Brazilian Manual of Examinations and Vehicle Driving confirms and adds news from the new Contran resolution
The way to get a National Driver’s License (CNH) has changed in Brazil. In December 2025, the new rules provided for by Contran Resolution No. 1,020 came into force, a rule that changed many of the old rules for the process of obtaining the license.
In February 2026, the Brazilian Manual of Vehicle Tests and Driving arrived and, with that, some more simple changes, after all, the book unifies and guides the practices of driver tests throughout Brazil. All these rules are public and available to citizens, but what does this total of 193 pages of documents change during the practical CNH exam – especially in the motorcycle category?
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When the new Resolution was still new, we published here at AutoPapo a guide summarizing the main changes in the entire process to get the CNH from a motorcycle. Now, with the new Manual, some other rules have appeared.
The Brazilian Manual of Exams and Vehicle Driving points out that the new process to get a license aims to test the candidate in real traffic conditions, using longer routes and, mainly, the driver’s daily life. Complex maneuvers and isolated situations and/or disconnected from reality are in the past.
According to the president of Cetran-RS, president of the Zero Accident Institute, president of the CFC-RS Union and former vice president of the National Federation of Driving Schools (Feneauto), Vilnei Sessim, the biggest change in motorcycle and car exams is in the end of eliminatory absences, in the change in the application of infraction points and also in changes in the routes and maneuvers performed.
Articles 45 and 46 of the new Contran resolution formalize the new score.
Article 45. The result of the vehicle driving test will be expressed in a variable score, starting the candidate with a score of zero, which will be increased according to the traffic violations committed during the exam.
I – weight one: traffic infraction of a light nature;
II – weight two: traffic infraction of a medium nature;
III – weight four: traffic infraction of a serious nature; e
IV – weight six: traffic infraction of a very serious nature.
Article 46. The test may be interrupted by the driving test committee when the candidate:
I – demonstrate technical incapacity to safely continue the route, due to malpractice
that prevents the execution of basic steering commands; or
II – presents manifest emotional instability or behavior incompatible with the performance of the exam.
Sole Paragraph. In the case provided for in the caput, the exam will be considered not completed, without
attribution of a score, and the reason for the interruption must be duly recorded by the Vehicle Driving Examination Commission.
According to the old guidelines, 3 points were enough for the elimination of the candidate, and the most serious infractions were eliminatory.
In addition to the new way of evaluating, both motorcyclists and drivers will be able to use their own vehicle and/or models with automatic or manual transmission, with the possibility of being equipped with “all regular devices provided for or authorized by traffic legislation, as long as they comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to the intended category and in regular conditions of circulation”, states the Brazilian Manual.
Sessim says that the new rules expand the range of driving schools when it comes to car options, but also highlights the fear that companies have in acquiring new models and suffering from new changes in legislation.
“They are adapting. The market, in fact, is going to this segment. There were no automatic and electric vehicles because the old regulations prohibited it. Today the problem is that there has been such a great flexibility that we don’t really know how this will be, because we have no guarantee that this law will prevail,” he says.
The Manual also points out that the candidates’ test is gradual and that the evaluator follows the driver’s evolution. If he performs well during the process, the most elaborate maneuvers will be applied to complete it. The second part of the exam should be the most complex.
For the CNH by car, it was already known that the biggest change was the end of the goal. But for the (in this matter) forgotten bikes, the circuit is no longer the same. According to the expert,driving schools should no longer have the board or the ramp.
The change makes sense according to the new rules, since the Manual now provides for real situations and the removal of complex maneuvers.
Also according to Vilnei Sessim, it is up to the Detrans to adapt, since the process of obtaining a CNH is the sole responsibility of the regulatory body.
The changes or permanence of the routes as they are depend totally on the states, under their justifications.
Finally, those who seek a motorcycle license now have the chance to retake the test on the same day, in case of failure.
“In particular, the planning must consider the possibility of making a new attempt on the same day, in the cases provided for in the current regulations, including without charging additional fees, when there is operational availability. The organization of the route, schedules and service structure should allow, whenever possible, the absorption of this additional demand, without prejudice to the safety, regularity and quality of the exam”, provides the Brazilian Manual of Exams and Vehicle Driving.
