If you are planning to settle in Brazil, it will not be long before you start hearing about the CPF. These three letters are part of a great many aspects of administrative and everyday life in Brazil.
A CPF may be requested in many situations: financial transactions, contracts, buying a property or vehicle, signing up for certain services, or simply identifying yourself to a company or public authority.
For a foreign national preparing to move to Brazil, it can be worthwhile dealing with this before you even arrive in Brazil. Under certain conditions, you can apply for a CPF through a Brazilian consular representation abroad.
There is, however, an important distinction to understand: having a CPF does not mean that you are a resident of Brazil. A foreign national living abroad can perfectly well have a CPF.
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What is a CPF?
CPF stands for Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas. It is a register administered by the Receita Federal do Brasil, Brazil's federal tax authority.
Each registered person is assigned a personal eleven-digit number. Both Brazilian and foreign nationals can be registered for a CPF, whether or not they live in Brazil.
The number is unique and permanent. If you obtain your CPF while you are still living in Europe and later become a resident of Brazil, you do not apply for another CPF: you keep the same number.
A CPF should not be regarded as a residence document or a permit to remain in Brazil either.
Having a CPF does not mean that you are a resident of Brazil.
A foreign national can obtain a CPF while continuing to live abroad. A CPF in itself gives you no right to remain in Brazil.
Why get a CPF?
The CPF is used in a very wide range of procedures in Brazil. You will regularly encounter a field asking for your CPF number on administrative forms, online services and when dealing with Brazilian companies.
It may be required or requested for certain banking and financial transactions, buying and registering a property or vehicle, entering into certain contracts or accessing various services.
This does not, however, mean that a CPF is sufficient on its own to carry out all these transactions. Depending on the procedure, additional documents, supporting evidence or other requirements may apply.
For anyone genuinely planning to settle in Brazil, obtaining a CPF early means having one of the country's main identification numbers ready for everyday life.
A CPF is not always enough
This is particularly important for a foreign national who obtains a CPF before becoming resident in Brazil.
Having a valid CPF number does not mean that every Brazilian service will immediately be available to you. Some companies and platforms carry out their own checks and may verify other information in addition to the CPF.
We experienced this ourselves.
A CPF obtained in Europe before moving to Brazil was subsequently used when trying to activate a Brazilian mobile phone service online. The validation process would not allow the application to proceed, and the system reported an issue with the information provided. After our residence status in Brazil had been regularised, a similar procedure no longer encountered this problem.
This does not mean that there is a general rule under which a “non-resident CPF” is rejected. In fact, it is not a different type of CPF at all: the number remains the same.
It does show, however, that a service provider may use other information or databases as part of its checks. A foreign non-resident can therefore have a perfectly valid CPF and still encounter limitations with certain validation procedures.
The CPF is essential, but it does not replace proof of residence or any other documents that a service provider may require.
Getting your CPF before coming to Brazil
You do not necessarily have to wait until you are living in Brazil to arrange your CPF.
For a foreign national living abroad, the official procedure currently requires the initial CPF registration to be made in person at the Brazilian consular post responsible for your place of residence.
In our case, the CPF was obtained in Portugal after making an appointment at a Brazilian consulate.
It is something we recommend considering while preparing your move. Arriving in Brazil with a CPF already assigned means dealing in advance with a formality that you will soon encounter once you are in the country.
The documents required may depend on your circumstances, however, and procedures can change. We therefore recommend checking the website or contacting the relevant Brazilian consulate before making an appointment to confirm the current procedure and list of documents required.
Official information about CPF registration from abroad is available on the Brazilian government's portal:
Check the official procedure for obtaining a CPF from abroad on gov.br →
Getting your CPF in Brazil
If you are already in Brazil without a CPF, you can of course apply for one in the country.
The available procedures depend on the applicant's circumstances and may change. The official gov.br portal and the Receita Federal should therefore remain your primary references before starting the process.
Check the official procedure for obtaining a CPF in Brazil on gov.br →
For someone preparing to move from abroad, however, we think it is worth first checking whether the CPF can be obtained through a Brazilian consulate before travelling.
It is not compulsory: it is simply one less thing to deal with during your first few weeks in Brazil.
Once you have your CPF
Your CPF number stays with you permanently. You do not need to request a new number when your circumstances change.
It is important, however, that the information registered with the Receita Federal remains correct.
The Receita Federal allows you, among other things, to check your CPF registration status and obtain a Comprovante de Inscrição no CPF, which serves as proof of registration.
Check the official CPF services on the Receita Federal website →
We recommend keeping your number as well as a digital copy of this proof of registration with your important documents.
Foreign nationals who continue to live abroad should also pay attention to any requirements to update their details. Brazilian consular information may provide specific procedures for foreign CPF holders residing outside Brazil.
This is not a matter of “renewing” your CPF: the number remains the same. It is the information and registration status associated with it that need to remain up to date.
CPF and gov.br: two different things
Once you have obtained your CPF, you will probably soon come across another name: gov.br.
The two should not be confused.
Your CPF is your registration number in the Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas. gov.br is used, among other things, as a digital identity for accessing many Brazilian public services online.
Having a CPF does not automatically give you access to every level or feature available through gov.br. For a foreign national, particularly someone who is not yet resident in Brazil, this distinction can have practical consequences.
We therefore cover this subject in a separate article: how a gov.br account works, the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, electronic signatures and solutions that can help you prepare for administrative procedures remotely.
CPF and gov.br are therefore closely related, but they are two different subjects.
Our advice before you travel
If you are seriously considering settling in Brazil, the CPF is one of the things we recommend arranging in advance.
Check with the relevant Brazilian consulate whether you can complete your initial registration before travelling and which documents are currently required. This may allow you to arrive in Brazil with an important administrative step already completed.
Keep three principles in mind:
- a CPF is not a residence document;
- having a CPF does not guarantee access to every service;
- your CPF number is unique and remains the same when your residence status changes.
Once you have your CPF, it is also worth learning about your gov.br account. For someone planning to live in Brazil while potentially needing to continue some procedures from abroad, digital identity can become almost as important as the CPF itself.
