CPF for Foreigners Buying Property in Brazil: The Remote Route

The first document a foreign buyer needs in a Brazilian property purchase is not the contract, the deed or the exchange contract. It is an eleven-digit number that most buyers have never heard of until a broker, a notary or a bank asks for it: the CPF.

The frustration usually arrives in the same order. An apartment is chosen, a price is agreed, the seller wants a signed preliminary contract, and the buyer discovers that the notary will not draw up a public deed for someone without a CPF, the municipality will not issue the ITBI transfer-tax guide without one, and the exchange bank will not close a contract for an unidentified buyer. Everything stops until the number exists — and if it exists but sits in a suspended or pending status, everything stops again.

This guide is about the CPF specifically as a property-purchase instrument: why each closing step depends on it, how a non-resident obtains it without flying to Brazil, how it connects to the power of attorney, the bank and the exchange contract, and what keeps it working through to the day the deed is registered. It is educational content prepared by the ZS Advogados Associados team for foreign nationals buying property in Brazil and for the advisers helping them. If what you need is the general registration walkthrough for any purpose, our earlier guides How to get a Brazilian CPF without being in Brazil and CPF for foreigners: tax ID guide cover that ground; this one assumes you are buying and follows the number through the transaction.

Why does a property purchase in Brazil run on the CPF?

Because the Brazilian property system identifies natural persons by CPF at every level that matters, and none of those levels will substitute a passport number.

Start with the tax authority, because this is where the obligation actually begins. Receita Federal states the rule plainly on its own service page for people abroad: persons, Brazilian or foreign, not resident in Brazil are obliged to enrol in the CPF where they hold assets and rights subject to public registration in Brazil — and the list it gives opens with imóveis, followed by vehicles, vessels, aircraft, bank accounts and financial- and capital-market investments. Buying a Brazilian property is therefore not a situation in which a CPF is merely useful. It is a situation in which enrolment is required.

Then look at the registry. Ownership of real estate in Brazil transfers only when the public deed is registered on the property’s matrícula at the Cartório de Registro de Imóveis — the Civil Code is explicit that between living persons ownership passes by registration, not by contract (Lei nº 10.406/2002, arts. 1.245–1.247). The registry law prescribes what must be recorded about the parties. For a natural person, the entry must carry marital status, profession and the CPF number, or the number of the Brazilian identity card, or failing both, the person’s parentage (Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 176, §1º, II, 4, a, for the matrícula and III, 2, a, for the registration entry).

That alternative is worth reading closely, because it is often quoted as though the statute said “CPF” and nothing else. It does not. But a foreign buyer who has never held Brazilian residency has no Registro Geral identity card, and identification by parentage alone will not satisfy a registrar examining a purchase by a non-resident. In practice, for the buyer this guide is written for, the CPF is the only identifier that works — and the Receita Federal enrolment obligation above means it is required regardless.

Now work backwards. The deed itself is a notarial act, and notaries identify the parties by the same number; the escritura pública names each party with CPF, nationality, marital status and address. Before the notary draws up the deed, the transfer tax must be accounted for: Lei nº 7.433/1985, art. 1º, §2º, requires the notary to record in the act that the document evidencing payment of the Imposto de Transmissão inter vivos was presented, together with the tax and title certificates — and municipalities issue that ITBI guide against the buyer’s CPF. Before the ITBI can be paid, the purchase price usually has to be inside Brazil, and the exchange operation that converts foreign currency into reais is carried out by an institution authorized by the Central Bank, which is responsible for identifying and qualifying its customer (Lei nº 14.286/2021, arts. 3º and 4º, I) — for a natural person, by CPF. If the buyer holds a Brazilian bank account in the meantime, that account was opened on the CPF too.

The same number then follows the owner for the life of the asset: the annual IPTU is assessed against the property but the owner’s tax record is keyed to the CPF; rental income paid to a non-resident is withheld and reported against the owner’s CPF and the procurador’s; and when the property is sold, the capital-gains tax on a non-resident’s gain is paid under the seller’s CPF before the proceeds can leave the country.

