Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
10 min of reading 
0 comments 
In Rio Grande do Sul, Adoption Depends on National Guidelines and the Exam Manual, Maintaining Immediate Failure Only for Risks and Instability in the Transition. In 2026, the New Practical Test Foresees a Limit of 10 Negative Points, Weighing 1, 2, 4, and 6 According to Severity.
The new practical test for the driver’s license (CNH) became central to the habilitation process in 2026 by redefining how scoring is applied to candidate performance, with a direct impact on cost, time, and the predictability of the exam. In Rio Grande do Sul, however, the new practical test still coexists with the traditional model while awaiting additional national guidelines.
The National Traffic Council (Contran) established the update and opened a discussion that goes beyond the evaluation room: road safety, process costs, transparency of the examining board, and the real effect on the training of new drivers. The State Traffic Department (Detran) remains responsible for routes, procedures, and examining commissions, and the transition places Rio Grande do Sul at the center of the debate on how scoring changes failure.
How Scoring Works in the New Practical Test for the CNH
The updated design starts from a simple premise: instead of failing the candidate for minor errors, the new practical test for the CNH adds points according to the severity of the recorded faults.
-
A new Brazilian shopping center worth R$ 400 million will be built in an area equivalent to more than 4 football fields, featuring 90 stores, 5 cinemas, a supermarket, a college, and parking for 1,700 cars, potentially generating 3,000 jobs.
-
Larger than entire cities in Brazil: BYD is building a 4.6 km² complex in Bahia with a capacity for 600,000 vehicles per year, but the discovery of 163 workers in conditions analogous to slavery has shaken the entire project.
-
With an investment of R$ 612 million, a capacity to process 1.2 million liters of milk per day, Piracanjuba inaugurates a mega cheese factory that increases national production, reduces dependence on imports, and repositions Brazil on the global dairy map.
-
Brazilian city gains industrial hub for 85 companies that is equivalent to 55 football fields.
The scoring changes from a short count to reflect the entirety of driving.
Under the new model, the limit is 10 negative points. Each occurrence receives a specific weight, allowing differentiation between minor slips and behaviors that put others at risk.
The change shifts the failure focus to real risk, without ignoring faults, but reducing the effect of a single isolated error of lesser impact.
In Rio Grande do Sul, this logic is presented as a reference for the transition, but full implementation still depends on the national vehicle driving exam manual, which has not been published.
Therefore, the debate on scoring and tolerance occurs simultaneously as Detran maintains routines of the previous model.
Weights by Severity and the Limit of 10 Negative Points
The new practical test for the CNH classifies infractions by severity with defined weights:
Minor infractions: weight 1 in scoring
Medium infractions: weight 2 in scoring
Severe infractions: weight 4 in scoring
Grave infractions: weight 6 in scoring
The candidate starts the test with zero points. Scoring increases as each occurrence is recorded by the examining board.
The central rule is objective: failure occurs when exceeding 10 negative points.
This setup changes how the candidate perceives the exam.
Instead of relying on a minimum margin, the new practical test for the CNH works with a tolerance range that is only exhausted when the score accumulates errors in volume or severity.
The candidate is still held accountable for control and safety, but the path to failure is more connected to the whole journey.
Immediate Failure and Exam Interruption Are Still Provided
Despite the scoring expanding tolerance for minor errors, the model does not eliminate the possibility of exam interruption.
The commission can stop the test if it identifies a lack of vehicle control or emotional instability that jeopardizes the safety of the activity.
In practice, this means that the new practical test for the CNH is not a license for unsafe driving.
Scoring organizes the evaluation, but the safety criteria remains an unnegotiable limit.
The logic is to separate manageable errors from behavior that puts others in danger, preserving severe penalties and opening room for technical judgment when the situation goes out of control.
This point fuels the debate surrounding transparency.
If the board can interrupt for emotional instability, the demand grows for a clear record of occurrences and standardized communication of what was considered a lack of control.
