International Driving Permit in Brazil

🗓 Facts checked against Brazil's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 29 July 2026. You may copy this information only if you provide a link back to this page.

⚠ This page is general information about driving rules, not legal advice. Rules change, and each authority applies its own — confirm your case with the relevant authority before you drive.

ℹ We are a private company. We are not a government body, a licensing or issuing authority, or a treaty organisation, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any of them. The International Driver's Document we sell is a translation of your national driving licence: it is not a driving licence, and it is not a government-issued document.

• Driving in Brazil: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Brazil?
• What side of the road does Brazil drive on?
• How long can you drive in Brazil with a foreign licence?
• Is Brazil a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Brazil with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Brazil? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Brazil tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Brazil
• Sources

Driving in Brazil: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Brazil?

CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025 art. 102 §3 II requires a visitor whose documents are issued by a 1968 Vienna Convention contracting party to carry the 1968 IDP (PID) together with the valid foreign national licence; the carry set also includes an identity document and proof of the date of entry. The IDP never works alone. This is not a 2025 novelty: the identical clause was already in Resolution 933/2022 art. 2 §3 II (in force since March 2022). Drivers from the six RBUT-1992 agreement countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) are covered by that agreement instead and carry only licence + ID + proof of entry.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: carry your national licence together with the document named in the row for your country of issue, in the table below — for most origin licences that document is not an IDP, so read your own answer rather than assuming one.
• Car renters: CONTRAN's mandatory-equipment regulation covers operating vehicle equipment. For a rental, verify the warning triangle, spare or mobility equipment, seat belts, lighting and documents at collection.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Official source.

What side of the road does Brazil drive on?

Brazil drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Cars in Brazil are left-hand drive.

How long can you drive in Brazil with a foreign licence?

180 days of stay, counted from the date of entry, for a driver covered by a convention or international agreement ratified by Brazil (within the origin licence's own validity). Carry: the valid foreign licence; the 1968 IDP when the documents are issued by a Vienna Convention contracting party; an identity document; and proof of the date of entry. After 180 days of regular stay, driving requires moving into the Brazilian CNH process. (CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025, art. 102; Brazil Ministry of Transport, Carteira Internacional (updated 11 May 2026))

Planning to move to Brazil? Different rules apply once you become a resident — see the residents section below.

Is Brazil a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?

Brazil is a Contracting Party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, but not to the 1949 Geneva Convention.

• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: ratification on 29 Oct 1980.

Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place

Whether a foreign country accepts your driving licence hangs on a tangle of variables: three different road-traffic conventions signed decades apart (1926, 1949, 1968) — the oldest predates the United Nations itself, and only the latter two were concluded under it — countries at different stages of joining each (signed vs. accepted vs. ratified), licences printed in alphabets local police can't read, vehicle-category systems that don't line up between countries, document generations that may not meet a convention's format even when the country is a member, bilateral deals between individual states, and local laws that are looser in one place and stricter in the next. The same licence can be fine at one border and rejected at the next — even at the next rental desk. The International Driving Permit exists to cut through most of it: a standardized, multilingual presentation of your existing licence, with harmonized category symbols, that most officials can read at a glance. It doesn't replace your national licence or grant new rights — you carry both — and it doesn't guarantee acceptance: a handful of destinations still require a local permit alongside or instead of it, but for most it meaningfully improves your odds.

Can you drive in Brazil with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Brazil as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Brazil recognises foreign licences only through international conventions and agreements it has ratified (CONTRAN Res. 1.020/2025, arts. 101-102): a covered visitor may drive for 180 days from entry. If the documents come from a 1968 Vienna Convention party, the driver must carry the 1968 IDP together with the valid national licence, identity document and proof of entry — a rule in force since 2022, not a recent change. Drivers from the six RBUT agreement neighbours (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay) drive on the national licence alone. Licences outside these instruments are not recognised: driving requires exchanging for a Brazilian CNH, and every continuing driver must enter the CNH process after 180 days. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: July 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

What the Status column means on this page:

• National licence OK — the destination lets a visitor drive on the national licence itself. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis, and any period or condition that qualifies it.
• National licence OK — IDP advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, but carrying one is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.
• IDP required — the destination requires an IDP in addition to your national licence. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says which IDP to carry and what else to carry with it.
• Not recognised — the record shows no route to drive here as a visitor on this licence; ask the local authorities about conversion or a temporary permit. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what stands in the way.
• Not established — the record does not settle whether you may drive here on this licence; confirm with the destination's licensing authority before you rely on it. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be confirmed.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025, arts. 101-102; Acordo sobre Regulamentação Básica Unificada de Trânsito (Montevideo, 29 Sep 1992), promulgated by federal decree of 3 Aug 1993

[2] UN Treaty Collection, Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General — status of the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-1) and of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-19) — XI-B-1, XI-B-19

[a] Licence categories do not follow the convention A–E scheme — rental staff may ask for an IDP to map them.

