Moto Taxi in Brazil: What the Rules Say Right Now

The same scene, two legal identities

This distinction is the whole guide, and almost nothing written in English makes it.

Mototáxi — the occupation — has federal legislation of its own, with requirements for the rider and the machine. Motorcycle transport through an app was treated as the same thing by several city halls, and the Supreme Court disagreed: it is private economic activity, and a municipality may regulate it but may not prohibit it or make it unviable.

The practical consequence for a visitor is counter-intuitive. In São Paulo today no platform is licensed to carry passengers by motorcycle: one withdrew formally in April 2026, and the other's licence was declared void by a state court in July. So the swarm of delivery motorcycles you see in traffic is carrying food, not people — the app on your phone will not offer you that ride there.

The federal requirements are suspended, and the clock runs out this month

Every guide in English lists the same two requirements for a Brazilian moto taxi rider: 21 years old and a specialised Contran course. Both were revoked by a provisional measure in May 2026, along with the minimum two years of licence-holding. What remains federally is a category A licence and a reflective vest.

⏰ That measure expires on September 15, 2026 unless Congress converts it into law. As of today it has not been voted — it sits with the rapporteur in the joint committee, and the lower house left it off the agenda in four consecutive sittings.

Two things worth knowing about what happens next. If the measure lapses, the revoked requirements come back on their own — the constitution treats a lapsed measure as having lost effect from the start. And the rapporteur's draft, if voted, keeps the revocation and is stricter in one respect than the measure itself. Neither outcome restores the picture the English-language guides describe, but they differ from each other, so this is a page worth re-reading after the 15th.

São Paulo demands what the federal rule dropped

Here is the layer that decides what actually happens on the street, and it moves in the opposite direction.

Since December 2025 São Paulo has its own statute covering paid motorcycle transport in any format — with or without an app. It requires from the rider what the federal measure revoked: 21 years of age, at least two years of licence, and the specialised course.

The city also sets conditions no federal rule imposes. The rider must supply an INMETRO-approved helmet in good condition and the right size, plus a disposable hygiene cap to wear under it. Passengers under 18 are barred, as are a child on the lap and a pregnant passenger. The service is prohibited in bus corridors and exclusive lanes, in cycle lanes, on expressways, and during heavy rain. Platforms that breach it face fines from R$ 4,000 to R$ 1.5 million, chargeable per day while the breach continues.

⚠️ Parts of that statute are suspended by the Supreme Court — an injunction from January 2026, extended in June — so the text on the books is not identical to what is enforceable. This is the messiest corner of the subject, and it is genuinely unsettled.

The helmet rule does not move

Whatever the city and whatever the month, one thing is fixed nationally: both people wear a helmet. The rider needs a visor or protective goggles; the passenger needs a helmet too.

Riding without one — or carrying a passenger without one — is a top-tier traffic offence, with fine, licence suspension and the machine impounded. And a child under 10 may not be carried by motorcycle anywhere in Brazil, at all.

If you are weighing how to get around, the alternatives have firmer ground: ride apps and the rules behind them, the São Paulo metro and how a visitor pays, and the ride in from Guarulhos. If you would rather drive yourself, start with driving in Brazil as a foreigner and whether the international permit is needed — and note that tolls now read your plate. On safety generally, what the national numbers actually say is more useful than the impression the traffic gives, and a working local SIM is what every app here assumes.

Sources

• Provisional Measure 1,360/2026 — the revocation of the age, course and licence-time requirements. Accessed September 8, 2026.
• National Congress, case file for the measure — the deliberation deadline of September 15, 2026 and the current stage. Accessed September 8, 2026.
• Law 12,009/2009 — the occupation's own statute, including the reflective vest. Accessed September 8, 2026.
• São Paulo Law 18,349/2025 — the municipal requirements, the equipment, the prohibited situations and the platform fines. Accessed September 8, 2026.
• Brazilian Traffic Code — the helmet obligation for both rider and passenger, and the bar on children under 10. Accessed September 8, 2026.
• Supreme Court, on the São Paulo rules — motorcycle ride-hailing as private economic activity, and the suspended provisions. Accessed September 8, 2026.

What we could not verify

• What Congress will do before September 15. We confirmed the measure is unvoted and with the rapporteur; nothing published indicates the outcome.
• Exactly which provisions of the São Paulo statute are enforceable today. An injunction suspended parts of it and was later extended; the consolidated municipal text does not mark what is suspended, and we found no official consolidated reading of the two together.
• Whether any platform is licensed for motorcycle passengers in cities other than São Paulo. Licensing is municipal and there is no national register, so this can only be checked city by city.
• What happens to riders already working if the measure lapses. The constitution protects relationships already formed, but that preserves what was constituted — it is not a permanent exemption, and no act we found spells out the transition.