How the Practical Test Was Before in Rio Grande do Sul
Before the application of the new scoring, the practical test in Rio Grande do Sul followed stricter criteria. There was a lower limit of negative points and the concept of eliminatory faults.
In this design, any conduct categorized as eliminatory resulted in immediate failure, regardless of the rest of the performance.
The traditional model organized faults into four main groups, with little room for error. The candidate needed to keep the total below three points and avoid any eliminatory conduct. The categories were:
Minor, resulting in 1 negative point
Medium, with 2 negative points
Severe, generating 3 negative points
Eliminatory, immediately ending the test
The comparison with the new practical test for the CNH is direct. The old system punished quickly and with little elasticity, while the new scoring shifts the focus to the totality of driving.
For the candidate, the main difference is the risk of failure motivated by a single minor slip.
Who Applies the New Practical Test for the CNH: Detran and Examining Commission
The practical exam remains the responsibility of the State Departments of Transit.
Detran maintains the organization of routes and operational procedures, and, as a rule, the test should occur in the candidate’s municipality of residence, on a route previously established by the traffic agency.
With the regulatory update, the evaluation is now conducted by an examining commission with three members.
At least one of them must have a license equal to or greater than the desired category. A representative from Detran accompanies the vehicle, provides maneuver instructions, observes the driving, and records occurrences.
This arrangement aims to make the analysis more technical and standardized.
At the same time, it broadens the discussion on transparency: when scoring is accumulated through occurrences, the quality of the record and the consistency of the criteria become as important as the maneuver itself.
Route, Municipality of Residence, and Standardization of Occurrences
The rule of conducting the exam in the municipality of residence and on a route defined by Detran makes standardization a key aspect.
The new practical test for the CNH depends on well-described occurrences, classified by severity and corresponding scoring.
Without this, the candidate cannot understand what weighed in the sum, and the system loses credibility.
By providing for a commission with three members, the regulation attempts to reduce individual arbitrariness.
Still, the transition in Rio Grande do Sul, with a pending national manual, maintains a scenario where the candidate may face different criteria between moments and locations.
Here, the term scoring becomes the axis of two discussions at once: how performance is measured and how the result is explained.
Scoring only improves the process if accompanied by traceability of decisions.
When Can the Candidate Take the Practical Exam
The regulation also changes the calendar of the habilitation process by determining when the candidate can be released for the driving test.
To reach the practical exam, prior approval in the theoretical exam and registration in the Renach system of the minimum required practical lessons are necessary.
For categories A, for motorcycles, and B, for passenger cars, the release for the practical exam now occurs after fulfilling a minimum of two hours of training in a vehicle.
For those seeking the License to Operate a Moped, the process is even simpler, allowing the test right after passing the theoretical assessment.
This aspect connects with costs and access.
By reducing formal requirements and focusing on performance, the new practical test for the CNH reinforces the idea that scoring measures results, not just attendance in classes.
Lessons, Instructors, and Rules That Affect Process Costs
In addition to scoring and the reorganization of the practical test, the habilitation process undergoes adjustments that alter costs, requirements, and access to educational content.
Resolution 1020/2025 is cited as a basis for a more flexible format, focusing more on performance in tests and less on minimal formal hour requirements.
Among the highlighted points are:
Driving school lessons are no longer a mandatory requirement, opening space for accredited independent instructors and the use of private vehicles under specific rules.
Free theoretical content in a government app or digital platform, replacing part of in-person teaching.
End of the minimum hour requirement for the theoretical course, with the focus shifted to performance in the written test.
Reduction of the mandatory practical load to a minimum of two hours for categories A and B, maintaining official registration.
Practical tests, medical examinations, and biometrics remain conducted in person.
Right to a new free attempt for those who fail the first driving test, with scheduling according to availability.
Elimination of the one-year maximum deadline to complete the entire process, allowing for greater flexibility.
