Before you start

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

Step-by-step

1
Count 180 days from entry, not from residence approval
CONTRAN Resolução 933/2022 allows a driver licensed abroad a maximum of 180 days driving in Brazil. The window opens when you enter, so it is often well advanced before the CRNM arrives. Driving past it is an infraction and can complicate an insurance claim.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get a sworn translation
It must come from a tradutor público juramentado registered with a Junta Comercial — check the Junta Comercial de Pernambuco register. A professional but unsworn translation is refused at the counter, however good it is.
In personWho: You
3
Open the process with DETRAN-PE
Start on the DETRAN-PE portal with your CPF, CRNM, translated licence and proof of address. The department then assigns you to accredited clinics rather than letting you shop freely.
OnlineWho: You
4
Sit the medical and psychological examinations
Both are compulsory for every Brazilian licence, conversions included. The psychological assessment is an hour or two of attention, reaction and personality testing at a separate accredited clinic with its own fee and its own waiting list.
In personWho: You1–3 weeks depending on the clinic
5
Learn which routes go under water
Ask colleagues which junctions and underpasses flood, and treat the answer as route planning rather than trivia. Recife's drainage is fighting rivers, tides and mangrove ground simultaneously, and in a heavy April–July downpour some of the standard routes simply stop being available for a few hours.
In personWho: You
6
Consider not owning a car in the centre and north
Boa Viagem, Espinheiro, Graças and the historic centre are dense and reasonably served by buses and the CBTU metro, parking is scarce and expensive, and the traffic on Avenida Agamenon Magalhães and the bridges at peak is heavy. Plenty of professionals here run on apps and the metro. Out toward Suape or the western suburbs, a car is not optional.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

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

Things most newcomers don’t know

The psychological assessment is compulsory, separate, and the reason conversions take a month.

No European or North American licensing regime has an equivalent, so nobody budgets for it. In Brazil it applies to every licence including a straight conversion of a spotless thirty-year record. It is a distinct appointment at a distinct accredited clinic with its own queue. Booking it the same week you open the process is what compresses the timeline.

Source: CONTRAN Resoluções 927/2022 and 933/2022

Rain plus high tide is a worse combination here than either alone.

Recife's rivers discharge into the sea through a city built at sea level on reclaimed mangrove. When a heavy wet-season downpour coincides with a high tide, the drainage has nowhere to push the water and streets that handle either condition separately go under. Residents check both; newcomers check only the forecast and then sit in a flooded underpass wondering why.

Source: Prefeitura do Recife drainage and civil defence operations

Comprehensive insurance here should be read for flood cover specifically.

Water damage from street flooding is a live risk in this city, not a theoretical one, and policies differ on whether and how it is covered. Read the alagamento clause rather than assuming a comprehensive policy includes it, and park accordingly during the wet months — an underground garage in a low-lying street is exactly the wrong place to leave a car in April.

Source: community-reported; confirm the specific policy wording with the insurer

The CBTU metro is real transport for some corridors and useless for others.

Recife's rail network is operated by CBTU rather than the state, radiates from the centre, and serves the south and west far better than the wealthier north-eastern districts where many newcomers end up. Whether it is part of your life depends entirely on which two points you commute between. Check the map against your own endpoints before it influences a rent decision.

Source: CBTU — Metrô do Recife

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting the 180 days from CRNM issue rather than from entry.
Paying for an unsworn translation and having it refused.
Not booking the psychological assessment early and adding a month.
Assuming a comprehensive motor policy covers street flooding without reading the clause.
Driving a known flood route in a wet-season downpour at high tide.

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