The network covers Brazil within the South America region. Payslips there are drawn up in BRL, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in Portuguese.
The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte.
The country lies outside the European Union and outside the European Economic Area: the A1 certificate has no standing there. Whether the employee remains in the scheme of origin then depends on the bilateral social security agreement, if any, concluded with the sending country; where no such agreement exists, dual affiliation must be expected and budgeted into the assignment.
The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.
In Brazil, running payroll on behalf of third parties is a regulated activity. It is carried on under the title of Contador (ou técnico em contabilidade) inscrit au CRC ; l'organisation comptable elle-même doit détenir un Registro Cadastral, and a registration in force must be produced to you before any engagement.
Au Brésil, l'établissement de la folha de pagamento relève des services de comptabilité en général, réservés par le décret-loi n° 9.295 du 27 mai 1946 aux professionnels inscrits au Conseil régional de comptabilité, et précisés par la résolution CFC n° 560/83. Une société qui rend ces services doit être elle-même enregistrée auprès du CRC de son État et désigner un responsable technique inscrit et à jour de ses obligations professionnelles. Exiger le numéro de Registro Cadastral de la société et la Certidão de Regularidade Profissional du responsable technique, tous deux vérifiables en ligne.
Brazil combines dense employment law with a highly advanced digital administration. All employment data flows through eSocial, the unified system for reporting employment, payroll and occupational safety information: events must be declared on a strict timetable, and rejected files are the leading source of payroll disputes. Brazilian payroll is judged as much on the quality of its transmissions as on the accuracy of its calculations.
Brazilian reais are paid into a local account, and all contractual documents are drawn up in Portuguese. Brazil takes part in no multilateral coordination area; a bilateral social security agreement with France governs postings and prevents dual contributions, subject to a certificate obtained in advance.
One point is decisive when selecting a provider: preparing the folha de pagamento (payroll) falls within accounting services reserved to professionals registered with the regional accounting council. The firm itself must also hold a registration. Payroll competence and regulatory standing are inseparable in this market.
No straightforward registration route is open to a foreign employer without an establishment: a Brazilian file requires a local entity in practice. Incorporation involves a notarised deed, registration with the Junta Comercial (state commercial registry) and issuance of the national corporate taxpayer number.
Registrations continue with the municipality, which is essential in order to issue service invoices, and with the social security authorities. The employer also opens an account with the Caixa Econômica Federal for the guarantee fund credited monthly on behalf of each employee.
An entry in the employee's digital work record accompanies the employment contract and evidences its existence before the administration and the labour courts. The collective agreement for the occupational category, negotiated by union and by territory, then applies and fixes a substantial part of pay conditions.
Each month a payslip is drawn up, income tax is withheld at source and contributions are remitted. Termination is the most technical stage of any Brazilian file: severance entitlements, the guarantee fund balance, notice and documentary formalities are all closely regulated and frequently litigated. Bear in mind too that category agreements are renegotiated annually, so the published terms for the relevant branch must be tracked rather than assumed to hold from one year to the next.
The network asks 8 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in Brazil. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.
Of these 8 documents, 7 are required of every applicant and 6 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 1 months.
| Local wording | Issuing body | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contrato Social consolidado (ou Estatuto Social) e Certidão Simplificada da Junta Comercial, com o NIREArticles of association and simplified commercial registry certificate Deux pièces complémentaires : le contrat de société consolidé, qui donne l'objet social et les associés, et la certidão simplificada, extrait récent de la Junta Comercial qui atteste que la société est active et que les modifications sont enregistrées. | Junta Comercial de l'État concerné (réseau Redesim) | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Comprovante de Inscrição e de Situação Cadastral no CNPJ (« cartão CNPJ ») ; Inscrição MunicipalCNPJ registration and status certificate; municipal registration Le « cartão CNPJ » s'imprime gratuitement en ligne et doit afficher la situation « ATIVA » ainsi que les codes d'activité CNAE : vérifier que la comptabilité ou les services de paie figurent bien dans l'objet enregistré. Les services de paie et de comptabilité étant taxés à l'ISS municipal, l'inscription municipale est indispensable pour émettre une nota fiscal de serviço. | Receita Federal do Brasil pour le CNPJ ; préfecture municipale pour l'inscription au titre de l'ISS | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Certidão Negativa de Débitos relativos aos Créditos Tributários Federais e à Dívida Ativa da União (CND ou CPEN)Federal tax and public debt clearance certificate Depuis 2014, cette certidão unique couvre à la fois les impôts fédéraux et les cotisations de sécurité sociale (contributions à l'INSS) : elle vaut donc aussi attestation de régularité sociale pour le volet prévoyance. Sa validité est de cent quatre-vingts jours. Une « certidão positiva com efeitos de negativa » (CPEN) est acceptable : elle signale une dette suspendue ou garantie. | Receita Federal do Brasil et Procuradoria-Geral da Fazenda Nacional (PGFN) | 6 months Required | Official website |
