschools.nl." }