Legal basis: compulsory CPF enrolment for non-residents holding assets subject to public registration in Brazil — Receita Federal, service for natural persons abroad; transfer of ownership by registration — Código Civil, arts. 1.245–1.247; contents of the matrícula and of the registration entry — Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 176, §1º, II, 4 and III, 2; proof of the transfer tax at the deed — Lei nº 7.433/1985, art. 1º, §2º, in the wording given by Lei nº 13.097/2015; identification of the customer in exchange operations — Lei nº 14.286/2021, arts. 3º and 4º, and Resolução BCB nº 277/2022.

What is the CPF, legally — and what is it not?

The CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas) is the federal registry of natural persons kept by the Receita Federal do Brasil. The number is issued once and belongs to the person for life; there is no separate “property CPF” or “non-resident CPF”. The rules for registration, updating, suspension and cancellation are set today by Instrução Normativa RFB nº 2.172, of 9 January 2024 (“Dispõe sobre o Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas”, published on 10 January 2024), which replaced the long-standing IN RFB nº 1.548/2015 and consolidated the CPF rules, adding anti-fraud measures such as biometric collection and stricter document requirements for in-person attendance. Material still citing IN RFB nº 1.548/2015 is out of date; material citing IN RFB nº 2.119/2022 is citing the CNPJ instruction, which governs legal entities, not the CPF.

Three things the CPF is not, each of which matters for a buyer:

It is not an immigration status. A CPF confers no right to enter, stay or work in Brazil. Tourists, non-residents and people who have never visited hold CPFs.

It is not tax residency. Brazilian tax residency for an individual depends on physical presence or a formal declaration under the income-tax rules — not on holding a number. A foreign buyer with a CPF who spends a few weeks a year in Brazil remains a non-resident, and is taxed as one on Brazilian-source income and gains. If your plans involve moving to Brazil, that is a separate analysis; see Brazil tax residency and the exit tax.

It is not a bank account or a licence to transfer money. It is the identifier those things require.

The number does, however, carry an obligation: the record must be kept accurate. Since 13 January 2025, foreign nationals resident abroad who hold a CPF have been required to re-register annually with Receita Federal. The mechanism is administrative rather than statutory in form, and it is described consistently across Brazilian consular posts: the confirmation is made through the Receita Federal mobile application, where the holder enters the CPF number and date of birth and the app captures a photograph of the holder’s face and of the passport; the window runs through the calendar year; and where the data diverge and the app cannot complete the process, the holder submits a request through the e-consular system under the annual CPF re-registration heading, or attends a consular post. If the confirmation is not made, the record first becomes pendente de regularização and, if it stays uncorrected, suspensa.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a non-regular CPF is, for the purposes of a closing, no CPF at all. Second, this obligation is annual and permanent: it does not end when the deed is registered, and a buyer who lets it lapse discovers the problem years later, when trying to sell.

Legal basis: Instrução Normativa RFB nº 2.172/2024 (registration, updating and situações cadastrais of the CPF). The annual re-registration for foreign nationals resident abroad was introduced by Receita Federal with effect from 13 January 2025 and is administered through its own application and the consular e-consular system; we describe the mechanism rather than a provision number because it is administered administratively and the operating instructions are published by Receita Federal and the consular network.

How does a non-resident get a CPF without travelling to Brazil?

Receita Federal recognises three channels for a person resident abroad, under the rules consolidated in IN RFB nº 2.172/2024. They issue the same number; the choice is logistical and, for a buyer, strategic.

Route	Where it happens	What it needs	When it fits a property purchase
Brazilian consulate or vice-consulate	In person, at the consulate covering your residence	Passport, personal data, proof of address as the post requires; parental consent for minors	You live near a consulate and want a number in hand early, independently of the transaction
Receita Federal channel for people abroad	From anywhere, by form and e-mail exchange with Receita Federal	Passport image, personal data, and a photograph of your face holding an open identity document	You have time, your data fits the form’s validations, and no representative is yet engaged
Representative in Brazil under a specific power of attorney	At a Receita Federal service unit, through your attorney	Power of attorney naming CPF registration expressly; apostille and sworn translation if signed abroad; passport copy	A Brazilian attorney is already handling the purchase and will use the same POA for the deed, the bank and the exchange contract

The consulate route is the traditional one. The applicant attends in person, the consular officer checks the passport and the data, and the number is generally issued at the appointment or shortly after. Consular posts also process changes to registry data, requests for regularization and cancellations on presentation of the Receita Federal form. What no route produces for a non-resident is a physical CPF card: proof of enrolment is the Comprovante de Inscrição e de Situação Cadastral printed from the Receita Federal website, presented with an identity document.

