Crossing state border, need passport or just RNM?

No problem crossing state borders within Brazil, but you must have your CNH driving license with you anyway,  if you are driving, and this is the only form of ID you might need.

11/24/23 @UhOhDetran.  So your CNH finally came through? Terrific.  Every DETRAN really is horrible in its own way.

Like @Peter Itamaraca said.  With your CRNM and CNH you should be fine if you happen to be stopped at a checkpoint, but you probably won't be.  That should be a pretty drive.  Enjoy it.

    Hey guys, I'll be driving a few hundred kilometers and crossing from São Paulo to Minas Gerais. I was wondering what kind of ID I might need if there are any checkpoints/police. Will my CRNM and CNH cards do or should I also have my passport? I am Canadian and a permanent resident (my CRNM says permanent), but I am  not Brazilian.        -@UhOhDetran

In Brazil, I have driven a lot for years, through several states, before and after obtaining residency (RNM).  I have rented cars and owned a few of my own. Like everyone else, I've gotten a few tickets and had one accident too, I have also been pulled into one serious PF blitz in RIO. I drive on a US driver's license as I am never in Brazil over the 180 days. In my years in and out of Brazil, the only thing the PF has ever questioned was my entry date stamp in my US passport, be sure to have that with you. I am sure a photocopy or cell phone photo would have been fine along with your CRNM. DETRAN has gotten picky about my having an address in Brazil when registering a car. They won't let me use my rental apartment addresses of apartments that I own, but DETRAN has taken a signed document from a friend stating I stay with them.

Your Brazilian driver's licence is an officially accepted form of ID inside Brasil. It's all you need while driving.. It's also acceptable ID for boarding domestic airline flights and most other domestic purposes.

@rraypo

I think I am right in saying that you may be the exception that proves the rule. Permanent residents have to get a Brazilian driving license within 6 months of moving here, but if you never spend more than 6 months here, does this rule apply to you...?!

Normally, you would never need more than  Brazilian driving license in the described situation, but if you are almost a permanent resident, but behaving like a "tourist", then I am not too surprised that you have been challenged in the way you have. For the rest of us, I think a driving license is all that you may need...

    @rraypo
I think I am right in saying that you may be the exception that proves the rule. Permanent residents have to get a Brazilian driving license within 6 months of moving here, but if you never spend more than 6 months here, does this rule apply to you...?!
Normally, you would never need more than  Brazilian driving license in the described situation, but if you are almost a permanent resident, but behaving like a "tourist", then I am not too surprised that you have been challenged in the way you have. For the rest of us, I think a driving license is all that you may need...
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Yeah, since I am never in the country for over 180 days, I have just never bothered to get my Brazilian license, it's never been an issue

@rraypo

You are missing a trick....

Whenever driving at home, use your Brazilian license. You may get fines added to your car hire, but never the points..

@Peter Itamaraca

I've never had a ticket of any kind driving in Iceland where I'm from. I've been driving in the US, including ambulances, fire trucks, and unlimited-weight big rigs with up to three trailers, but have not even been pulled over by police or DOT in the past thirty years there, (knock on wood).  I sold my last big rig quite a while back, I had a large lowboy and got a kick out of hauling oversized loads on back roads when I wasn't doing my real gig.

Yes, driving in Brazil on a US license means no points here with tickets, and yes I have gotten a couple of tickets in Brazil, I have come to believe that if you drive, which I do a lot of for fun, it's impossible not to. I know someday soon, I will have to get my Brazilian licenses, car, moto, all-size trucks, etc. (Hauling seasonal sugar cane out in the country looks like fun.)

Thanks everyone! And to answer abthree's question...yeah, I got my CNH after 150 days. Well, it's a long story so I am planning to write about on a separate thread because someone else might find it useful..