Failure rate tripled in six years. In response, the government has prepared a new manual that increases the point limit and allows an automatic car exam
Getting a National Driver’s License has become statistically more difficult in Brazil. Between 2019 and 2025, the national failure rate in practical exams for category B (cars) jumped from less than 2% to 6.8%, according to Estado de S. Paulo. In evaluations for motorcycles (category A), the index reached 5.6%. The accelerated advance in failures motivated the federal government to promote a thorough review of the country’s evaluation system.
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One of the main bottlenecks of the previous model was the lack of uniformity between the states, which turned the test into a ‘lottery’. While some regions maintained a high approval rate, others registered failures close to 40%, evidencing the strong subjectivity of local evaluators. To solve this distortion, the National Traffic Secretariat (Senatran) launched the unprecedented Brazilian Manual of Vehicle Driving Exams, which establishes single guidelines for Detrans.
The new resolution brings crucial practical changes to relieve the tension of candidates and correct excesses. There was a significant increase in the margin of error: now, it is allowed to accumulate up to 10 points in fouls during the course (before, adding more than three points already meant elimination). The modernization of the process also includes the expected permission to carry out the test on vehicles with automatic transmission, adapting the examination to the reality of the current automotive market.
The reformulation also reached the theoretical stage, which replaced the excess of bureaucracy with a more pragmatic curriculum, focused on defensive driving and first aid. The implementation of digital theoretical exams and classes in a hybrid format aims to reduce the time and costs of the entire process.
The government’s strategy is to balance access to qualification with the quality of technical training. By lowering fees and adopting less punitive failure criteria, the expectation is to reduce the number of drivers who circulate disqualified due to lack of resources, promoting, in the long term, a more inclusive and safe traffic.