The remote route works well when the applicant’s data and document images pass validation. It does not always. Country lists and field formats have rejected applicants from some smaller jurisdictions; when that happens, the fallback is a consulate or a representative.

The representative route is the one most relevant to a buyer closing from abroad, because it collapses several steps into one instrument. The same public power of attorney that authorizes your lawyer to sign the deed and pay the ITBI can, if it says so expressly, authorize them to register your CPF, open or operate an account, and sign the exchange contract. The instrument must name the CPF registration specifically — a generic mandate is not accepted at the service unit — and, if it is executed before a foreign notary, it must be apostilled under the Hague Convention and translated by a sworn translator before it produces effects in Brazil. Our companion guide on buying property in Brazil by power of attorney sets out how that instrument is drafted and legalized.

Whichever route you use, the data on the record has to match the passport exactly — full name as printed, date of birth, nationality — and the mother’s full name field, which the form requires and which foreign applicants sometimes leave incomplete, should be entered as it appears on the birth certificate. Registrars compare the CPF record, the passport, the power of attorney and the deed; a mismatch in any one of them generates a nota devolutiva (a registrar’s requisition) and a delay.

Legal basis: IN RFB nº 2.172/2024 and Receita Federal’s published service for natural persons abroad (channels for enrolment, alteration, regularization and cancellation; proof of enrolment for non-residents); Decreto nº 8.660/2016 (Hague Apostille Convention in Brazil); Lei nº 14.195/2021, arts. 22–34 (sworn translators); Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 129, 6º, which subjects “all documents of foreign origin, accompanied by their respective translations” to registration at the Registro de Títulos e Documentos in order to produce effects before federal, state and municipal authorities or in any court.

What does the CPF unlock, step by step, in the purchase?

Once the number exists and is regular, it becomes the thread that runs through the closing. The table below follows a typical remote purchase in the order the steps usually occur.

Stage	What happens	Where the CPF is used
1. Due diligence	Attorney pulls the matrícula and the certidões on the property and the seller	Buyer’s CPF is not needed for the search, but is needed to order certificates in the buyer’s own name later
2. Preliminary contract (compromisso de compra e venda)	Binding promise to buy and sell; deposit (arras) often paid	Buyer identified by CPF; brokers and sellers generally refuse to proceed without it
3. Money in	Exchange operation settled with an authorized institution; reais credited to the buyer’s account or paid to the seller	Operation recorded in the buyer’s name and CPF, under purpose code 46215; onboarding on the CPF
4. ITBI	Municipal transfer-tax guide issued and paid	Issued against the buyer’s CPF; proof shown to the notary
5. Public deed (escritura pública)	Signed before the notary by the parties or their attorneys-in-fact	Parties identified by CPF; POA cross-checked against the CPF record
6. Registration	Deed presented to the Registro de Imóveis and entered on the matrícula, within 10 days of protocol	Buyer’s CPF recorded in the entry (Lei 6.015/1973, art. 176, §1º)
7. After closing	IPTU, condominium, utilities; rental income and eventual sale	Owner’s tax record, withholding on rent, capital-gains DARF at sale

Three of these stages deserve a closer look because they are where the CPF interacts with other rules.

The bank account question. A CPF is a precondition for opening an account in Brazil, but it does not oblige any institution to open one. Non-residents may hold accounts in reais in Brazil, and the rule is clearer than most buyers expect: Lei nº 14.286/2021, art. 5º, VIII and §4º, gives the Central Bank authority over accounts in reais held by non-residents and provides that they receive the same treatment as residents’ accounts save for requirements the Central Bank sets; Resolução BCB nº 277/2022, art. 67, allows authorized institutions to open, maintain and close them “under the same conditions” as residents’ accounts. What the rules do not do is compel any institution to accept a client — onboarding policy is the institution’s own, and many still require the client, or a representative, to appear in person. For a good number of purchases the buyer never holds a Brazilian account at all: the institution converts the funds in an operation recorded in the buyer’s name and pays the reais on to the seller or the notary in accordance with the purchase documents. Our guide on sending money to Brazil for a property purchase covers that operation, and the purpose code it must carry, in detail.

