What the CDT is
The Carteira Digital de Trânsito (CDT), or Digital Traffic License, is an app created to make traffic-related documents easier to access in Brazil. It was developed by Brazil’s National Traffic Secretariat (Senatran) through the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro) and launched on August 27, 2018, as part of the digitization of public services.
In its original form, the app brought together electronic versions of important documents for drivers and vehicle owners, making them available on a mobile phone. The initiative was intended to simplify checking and presenting those documents without always relying on paper copies.
Which documents it provides
The main documents associated with the CDT are the National Driver’s License (CNH) and the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Certificate (CRLV). Both are traffic documents used in connection with driving and the legal registration of vehicles in Brazil.
An electronic document is not simply a photograph or screenshot. Information supplied about the service says that digital documents contain security features that allow their authenticity to be checked. The Vio app, also developed by Serpro, can be used for that verification.
How to understand the app change
The CDT was the name of the app launched in 2018, but the more recent information provided says it was replaced by the CNH do Brasil app. It is therefore useful to distinguish the initiative’s historical name from the app now identified as the way to display a digital driver’s license. The available information does not describe every feature or step in the transition.
To present an electronic document, the recent source advises opening the designated app rather than showing an image saved on a phone. That distinction matters because a standalone image may not include the features needed for verification. The supplied information also says that, when the traffic system is available, an officer may be able to confirm a driver’s license through an official system lookup.