Brazil company search: CNPJ, Receita Federal (gov.br)

TL;DR. Brazil’s company data sits across two layers: the federal CNPJ database (Receita Federal) and 27 state-level Juntas Comerciais. The CNPJ hub at https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br/assuntos/orientacao-tributaria/cadastros/cnpj is a landing page rather than a results screen, and CNPJREVA, the query tool it points to, builds in the browser, so its search could not be read from the page as delivered. No BRL fee, payment method or turnaround time is published there, so fees in this guide read unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

What is the official Brazilian business registry?

Brazil operates a two-tier registration system with no single national commercial registry:

Federal level: The Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Juridica (CNPJ) is managed by the Receita Federal do Brasil (Brazilian Federal Revenue Service), under the Ministry of Economy (Ministerio da Fazenda). Every Brazilian legal entity, regardless of type or state of incorporation, must obtain a CNPJ number from the Receita Federal. The CNPJ database is the closest thing Brazil has to a unified national company register. The public hub is at gov.br/receitafederal, a landing page. CNPJREVA, the query tool it points to, builds in the browser rather than delivering results in the page.

State level: The Junta Comercial (Commercial Registry Board) of each of Brazil’s 26 states plus the Federal District (Distrito Federal) holds the underlying incorporation documents, articles of association, and changes for companies registered in that state. There are 27 Juntas Comerciais in total. These are state government bodies coordinated (but not unified) through DREI (Departamento de Registro Empresarial e Integracao), a federal department under the Ministry of Economy.

REDESIM: The Rede Nacional para a Simplificacao do Registro e da Legalizacao de Empresas e Negocios is a federal harmonisation initiative. It is not a company-search results service.

The legal framework for commercial registration is the Civil Code (Codigo Civil, Law 10.406/2002) and the Business Registration Act (Lei 8.934/1994). Non-profit entities, foundations, and certain other legal forms register with different bodies.

What can you search?

The CNPJ hub is a landing page. CNPJREVA builds in the browser, so its results table could not be read here, and the CNPJ, razao social and situacao fields it offers are not confirmed; confirm at source.

The Junta Comercial certified-document fields are not shown on the CNPJ hub or on CNPJREVA; confirm at source.

No beneficial ownership fields could be read. The Receita Federal QSA (Quadro de Socios e Administradores) is a statutory partner list, but its contents could not be read here; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

No BRL fee figures are published, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. No turnaround time is given, and no payment method such as PIX, TED or a card is named on the hub or on CNPJREVA.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Account rules could not be confirmed past the CNPJ hub and CNPJREVA. The CNPJ query has been reported as needing no account; confirm at source. Junta Comercial account rules vary by state and are not covered here.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The hub is in Portuguese, and CNPJREVA’s results screen could not be read, so its language coverage is not confirmed. Its field labels (CNPJ, Razao Social, Nome Fantasia, Situacao) have been reported as consistent; confirm at source.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. Neither the hub nor CNPJREVA publishes a turnaround time; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is published on the CNPJ hub or on CNPJREVA. Third-party CNPJ wrappers (ReceitaWS, BrasilAPI) are not authoritative and are not a Receita Federal API.

The state Juntas Comerciais offer no standardised public APIs.

What you legally cannot do

The Receita Federal’s CNPJ data terms and Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Protecao de Dados, LGPD, Law 13.709/2018) set key restrictions:

• Bulk automated harvesting of CNPJ data beyond authorised rate limits without an authorised API agreement is prohibited.
• Commercial redistribution of CNPJ data formatted as a competing database for resale is restricted.
• Personal data visible in CNPJ records (partner names, partially masked CPF numbers) must be processed under a documented legal basis consistent with LGPD requirements.
• Certified Junta Comercial extracts are for the stated purpose only; redistribution for marketing databases is not within the permitted use scope.

Brazil’s COAF (Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras), the financial intelligence unit under GAFILAT, enforces AML obligations. Brazilian obligated entities must comply with Law 9.613/1998 when using registry data in customer due diligence. For the global framework, see the Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• CNPJ is the primary identifier. The 14-digit CNPJ (format XX.XXX.XXX/YYYY-ZZ) identifies every Brazilian legal entity. Always record the full 14-digit CNPJ.
• CNPJREVA builds its search in the browser. This guide does not list result fields it could not read.
• No payment methods are published on the hub or on CNPJREVA.
• State of registration matters for certified documents. Brazil’s 27 Juntas Comerciais hold incorporation documents. Identify the state from the registered address, then go to the corresponding Junta. The Junta’s own service is separate from CNPJREVA.
• CNAE is Brazil’s economic activity classifier. Useful once you have a CNPJ record in hand.
• FATF lists. The FATF “Black and grey” lists page and the Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list of 13 February 2026 both load, and Brazil is not named on that monitoring list. Brazil is a FATF member (FATF members) and a GAFILAT member; confirm at source.

Alternatives if you cannot access the Junta Comercial directly

• Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes some Brazilian company data but coverage is incomplete for state-level Junta filings.
• Local Junta portals: Use the competent state Junta for certified documents. CNPJREVA is not that service.

Local data suppliers

• Serasa Experian (serasa.com.br). Brazil’s largest credit bureau, a subsidiary of Experian Group. Provides credit reports, risk scores, fraud detection, and identity verification for Brazilian individuals and companies.
• Boa Vista SCPC (boavistaservicos.com.br). Brazilian credit bureau. Provides company and individual credit scores and payment history.

Use the Junta Comercial and Receita Federal for official registration and legal standing verification where an official search is reachable. Use Serasa or Boa Vista when you need payment behaviour, credit default history, or predictive risk scores.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access Brazil’s CNPJ database without a Brazilian identity document?

The route available is the CNPJ hub plus CNPJREVA, whose search builds in the browser rather than delivering results in the page. No fee, payment method or turnaround time is published; confirm at source.

What is the CNPJ number in Brazil?

The CNPJ (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Juridica) is Brazil’s 14-digit federal tax and registration number for legal entities. Its format is XX.XXX.XXX/YYYY-ZZ, where the first 8 digits identify the base company, digits 9-12 identify the establishment (0001 for the headquarters), and the final 2 are check digits.

What entity types are registered in Brazil’s commercial registries?

The Juntas Comerciais register: Sociedade Limitada (Ltda., private limited company), Sociedade Anonima (S.A., joint-stock company), Empresario Individual (individual entrepreneur), EIRELI (being merged into Ltda. under recent reform), branches of foreign companies, and other commercial entities. Non-commercial entities register with the Civil Registry of Legal Entities (Registro Civil das Pessoas Juridicas).

Does Brazil have a beneficial ownership register?

No beneficial ownership search could be read on CNPJREVA. AML disclosure under Law 9.613/1998 and Circular BACEN 3.978/2020 is not a public register; confirm at source.

How current is the data in Brazil’s registries?

Not stated. Neither the hub nor CNPJREVA publishes how current its data is.

Is Brazil on the FATF grey list?

Brazil is not named on the FATF increased-monitoring list of 13 February 2026, and Brazil is a FATF member and a GAFILAT member. FATF updates its lists periodically; confirm at source.

What is the difference between the Junta Comercial and the Receita Federal CNPJ?

The Junta Comercial is the state-level commercial registry holding the original incorporation documents. The Receita Federal CNPJ database is the federal tax registration. This guide covers the CNPJ hub and CNPJREVA, not a Junta extract service.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: the CNPJ hub at Receita Federal, and CNPJREVA, whose search builds in the browser. No BRL fees, payment methods or turnaround time are published there. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.