| Certificado de Regularidade do FGTS (CRF) et Certidão Negativa de Débitos Trabalhistas (CNDT)FGTS compliance certificate and labour debt clearance certificate Deux pièces sociales distinctes de la CND fédérale. Le CRF atteste le versement du FGTS, le fonds de garantie alimenté par l'employeur, et n'est valable que trente jours : le demander en fin d'instruction du dossier. La CNDT, délivrée par la justice du travail, atteste l'absence de condamnations prud'homales inexécutées et vaut cent quatre-vingts jours ; c'est un indicateur très parlant sur un cabinet de gestion sociale. | Caixa Econômica Federal pour le CRF ; Tribunal Superior do Trabalho pour la CNDT | 1 month Required | Official website |
| Apólice de seguro de responsabilidade civil profissionalProfessional liability insurance policy Aucune obligation légale au Brésil pour les organisations comptables. À exiger contractuellement, en vérifiant que la garantie couvre les erreurs de calcul de paie et de charges, poste de risque élevé compte tenu de la complexité de l'eSocial. | Assureur agréé par la SUSEP | 12 months Where applicable | Official website |
| Registro Cadastral da organização contábil no CRC + Certidão de Regularidade Profissional (CRP) do responsável técnicoCRC registration of the accounting firm and professional compliance certificate of the technical manager Pièce déterminante au Brésil. Le décret-loi n° 9.295 du 27 mai 1946 réserve aux contadores et techniciens en comptabilité inscrits l'organisation et l'exécution des services de comptabilité en général, ce qui englobe l'élaboration de la folha de pagamento et des obligations accessoires. Toute organisation comptable doit obtenir un Registro Cadastral auprès du CRC de son État et désigner un responsable technique inscrit, dont la Certidão de Regularidade Profissional doit être en cours de validité. À vérifier sur le site du CRC de l'État. | Conselho Regional de Contabilidade (CRC) de l'État, sous l'égide du Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC) | 12 months Required | Official website |
| RG e CPF dos sócios e do responsável técnico (para estrangeiros, CPF e RNM ou passaporte)ID and taxpayer number of partners and technical manager Le CPF est le numéro fiscal des personnes physiques : il figure sur le contrat de société et permet de recouper l'identité des associés. Un associé étranger doit disposer d'un CPF brésilien pour figurer au contrat social. | Receita Federal do Brasil pour le CPF | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Conformidade com a LGPD (Lei nº 13.709/2018) — indicação e publicação do Encarregado (DPO), política de privacidade, contrato de operadorLGPD compliance: appointed data protection officer, privacy policy, processor agreement La LGPD n'impose aucun enregistrement auprès de l'ANPD, mais elle exige la désignation d'un Encarregado dont l'identité et les coordonnées doivent être rendues publiques : c'est la preuve de conformité la plus facile à demander. Un cabinet traitant des données de salariés pour un donneur d'ordre français devra en outre accepter des clauses de sous-traitance au sens de l'article 28 du RGPD. | Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD) | No expiry Required | Official website |
A thirteenth monthly salary is a statutory obligation in Brazil, paid in two instalments during the year, and annual leave carries a pay supplement. A salary budget built on twelve plain monthly payments is structurally short.
The guarantee fund is the second distinctive feature: the employer deposits a monthly amount into an account held in the employee's name, which the employee draws on in defined termination situations. This is a permanent employer charge, entirely separate from social contributions.
Labour litigation risk completes the picture. Brazilian labour courts are heavily used, and the certificate confirming the absence of unsatisfied labour court judgments, issued by the Superior Labour Court, is an unusually revealing document about a payroll practice: read it before any other. Read together, these three elements determine both the true cost of employment and the level of exposure to litigation.
Le Brésil multiplie les certidões : ne pas se contenter de la CND fédérale, qui couvre l'impôt et l'INSS mais ni le FGTS ni le passif prud'homal. Il faut trois attestations sociales et fiscales — CND fédérale (cent quatre-vingts jours), CRF du FGTS (trente jours seulement, donc à demander en dernier) et CNDT du Tribunal supérieur du travail (cent quatre-vingts jours) — auxquelles s'ajoutent souvent des certidões au niveau de l'État et de la commune. Le contrôle réellement discriminant reste toutefois le Registro Cadastral au CRC : beaucoup de structures se présentent comme escritório de contabilidade sans l'avoir. Enfin, tout partenaire brésilien doit maîtriser l'eSocial, le système unifié de transmission des données sociales, dont les rejets sont la première cause de contentieux en paie.
The network opens 3 partner slots in Brazil, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.
No listed partner in Brazil has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.
Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.
Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.
The genuinely discriminating Brazilian check is registration of the accounting firm with the regional accounting council of its state, together with the appointment of a technical officer whose professional compliance certificate must be current. The file also includes the consolidated articles of association, the simplified Junta Comercial extract, the national taxpayer registration card, the federal clearance certificate, the guarantee fund compliance certificate and the Superior Labour Court certificate. Demonstrated command of eSocial is expected of every Brazilian member. We ask for client references on that point rather than accepting the claim at face value.
Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in Brazil yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.
Request a provider in BrazilEach page takes up the data in this profile from a particular angle.
Mobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.
These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.
The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in Brazil.