The ITBI. The transfer tax is municipal (Constituição Federal, art. 156, II; Código Tributário Nacional, arts. 35–42), so the procedure varies by city, but the pattern is consistent: the guide is issued in the buyer’s name and CPF, on the higher of the price and the municipal reference value, and the notary records the proof of payment in the deed. A CPF in irregular status often prevents the municipal system from issuing the guide at all.

The registration. The registrar checks the deed against the matrícula and the parties’ identification, and the CPF is one of the elements compared. The examination is on a clock: since Lei nº 14.382/2022 rewrote Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 188, the registrar must either register the title or issue a nota devolutiva within ten days of the protocol entry — and a purchase-and-sale deed without special clauses, where no requisition is raised and the fees are paid, must be registered within five (art. 188, §1º). Registration is what makes you the owner (Código Civil, art. 1.245, §1º), and the registered entry is presumed accurate until altered (art. 1.245, §2º; art. 1.247). Because the CPF becomes part of that permanent record, an error entered now — a misspelt name, a wrong marital status — has to be corrected by a formal rectification procedure later.

Legal basis: Código Civil, arts. 1.245–1.247; Lei nº 6.015/1973, arts. 167, 176, 188 (as amended by Lei nº 14.382/2022) and 212 et seq. (rectification); Lei nº 7.433/1985, art. 1º, §2º; Constituição Federal, art. 156, II, and CTN arts. 35–42 (ITBI); Lei nº 14.286/2021, arts. 4º and 5º, VIII and §4º, and Resolução BCB nº 277/2022, art. 67 (identification of customers in exchange operations; accounts in reais held by non-residents).

How does the CPF connect to the power of attorney?

For a remote buyer, the CPF and the power of attorney are two halves of one mechanism. The POA is what lets someone in Brazil act; the CPF is what lets the acts be attributed to you in every registry they touch.

The practical consequences for drafting:

• Sequence. If the CPF does not yet exist, the POA should authorize its registration expressly, and the attorney will register the number first, then use it in everything that follows. If the CPF already exists, its number goes into the POA as part of your identification, and the notary drafting the deed will check that the POA, the passport and the CPF record agree.
• Identity across documents. The name in the POA must be the name on the passport and the name on the CPF record. Middle names dropped in one place and kept in another, or a married surname used on the CPF but a maiden name on the passport, are the most frequent sources of a registrar’s requisition. Decide on one form and use it everywhere.
• Marital status. The CPF record itself does not carry marital status, but the deed and the matrícula do, and the POA must state it correctly because it determines whether a spouse needs to appear. A buyer married abroad is normally identified by the property regime of the couple’s first marital domicile (Lei de Introdução às Normas do Direito Brasileiro, art. 7º, §4º), and the notary may require the marriage certificate, apostilled and translated. The rule that a spouse’s consent is required to sell or encumber real estate (Código Civil, art. 1.647, I) does not apply to buying, but the spouse’s identification, and often their own CPF, does.
• Scope of the mandate. Acts that require special powers must be named expressly — the Civil Code provides that a mandate in general terms confers only powers of administration, and that “to dispose, mortgage, settle, or perform any other acts exceeding ordinary administration, the power of attorney requires special and express powers” (art. 661 and §1º). Because the deed must be a public instrument for any transaction above thirty times the minimum wage (art. 108), the POA used to sign it must also be public (art. 657) — executed before a Brazilian notary, a Brazilian consulate, or a foreign notary with apostille, translation and registration at the Registro de Títulos e Documentos. Our closing by power of attorney page and the power of attorney guide set out the drafting.

The companion guide on closing by power of attorney walks through the instrument clause by clause. The point here is simply that the two documents are designed together, not one after the other.

Legal basis: Código Civil, arts. 108, 653–692 (mandate; especially arts. 657, 661 and 682), 1.647; LINDB (Decreto-Lei nº 4.657/1942), art. 7º, §4º; Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 129, 6º.

What keeps the CPF regular through closing — and after?

A CPF passes through situações cadastrais, and only a regular status supports a closing. Receita Federal’s own guidance for people abroad describes three irregular states: pendente de regularização, where the holder has failed to file a return they were required to file in the last exercise; suspensa, where the omission runs to the last two exercises; and cancelada, on death or where duplicate enrolments are found for the same person. The annual re-registration for foreign nationals abroad, in force since 13 January 2025, is an additional route into the first two of those states. For a foreign buyer, the two common causes of trouble are therefore inconsistent registry data and a missed annual confirmation.

