Brazil's CNH do Brasil program drives 216% surge in license requests

The Brazilian government's CNH do Brasil program has significantly impacted the national driver's license market. Between January and August 2026, requests for first-time licenses surged by 216%, rising from 2.3 million in 2025 to 7.3 million. During the first nine months of the program, over 2 million new drivers were successfully licensed.

The Ministry of Transport estimates the new regulations have generated nearly R$ 10 billion in savings for citizens. Key drivers of these savings include free digital theoretical courses (R$ 2.94 billion), reduced practical training costs (R$ 4.57 billion), automatic renewals for good drivers (R$ 1.44 billion), and lower costs for medical and psychological exams.

Structural changes to the licensing process include reducing the minimum required practical driving hours from 20 to two and allowing the use of authorized autonomous instructors alongside traditional driving schools. While driving schools still handle 86.8% of practical courses, autonomous instructors accounted for 13.2% of the 4.2 million courses conducted in 2026. Additionally, the National Traffic Council (Contran) has extended the validity of certain expired licenses until December 9, 2026, to facilitate the transition to new automatic renewal rules.