These points broaden the discussion surrounding the new practical test for the CNH for two reasons.
First, because scoring only makes sense if the candidate has minimum training conditions to control the vehicle.
Second, because costs and access can change the profile of those arriving at the exam, altering the dynamics of failure and retesting.
Estimated Cost Reduction and What It Means in Practice
There is an indication that studies used by the federal government point to a possible significant reduction in the total cost of obtaining a driver’s license, potentially reaching around 80% compared to the previous model.
The data serves as a promise of financial relief, but it also increases the demand for transparency.
If the process becomes cheaper and more flexible, the candidate tends to expect a more predictable exam and standardized scoring. Otherwise, early savings may turn into costs in retesting and lost time in new attempts.
In Rio Grande do Sul, the described expectation is for a gradual transition to the new format starting in 2025, but dependent on the publication of the national manual.
Until then, the more restrictive traditional model remains in effect, even with the new practical test for the CNH serving as a normative reference.
Why Rio Grande do Sul Has Not Yet Fully Implemented Everything and What Is Missing
The central point is institutional: full implementation in Rio Grande do Sul depends on additional national guidelines.
Without the national vehicle driving exam manual, Detran maintains the traditional model, and the new practical test for the CNH exists in a period of coexistence between rules.
This creates an immediate effect for the candidate. They can study and train based on the 10-point scoring and weights 1, 2, 4, and 6, but still be evaluated under the limit of three points and the eliminatory logic according to the old model.
The transition, therefore, is not just technical; it is administrative. And this interval is what keeps the debate about safety and fairness of the exam alive: if the rule changed, why does the candidate still have to submit to the previous format?
The answer, here, lies in the lack of national standardization operationalized and in the detailing that Contran still needs to see reflected in operational guidelines.
Open Debate: Safety, Transparency, and Real Impact on Training
The new practical test for the CNH opens a dispute of interpretations. On one side, the 10-point scoring and reduction of the weight of minor faults promise to evaluate the whole, decrease failures for small errors, and reduce indirect costs.
On the other, greater tolerance may be seen as leniency, demanding evidence that severe penalties remain intact and that the safety filter continues to function.
The discussion also touches on transparency. If the result depends on recorded occurrences, the candidate needs clarity about what was noted, when, and with what weight.
The three-member commission and the presence of a Detran representative seek to standardize, but the efficiency of this depends on consistent operational procedures.
Finally, there is the topic of training.
With a minimum of two hours of practice for categories A and B and the possibility of independent instructors, the new practical test for the CNH shifts part of the training to the candidate’s choices.
This may reduce costs, but it also makes the quality of preparation more unequal, reinforcing the need for scoring that truly identifies risks, lack of control, and dangerous behaviors.
What Candidates Need to Monitor During the Transition
For those preparing in Rio Grande do Sul, three points become decisive:
Understanding which rules are in effect at the time of scheduling, whether the traditional model or the new scoring.
Training control and safety above all, as interruption for lack of control or emotional instability remains provided.
Demanding clear records of occurrences, as scoring depends on what the board notes during the route.
While the national manual is not published, the candidate lives within a hybrid scenario.
Even so, the new practical test for the CNH already establishes the vocabulary for the debate: scoring by severity, a limit of 10 points, preservation of serious penalties, and an attempt to make the evaluation more technical under Contran’s guidelines.
Rio Grande do Sul enters 2026 with the new practical test for the CNH on the horizon and the traditional model still dominant in practice.
The scoring of 10 points and the reduction in the weight of minor faults change the logic of failure, but safety remains the cutoff line, with the possibility of interruption for lack of control or emotional instability.
With Contran at the center of the norm and Detran in execution, the challenge is to turn guidelines into routine with transparency, standardization, and real impact on the training of new drivers.
Do you think that the new practical test for the CNH in Rio Grande do Sul makes scoring fairer for the candidate or increases the risk by tolerating minor errors?
-
Uma pessoa reagiu a isso.