STF will decide whether cities can prohibit the performance of flanelinhas

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) will define whether states and municipalities can prohibit the operation of autonomous vehicle guards, the flanelinhas, on the streets of the country. The Court recognized the general repercussion of the issue in June 2025, and the decision in relation to the Porto Alegre case will serve as a guide for all similar cases.

In the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Complementary Law 874/2020 prohibited the activity on public roads. A guard obtained the right to continue working in the state court and the city appealed to the Supreme Court. At the center of the dispute is the division of competences: the profession is recognized by a federal law from 1975, while the municipalities claim autonomy to organize the use of urban space.

Belo Horizonte wants a fine of R$ 1 thousand

The debate also gained strength in Belo Horizonte: on September 10, the City Council approved in the first round, by 31 votes to seven, Bill 702/2026, by councilman Sargento Jalyson (PL), which provides for a fine of R$ 1 thousand for anyone who approaches, embarrasses or charges the driver money to watch vehicles, reserve spaces or allow a parked car to remain.

The penalty doubles in case of recurrence within 12 months and will be corrected annually by the IPCA. The inspection will be the responsibility of the Municipal Civil Guard, with the possibility of agreements with state security agencies.

The text still needs to go through the committees and a second round vote before coming into force. The proposal also does not create an unprecedented prohibition: the capital’s Code of Postures, instituted by Law 8.616/2003, already regulates the use of roads and public places, and the Chamber itself states that guards without accreditation act irregularly.

The novelty is the specific fine and the detailing of the conducts subject to fines, a rule that reaches even licensed washers who start to reserve spaces or embarrass drivers.

Is charging to watch the car a crime?

Not by itself. The charge made by an autonomous guard may constitute, at most, an administrative infraction provided for in a municipal law, subject to a fine by posture inspectors and the guard. The scenario changes when there is violence, threat or serious intimidation to force payment: in these situations, the conduct can be investigated by the police as extortion or another crime, and is no longer treated as a simple professional exercise.

While the STF does not conclude the judgment, the municipal rules continue to produce effects, except for specific judicial suspension. Whoever is fined can contest the fine in court, but an eventual decision in favor of the guards will not automatically annul the penalties already applied: the effects will depend on the thesis established by the STF and the scope that the Court determines for the previous cases.