Overview
- São Paulo’s traffic council (Cetran-SP) gave Detran-SP 180 days to adapt systems, creating a temporary transition in which current state procedures remain in place while the federal app-based course is already available.
- The CNH app has drawn 7.4 million users since launch, and more than 270,000 people have started the free online theory course, according to the federal government.
- To qualify for automatic, free renewal, drivers must have no points or infractions in the last 12 months and must opt in to the National Positive Registry of Drivers (RNPC).
- The automatic process renews only the digital CNH; anyone who wants a physical card must request it separately and pay state fees, and eligibility excludes drivers 70 or older, those with medically shortened validity, and limits those over 50 to one automatic renewal.
- Consumer-law specialists say students already enrolled in driving schools can request refunds for classes not yet provided, while completed lessons may be nonrefundable and disputes can be taken to Procon.