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Law 15,428/2026 also makes the physical version of the driver’s license optional and instructs Senatran to set a national price cap for medical and psychological exams. During the validity of the provisional measure, good drivers were exempt from everything, including the medical evaluation, a rule that now ceases to exist.
The sanction took place on Friday, June 5, 2026, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed, without vetoes, the Conversion Bill 3/2026, transformed into Law 15,428/2026, published on the same day in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union, according to Agência Gov. The text amends the Brazilian Traffic Code and gives permanent legal force to the automatic renewal of the CNH for drivers who have not committed traffic violations subject to points in the previous 12 months.
The new law originated from Provisional Measure 1,327/2025, sent by the federal government to the National Congress in December 2025 with the promise of renewal without fees and without bureaucracy for good drivers. According to Agência Gov, since the publication of the MP, about 2 million drivers have already benefited from the new rules across the country, a number released by the Palácio do Planalto. Congress, however, changed a central point of the original design before approving the conversion into law.
What Law 15,428 truly guarantees to the good driver
The automatic renewal of the CNH was maintained in the final text, but with clear requirements.
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According to Agência Senado, the benefit applies to drivers registered in the National Positive Drivers Registry, the RNPC, who have not committed infractions with points in the last 12 months, and depends on the driver’s adherence to the registry.
In practice, the administrative step of renewal no longer requires queues and procedures at the Detran for those who meet the conditions.
Summary of the conditions for automatic renewal in the sanctioned law:
- Be registered in the National Positive Drivers Registry, the RNPC (source: Agência Senado)
- Have not committed traffic violations subject to points in the previous 12 months (source: Agência Gov)
- Undergo the physical and mental aptitude exam, which became mandatory again in the conversion of the MP into law (source: Agência Senado)
- Choose between the physical driver’s license and the digital-only version, as the printed document has become optional (source: Agência Senado)
The issuance of the paper document has become the driver’s choice, no longer an obligation.
According to Agência Senado, the law allows for either physical or digital issuance of the driver’s license, at the driver’s discretion, a change that becomes permanent with the publication of the regulation.
The medical exam returned and automatic renewal is no longer entirely automatic
The Congress’s reversal is the difference that drivers will feel in their wallets and schedules.
According to Agência Senado, while the provisional measure was in effect, good drivers were exempt from all procedures of the Brazilian Traffic Code, including the medical exam, but parliamentarians opted to reinstate the requirement for physical and mental fitness evaluation in the name of traffic safety.
CNN Brasil summarized the practical effect: automatic renewal is no longer entirely automatic because a visit to the medical examiner remains on everyone’s path.
Some consider the change technically correct.
Professor Carlos Elias told CNN Brasil that being a good driver should never, by itself, exempt someone from medical and physical evaluation, as the original rule only considered infractions and ignored changes in people’s health.
The same expert noted in the interview that the effectiveness of the exam depends on the rigor of the medical examiners, who, according to him, do not always apply the required protocol to assess the driver’s real conditions.
National price cap for exams and the package to reduce the cost of the driver’s license
To compensate for the return of the exam, the law created a cap on the cost.
According to CNN Brasil, Law 15.428/2026 mandates that the National Traffic Secretariat, Senatran, establish a national maximum value for the medical and psychological exams required for renewal, a measure that still depends on regulation to be implemented.
The regulation is part of a broader movement by the government and Congress to reduce the cost of obtaining a driver’s license in Brazil.
According to legislative consultant Lucas Leobas, from the Infrastructure and Development Center of the Senate Consultancy, in an analysis published by Agência Senado, the package includes the recent end of the requirement for in-person traffic classes, and the objectives of debureaucratization now depend on the regulations from Senatran and Contran to be truly realized.
Scams use the novelty as bait and demand driver attention
The popularity of automatic driver’s license renewal has become ammunition for digital criminals.
According to the Paraná portal O Presente, this novelty is already being used as bait in online scams, with fake pages and messages taking advantage of the confusion about the new rules.
The secure channel to follow the renewal process is the official environment of the driver’s state Detran and the Digital Traffic Wallet app, from the federal government itself.
The golden rule applies to any document: no one needs to pay a bill sent by message or click on a link received via WhatsApp or SMS to be entitled to automatic renewal.
Those who meet the requirements of Law 15.428/2026 will have the process conducted through official channels, and charges outside of them should be treated as attempted fraud.
Half Victory or Real Progress for Those Who Drive Right
The outcome of the new law depends on the point of view: the exemplary driver gained a renewal without administrative bureaucracy and the promise of exams with fixed prices, but lost the total exemption that the provisional measure offered.
Between the savings announced by the government and the return of the expense with the medical examiner, the final account for each driver only balances when Senatran publishes the national ceiling for exams.
And you, do you think Congress was right to reinstate the mandatory medical exam or should the renewal be 100% automatic for those who do not commit infractions? Leave your opinion in the comments and join the conversation, always with respect for different opinions.
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