CNH Revocation Period BR

CNH revocation: the 3-year ban (CTB art. 263)

Revocation (cassação) bites harder than suspension. The CNH gets cancelled, and the driver has to sit out 2 years (art. 263 CTB) before they can apply for a new licence, which means going through the whole thing again: theory exam, practical exam, and the refresher course (curso de reciclagem). In practice, plenty of DETRANs and contracts treat the wait as roughly 3 years once you add the administrative process on top of the formal ban. What sets it off? Driving while the CNH is suspended, recurrence of a serious traffic crime within 12 months, having the CNH suspended again during a previous suspension, or an alcohol level ≥ 6 dg/L of blood, which counts as the crime under art. 306 CTB.

Once the ban is over, the driver has to clear all CFC stages from scratch. There's no shortcut back to the old CNH. Provisional licences (Permissão Para Dirigir, that first year) can be revoked by any of these same triggers too, sometimes before the licence has even been fully issued.

Applications

Drivers who are already suspended and want to gauge their odds of revocation. Traffic lawyers weighing the exposure of clients with repeat offences. Fleet HR checking whether a driver can get back behind the wheel. And DETRAN clerks working out when someone can reapply.

FAQ

Is the ban exactly 2 or 3 years? On paper the CTB sets 2 years. Add the administrative process and the time to get reapproved, though, and the real-world wait usually lands closer to 3 years.

Can I drive any vehicle during the ban? No. Driving anything at all (a car, a motorcycle, even inside private gates if it touches public roads) counts as the crime under art. 309 CTB and stretches the ban out further.

Does the new CNH start with zero points? Yes. The prontuário is wiped clean. The catch is that the driver comes back as a Permissionário (PPD) for the first 12 months, under stricter rules.