Before the deed. Check the status on Receita Federal’s public consultation weeks in advance. If it is pending or suspended, the fix is administrative but not instant: the data must be corrected or confirmed, either by a representative at a service unit in Brazil with the documents that explain the inconsistency, or — for a person abroad — through a consular post on the Receita Federal form, which handles alterations, regularization requests and cancellations.

At the deed. The notary will consult the status. A non-regular CPF is a ground to refuse or postpone the act.

After closing. The obligations do not end with registration. Foreign nationals resident abroad must confirm the enrolment annually. If you let the property, the income-tax withholding on rent paid to a person resident abroad is reported against your CPF and your procurador’s, and the compliance chain has to run through someone in Brazil (see regularizing Brazilian rental-income tax as a non-resident). When you eventually sell, the tax on a non-resident’s capital gain is calculated and paid before the proceeds are remitted — under the rules applicable to residents (Lei nº 9.249/1995, art. 18), at the progressive rates in Lei nº 8.981/1995, art. 21, and withheld by the acquirer or, where the acquirer is abroad, by the acquirer’s procurador (Lei nº 10.833/2003, art. 26). A CPF that has drifted into a suspended status blocks that sale outright.

The pattern is simple: the CPF is not a one-time formality obtained for the closing; it is the identity under which the asset is held, taxed and eventually sold. Treat it as part of the property’s maintenance.

Legal basis: IN RFB nº 2.172/2024 and Receita Federal’s published guidance for natural persons abroad (situações cadastrais and regularization); withholding of income tax on rent paid to a person resident abroad — the income-tax regulation, Decreto nº 9.580/2018 (RIR/2018); capital gains of non-residents — Lei nº 9.249/1995, art. 18, Lei nº 8.981/1995, art. 21, as amended by Lei nº 13.259/2016, and Lei nº 10.833/2003, art. 26.

An illustrative scenario

Hypothetical illustration — not a real client.

Imagine a couple resident in Ireland who agree to buy an apartment in Florianópolis. Neither has a CPF. The seller wants a preliminary contract signed within two weeks and the deed within two months. The couple sign a single public power of attorney at the Brazilian consulate in Dublin naming a Brazilian attorney, with express powers to register their CPFs, sign the preliminary contract and the deed, pay the ITBI, close exchange contracts and present the deed for registration. Both spouses are named as buyers, so both need a CPF.

The attorney registers the two CPFs at a Receita Federal service unit using the POA and passport copies, and the numbers appear in the preliminary contract. Funds arrive under two exchange contracts, each in one spouse’s name and CPF with the nature of operation recorded as the acquisition of real estate. The ITBI guide is issued against the spouses’ CPFs. At the deed, the notary compares the consular POA, the passport copies and the CPF records and finds one inconsistency: the wife’s CPF record shows her maiden name, the passport her married name. The attorney corrects the CPF record before the deed rather than after, the deed is signed and registered, and both spouses appear on the matrícula with CPF, nationality and marital status recorded.

Every distinguishing detail here is invented to show how the steps connect. Real transactions turn on their own facts and require individual analysis by a licensed professional. Nothing in this example predicts any outcome.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Treating the CPF as a last-minute formality. Registering during the closing week leaves no room to fix a rejected form, a pending status or a name mismatch.
• Registering only one spouse. Anyone who will appear as an owner on the matrícula needs a CPF; a spouse who will co-own and a child who will hold a share are routinely forgotten.
• Inconsistent names across the passport, the CPF and the POA. The registrar compares them. Pick one form of the name and use it everywhere.
• Assuming the number gives you a bank account. It is a precondition, not an entitlement; onboarding is bank policy. Map the money route with your attorney before wiring anything.
• Letting the CPF lapse after closing. The annual confirmation for foreign nationals abroad, rental withholding and the eventual sale all depend on a regular status.
• Using a generic power of attorney. The POA must name CPF registration expressly, and must be public in form if it will also be used to sign the deed.
• Confusing the CPF with tax residency. Obtaining the number changes nothing about where you are taxed; moving to Brazil does.

