Brazil Education Distance Learning Policy

The new regulation will require Brazilian students enrolled in Distance Learning degrees to complete additional presential classes in Brazil to receive local accreditation – making degrees offered by American institutions less attractive.The new regulation will require Brazilian students enrolled in Distance Learning degrees to complete additional presential classes in Brazil to receive local accreditation – making degrees offered by American institutions less attractive.

Brazil’s new Distance Learning Policy, established by Decree No. 12,456 of May 19, 2025, reorganizes undergraduate distance learning (DL) courses in Brazil — adjusting formats, infrastructure, evaluation, and requirements for in-person activities to ensure academic quality.

The Decree defines three modalities for offering undergraduate courses in Brazil:

• Presential – which the regulation defines as 70% in-person instruction and up to 30% distance learning;
• Semi Presential – where at least 30% of the workload must be in-person activities plus at least 20% delivered in-person or via mediated synchronous sessions;
• Distance (DL) – where the majority of content is delivered virtually but still must include at least 10% in-person activities and 10% mediated synchronous sessions.

For all three modalities, assessments must be conducted in person. Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Nursing and Psychology must be exclusively presential.  Other health areas and teacher licentiate programs are also restricted to in-person or semi presential formats.

Brazilian regulations require that all foreign diplomas – whether earned through distance learning or in-person, must undergo an accreditation process, called “revalidação” (revalidation) for undergraduate degrees or “reconhecimento” (recognition) to receive recognition by Brazilian authorities. Revalidation is done only by Brazilian public universities, while recognition is done by both public and private universities. The new Distance learning regulation will require Brazilian students enrolled in Distance Learning degrees to complete additional presential classes in Brazil in order to receive this local accreditation, making 100% distance learning degrees offered by American institutions a less attractive option for Brazilian students looking for local accreditation.

Educational institutions have a two-year transition period (starting May 2025) to comply with new rules. U.S. DL institutions should take the opportunity to partner with Brazilian institutions during the two-year adaptation period to meet local requirements and become more attractive educational options for Brazilian students.

For more information on opportunities for U.S. companies, please contact Laura Reffatti Laura.reffatti@trade.gov, Education Commercial Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service, Brasilia.