Before you start

A valid foreign licence held before arrival
CPF and CRNM
Sworn Portuguese translation of the licence
Proof of a Belo Horizonte address
A gov.br account and DETRAN-MG registration

Step-by-step

1
Count the 180 days from entry
CONTRAN Resolução 933/2022 allows a maximum of 180 days driving on your home licence, counted from when you entered Brazil rather than from when residence was approved. Driving past it is an infraction and complicates an insurance claim.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the sworn translation
It must come from a tradutor público juramentado appointed by a state commercial board. The appointment is state-level but art. 20 of Decreto 13.609/1943 gives the translation fé pública across the whole country, so one you already hold from another state is fine.
In personWho: You
3
Open the process with DETRAN-MG
Start through the DETRAN-MG portal with your CPF, CRNM, translated licence and proof of address. The department then assigns you to accredited clinics for the examinations.
OnlineWho: You
4
Sit the medical and psychological examinations
Both are compulsory for every Brazilian licence including a straight conversion. The psychological assessment is a separate appointment at a separate clinic with its own fee and its own queue — book it in the same week you open the process.
In personWho: You1–3 weeks depending on the clinic
5
Budget for one of Brazil's higher IPVA rates
Vehicle tax is a state levy and Minas Gerais sets it at the top of the national range for cars, well above several neighbouring states. On a mid-range vehicle the annual difference against a lower-rate state is meaningful and it recurs every January.
OnlineWho: You
6
Learn the Anel Rodoviário before you use it
The BR-381 ring carries heavy national freight through the metropolitan area on a road that has long been one of Brazil's most accident-prone. Locals avoid it in rain, at night and behind lorries wherever an alternative exists. Treat it as a motorway with a bad reputation rather than as a convenient bypass.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence, original
Sworn Portuguese translation
CPF
CRNM or registration protocol
Proof of Belo Horizonte address
Medical and psychological examination results

Things most newcomers don’t know

Minas Gerais charges one of Brazil's highest IPVA rates on cars, and it is an annual cost forever.

Vehicle tax is set state by state, and Minas sits at the top of the range while several other states charge appreciably less. Someone relocating from another Brazilian state with a car discovers the difference at the first January billing. If you are buying here, price the recurring tax into the decision rather than only the purchase.

Source: Secretaria de Estado de Fazenda de Minas Gerais

The psychological assessment is compulsory and it is why the conversion takes a month.

No European or North American licensing system has an equivalent, so no newcomer budgets for it. It applies to every Brazilian licence, including converting a spotless thirty-year record, and is a distinct appointment at a distinct accredited clinic with its own waiting list. Booking it immediately is what turns eight weeks into four.

Source: CONTRAN Resoluções 927/2022 and 933/2022

The diagonal grid inside the Contorno produces junctions your instincts cannot read.

Belo Horizonte's 1897 plan lays an orthogonal grid of streets named for Brazilian states beneath a diagonal grid of avenues named for indigenous peoples. Where they cross you get five- and six-way junctions with counterintuitive priorities and no possibility of going 'straight on'. Drive the Contorno and a couple of the diagonals deliberately before you rely on instinct in traffic.

Source: Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte historical city plan

The Anel Rodoviário is a national freight route running through a capital city, and its record shows it.

The BR-381 section that rings Belo Horizonte carries heavy interstate lorry traffic on a road with steep gradients, poor sightlines and a long-standing reputation as one of the most dangerous stretches in Brazil. Residents route around it in bad weather and at night. Newcomers use it because it looks like a motorway on the map.

Source: Polícia Rodoviária Federal accident data for BR-381

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting the 180 days from CRNM issue rather than from entry.
Not booking the psychological assessment early and adding a month.
Buying a car without pricing Minas Gerais IPVA into the annual cost.
Treating the Anel Rodoviário as an ordinary bypass.
Trusting your sense of direction inside the Contorno during the first weeks.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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