The CPF in a property purchase at a glance

Question	Short answer	Anchor
Is enrolment compulsory for a foreign buyer?	Yes — a non-resident holding assets subject to public registration in Brazil, property first among them, must enrol	Receita Federal, service for natural persons abroad
Is the CPF what the registry requires?	The entry requires the CPF or a Brazilian identity number; a non-resident has no Brazilian identity number	Lei 6.015/1973, art. 176, §1º, II, 4 and III, 2
Which instruction governs the CPF today?	IN RFB nº 2.172, of 9 January 2024 (not IN RFB 2.119/2022, which governs the CNPJ)	IN RFB 2.172/2024
Can a non-resident get one remotely?	Yes — consulate, the Receita Federal channel for people abroad, or a representative under a specific POA	Receita Federal
Is there a physical card?	No — proof is the printed Comprovante de Inscrição e de Situação Cadastral	Receita Federal
Does it create tax residency or immigration status?	No	Income-tax residency rules; immigration law is separate
Who else needs one?	Every co-owner, including a spouse or child taking title	Lei 6.015/1973, art. 176
What blocks a closing?	A CPF that is pending, suspended or cancelled	IN RFB 2.172/2024
What keeps it regular?	Annual re-registration for foreign nationals abroad, since 13 January 2025	Receita Federal / consular network

Key terms

• CPF — Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas, the federal registry of natural persons kept by Receita Federal; the eleven-digit number identifies you in every Brazilian registry, bank and tax system.
• Situação cadastral — the status of a CPF record. Receita Federal describes three irregular states for people abroad: pendente de regularização, suspensa and cancelada. Only a regular status supports a closing.
• Comprovante de Inscrição e de Situação Cadastral — the printed proof of enrolment and status; for a non-resident it replaces the CPF card, which is not issued.
• Recadastramento anual — the annual re-registration required of foreign nationals resident abroad since 13 January 2025, made through the Receita Federal application or, where the data diverge, the consular route.
• Matrícula — the property’s official record at the Cartório de Registro de Imóveis, on which the owner’s CPF is recorded.
• Escritura pública — the public deed drawn up by a notary, in which the parties are identified by CPF; registration of this deed transfers ownership.
• ITBI — Imposto de Transmissão de Bens Imóveis, the municipal transfer tax issued against the buyer’s CPF and paid before the deed.
• Procuração pública — a public power of attorney, executed before a notary, or before a Brazilian consulate where the grantor holds Brazilian nationality (LINDB, art. 18), required for a representative to sign a public deed; it may also authorize CPF registration.
• Contrato de câmbio — the exchange contract closed with an authorized bank to convert foreign currency into reais, in the buyer’s name and CPF.
• Non-resident — for Brazilian income-tax purposes, a person who does not meet the residency tests; holding a CPF does not change this.

Key takeaways

• Enrolment is compulsory, not optional: Receita Federal requires a non-resident holding assets subject to public registration in Brazil — property first on its list — to enrol in the CPF.
• The registry entry requires the buyer’s CPF or a Brazilian identity number (Lei 6.015/1973, art. 176, §1º). A foreign buyer has no Brazilian identity number, so the CPF is the only route in practice.
• The governing rules are in IN RFB nº 2.172/2024, which replaced IN RFB nº 1.548/2015. IN RFB nº 2.119/2022 is the CNPJ instruction and does not govern the CPF — a citation worth checking in anything you read.
• The number is used at every stage — the preliminary contract, the exchange operation, the bank, the ITBI, the deed and the registration — and later for IPTU, rental withholding and the tax on a non-resident’s capital gain at sale.
• A non-resident obtains it without travelling: consulate, the Receita Federal channel for people abroad, or a representative in Brazil under a POA that names CPF enrolment expressly. No physical card is issued — proof is the printed Comprovante.
• For a remote purchase the representative route lets one public power of attorney cover the CPF, the deed, the ITBI and the exchange operation.
• The CPF is only an identifier: no immigration status, no tax residency, no automatic bank account.
• Keep it regular: since 13 January 2025 foreign nationals abroad must re-register annually, and a lapse takes the record to pendente and then suspensa — which stops a closing and, later, a sale.