Where to get an International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit must be obtained before you travel, and only certain countries may issue one to you — you cannot buy an official IDP from an unrelated country. Under the 1968 Vienna Convention it may be issued only by the Contracting Party where you normally reside and which issued or recognizes your licence — by that Party's competent authority or by an association it has duly empowered. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is issued by the competent authority of a Contracting State, or by an association that authority has duly empowered. Which body that is varies by country: a government agency in some, an authorized motoring club in others.

• Travelling from Brazil? Brazil's official IDPs are issued by State DETRANs (Departamentos Estaduais de Transito) + Automovel Clube Brasileiro (ACBr) — applications are accepted online. Official site.
• Travelling from another country? Ask that country's driving-licence authority which body it authorizes to issue IDPs — a government agency in some countries, an authorized motoring club in others.

Separately, IDA offers a digital International Driver's Document — a translation of your national licence that you carry alongside it. It is not an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions by the body your country authorizes for that purpose, and it is not a certified, sworn or otherwise official translation: no authority certifies it, and where a country requires an official or certified translation by law, our document does not satisfy that requirement. It is a private translation meant to make your national licence readable at rental desks and roadside checks.

Moving to Brazil? Rules for new residents

After 180 days of regular stay, a foreign driver who wants to continue driving must obtain a Brazilian CNH through the state or Federal District DETRAN. Holders of recognized foreign licences take only the physical/mental fitness and psychological examinations (Res. 1.020/2025 art. 102 §4); holders of licences not recognized by Brazil must additionally pass the practical driving examination to exchange (art. 103). Official source.

Driving rules in Brazil tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Wear seat belts and use age-appropriate child restraints. Confirm the vehicle's warning triangle and all mandatory equipment, keep registration and insurance documents available, and use required lighting for the road and conditions.
• Drink-driving: Brazil applies zero tolerance (CTB art. 276): any detectable alcohol concentration triggers the art. 165 administrative offence. Do not drink before driving. BRL 2,934.70 (ten times the base fine) plus 12-month suspension of driving rights (CTB art. 165); refusing the breathalyser or other testing draws the same administrative penalties (art. 165-A). From 0.3 mg/L breath alcohol (or 6 dg/L blood, or signs of impairment) it becomes the art. 306 crime; accident consequences are separate.
• Speed limits: Posted limits are decisive. Without a sign, urban defaults are 80 km/h on rapid-transit roads, 60 on arterial roads, 40 on collector roads and 30 on local roads. Rural defaults vary by divided or undivided highway, road type and vehicle.
• Carry the original valid foreign licence, the 1968 IDP where applicable, passport or other identity document, and evidence of the date of entry. Keep vehicle registration and insurance documents in the car.
• Speed signs control. Where there is no regulatory sign, CTB Article 61 sets urban defaults by road class at 80, 60, 40 or 30 km/h; rural defaults depend on road design and vehicle type.
• CONTRAN's mandatory-equipment regulation covers operating vehicle equipment. For a rental, verify the warning triangle, spare or mobility equipment, seat belts, lighting and documents at collection.

Read more about driving in Brazil

• Renting a car in Brazil
• Bioethanol Pros and Cons: A Balanced Look at the Future of Fuel
• 10 Interesting Facts About Brazil
• Best Places to Visit in Brazil

Watch what driving in Brazil looks like

A few minutes of real POV footage is the fastest way to feel confident before your first drive in Brazil:

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025, art. 102; Brazil Ministry of Transport, Carteira Internacional (updated 11 May 2026)
3. CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025 (PDF, arts. 99-106 on PID and foreign licences; revokes Res. 933/2022)
4. CONTRAN Resolution 1.020/2025 — Diário Oficial da União version
5. CONTRAN Resolution 933/2022 (predecessor — identical PID carry rule since March 2022)
6. Federal decree of 3 Aug 1993 promulgating the 1992 RBUT agreement (Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay)
7. DETRAN-ES enforcement example: BRL 880.41 fine and vehicle retention under art. 162(I)
8. 2026 PRF zero-tolerance operation (page exists; direct fetch not readable, figures corroborated by SENATRAN PDF and news mirrors)
9. CONTRAN Resolution 912/2022 — mandatory vehicle equipment
10. Anatel official emergency telephone codes (190/191/192/193, calls free)
11. State DETRANs (Departamentos Estaduais de Transito) + Automovel Clube Brasileiro (ACBr) — authorized IDP issuer in Brazil
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic