Getting your driver's license in Brazil

The steps I had to go through to obtain my license

Step 1: If you belong to one of the international treaty countries that allow for the use of your foreign license you are several steps ahead. If your country isn't a party to that agreement, you must follow the most expensive route of getting a license in Brazil as if you never held a drivers license anywhere. So first step check the DETRAN website to see if your country is listed.

Step 2: If it is listed and you have an active license from your country of origin and it isn't expired you can take the short route

Step 3: Have your license translated by an official translator ( one used to translate official documents ) in Brazil he will certify that the license is real and make a translated paper copy with his/her seal attached

Step 4: Take your translated copy / original license, your CPF card, your RNE card, and a recent bill paid by you with your name and address on it to DETRAN. There, you will pay the fees for exchanging your license they will issue you a protocol to get an eye check and physiological exam ( you are not too crazy to drive a car). I can't figure out why they do this step because a lot of Brazilians drive as if they are nuts. But that said, you have the protocol now for it.

Step 5: You now take that protocol to a separate clinic to do those two tests ( in the US they do the eye test and if needed the exam at the individual states DOT). After you pass the exam, you then return to DETRAN. You will have a date to attend classes at DETRAN. On the protocol, you must take five days of lessons 2.5 hours each day. Do not miss the days as you risk not getting your license if you do.

Step 6: Attend the five days of lessons so on the last day your name will be called and you will be handed your probationary license which is usually only valid for a year. I missed my first day because of a terrible rainstorm, so I must attend one more day of classes to get mine as a result .....so AGAIN don't miss your classes.

NOTES: If you have ANY violations on your license in a year, your license will be revoked, and you will have to start over as a person who never held a license before in Basil, doing all the steps required to get a new license as a new licensee without a proper license from another country. This course is costly and time-consuming and could take up to a year to complete they require you attend a certified driving school completing hours of technical and practical driving with all exams given in Portuguese So you don't really want to screw this up by driving recklessly