Related guides on this site

• Buying property in Brazil by power of attorney: closing from abroad — the instrument that lets your attorney use the CPF for you
• Sending money to Brazil for a property purchase — the exchange contract and the record that supports repatriation on sale
• How to get a Brazilian CPF without being in Brazil — the three registration channels in detail, for any purpose
• CPF for foreigners: tax ID guide — what the number is, costs, timing and tax-residency myths
• Brazil real estate due diligence: matrícula guide — the checks that run before the money moves
• Regularizing Brazilian rental-income tax as a non-resident — what the CPF is used for after closing
• Foreigners buying property in Brazil: complete guide — the end-to-end process

Related service pages: CPF for a property purchase · how to get a CPF as a foreigner · buying property in Brazil · closing by power of attorney · the Brazilian purchase process step by step.

Estimate the closing costs for your city with our property closing cost calculator, and see how the remote purchase is structured on our buying property in Brazil page.

How ZS Advogados can help

A CPF is a small document that sits at the front of a large transaction. Getting it right means more than obtaining a number: the record has to match the passport and the power of attorney, every co-owner has to be covered, the status has to be regular on the day of the deed, and the same identity has to carry through the exchange contract, the ITBI and the registration. When it is planned as part of the purchase rather than bolted on, it rarely becomes a problem.

Our team registers CPFs for foreign buyers in connection with property purchases, drafts and legalizes the power of attorney that covers the whole closing, coordinates the exchange contract with the bank, and signs, pays and registers on the ground for clients who never travel. We work in English and Portuguese and coordinate with your advisers abroad. Every purchase is different, and no general guide replaces individual analysis of your property, your seller and your circumstances.

• Real estate law — title review, contracts, deed and registration for foreign buyers
• International law — powers of attorney from abroad, foreign-exchange and Central Bank compliance
• Tax law — non-resident ownership, rental withholding and the sale

Book a consultation to plan the CPF, the power of attorney and the money route together before you sign.

Technical review by the ZS Advogados Associados team, including co-founding partner Karina Peres Silvério (OAB/SP 331.050) and founding partner Zachariah Zagol (OAB/SP 351.356). Contact: zac@zsassociados.com — +55 (18) 3908-1653 — Presidente Prudente, SP.

Sources and legal basis

• Instrução Normativa RFB nº 2.172, de 9 de janeiro de 2024 — “Dispõe sobre o Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas” (Receita Federal)
• Receita Federal — CPF procedures for natural persons abroad (enrolment obligation for holders of assets subject to public registration; situações cadastrais; proof of enrolment)
• Receita Federal — Meu CPF (consultation and services)
• Receita Federal — news release on the 2024 CPF instruction
• Lei nº 6.015/1973 — Public Registries Law, arts. 129, 167, 176, 188, 212 (Planalto)
• Lei nº 14.382/2022 — SERP and the amendments to Lei nº 6.015/1973 (Planalto)
• Lei nº 10.406/2002 — Código Civil, arts. 108, 653–692, 1.245–1.247, 1.647 (Planalto)
• Lei nº 7.433/1985 — requirements for public deeds of real estate (Planalto)
• Lei nº 14.286/2021 — foreign-exchange market and foreign capital (Planalto)
• Resolução BCB nº 277/2022 — foreign-exchange market (Banco Central)
• Decreto nº 8.660/2016 — Hague Apostille Convention (Planalto)
• Lei nº 14.195/2021 — sworn translators, arts. 22–34 (Planalto)
• Código Tributário Nacional — Lei nº 5.172/1966, arts. 35–42 (ITBI) (Planalto)
• Lei nº 9.249/1995, art. 18 — non-resident gains taxed under the rules applicable to residents (Planalto)
• Lei nº 8.981/1995, art. 21 — capital-gains rates (Planalto)
• Lei nº 10.833/2003, art. 26 — who withholds on a non-resident’s gain (Planalto)
• Resolução BCB nº 277, de 31 de dezembro de 2022, art. 67 — accounts in reais held by non-residents (Banco Central)
• Itamaraty — annual CPF re-registration for foreign nationals resident abroad (Consulate-General in Lisbon)
• Itamaraty — annual CPF re-registration (Consulate-General in Edinburgh)

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This guide is for informational and educational purposes only, in line with Provimento No. 205/2021 of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB). It is not legal advice, an opinion, or an offer of services, does not refer to any specific case, and does not guarantee any result. It describes Brazilian law and practice. Registration procedures, bank onboarding policies, municipal ITBI rules and Central Bank regulations change and vary by institution and municipality; always confirm against official and current sources. Rules and provisions are cited as of August 2026; changes after that date are not reflected. Each situation requires individual analysis by a licensed attorney. Last updated August 2026.