Law defines colors of canes for each degree of visual impairment

The Law was published on August 5th 14,951 of 2024which designates colors for the call “long cane”used by people with blindness and low vision, to identify the user’s degree of visual impairment.

According to the law, the color white will be reserved for blind people. Users with low vision (subnormal vision) will have to carry green canes, while the red and white cane will be reserved for deaf-blind people.

The law also establishes:

• THE SUS (Unified Health System) will provide the cane in the color requested by the person who will use it;
• The assessment of the degree of visual impairment, when necessary, will be carried out by a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team;
• The public authorities will inform society about the meaning of the colors of the long cane and the rights of people with visual impairments;
• The new rules come into effect in 180 days, the time needed for the SUS to adapt to the requirement to supply colored canes.

The new law originated from the bill 4,189 of 2019of the deputy Captain Alberto Neto (PL-AM), approved by the Chamber of Deputies with a favorable opinion from the deputy Diego Garcia (Republicans-PR), and by the Federal Senate. The text was sanctioned without vetoes by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

With information from Chamber Agency.