Getting a Foreign Divorce Recognised in Brazil: STJ vs Cartório

The decree is in a folder somewhere — a Decree Absolute from Leeds, a Judgment of Dissolution from Cook County, a jugement de divorce from Lyon — and it has done its job where it was issued. Then something in Brazil asks for it. You want to remarry in São Paulo; a buyer’s notary wants to know why your civil status still says casado; your late father’s estate lawyer asks whether your ex-wife is still your heir; the Federal Police wants an updated civil status on your residence file. And the answer you get back is one of two words: averbação or homologação.

Which word applies is the whole question, and it is answered by the content of the foreign decision, not by the country it came from or how amicable the divorce was. Since 2015, a foreign divorce that was consensual and that only dissolves the marriage takes effect in Brazil without any court — the civil registrar annotates it. Any other foreign divorce — contested, or consensual but also deciding custody, support or property — must first pass through the Superior Tribunal de Justiça in Brasília. Get the door right, and recognition is a documentary exercise. Get it wrong, and a registrar returns the file months later with a note that the STJ is required after all.

This guide explains both doors, the documents behind each, what the STJ checks and refuses, and the special cases that trip people up: marriages never transcribed in Brazil, administrative divorces, non-Hague countries, decrees that touch a Brazilian property, and the surviving text of an old one-year waiting rule.

This is educational content prepared by the ZS Advogados Associados team for people whose divorce was granted in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union or elsewhere and who need it to count in Brazil — Brazilians abroad, foreign former spouses of Brazilians, and mixed-nationality couples with property, family or immigration ties to Brazil. It is the recognition companion to our guides on where to file when divorcing a Brazilian spouse from abroad and dividing a Brazilian property in a foreign divorce, and it goes deeper than the recognition section of our international divorce overview.

Why does a foreign divorce need anything at all in Brazil?

Because a judgment is an act of the sovereignty that issued it. Brazil’s private international law has always started from the rule that foreign laws, acts and judgments have effect in Brazil only within limits set by Brazilian law (LINDB, arts. 15 and 17), and the CPC/2015 restates the principle for judgments: a foreign decision produces effects in Brazil only after homologation, except where a statute or treaty provides otherwise (art. 961).

That exception is where divorce now lives. Art. 961, §5 provides that a foreign judgment of consensual divorce produces effects in Brazil independently of homologation by the STJ; §6 adds that when the validity of such a judgment is questioned, any judge before whom the point arises may examine it. The Conselho Nacional de Justiça implemented the change for the civil registries in Provimento nº 53/2016; that provimento was revoked in 2023 and its rule was carried into the Código Nacional de Normas do Foro Extrajudicial (Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023), arts. 463–467, which is the instrument in force. Art. 464 lets the registrar annotate the simple or pure consensual divorce — dissolution of the bond and nothing else — directly, and §3 provides that a qualified consensual divorce, one that “besides dissolving the marriage, involves provisions on custody of children, support and/or partition of assets”, depends on prior STJ homologation. Contested divorces were never within the exception and go to the STJ.

The practical reasons to complete recognition are mundane and cumulative. Until the Brazilian records are updated you remain casado in Brazil: you cannot marry there (the habilitação for a new marriage requires proof that the earlier one was dissolved); your former spouse remains, on paper, a necessary heir with a reserved share in any Brazilian estate (Código Civil, arts. 1.829 and 1.845); a notary may demand spousal consent for the sale of Brazilian real estate (art. 1.647, I); and immigration, pension and tax records carry the old status. None of these problems is urgent until the day it is.

Legal basis: LINDB (Decreto-Lei nº 4.657/1942), arts. 15 and 17; CPC/2015, art. 961, caput and §§1, 5 and 6; Código Nacional de Normas do Foro Extrajudicial (Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023), arts. 463–467, which revoked and replaced Provimento CNJ nº 53/2016; Código Civil (Lei nº 10.406/2002), arts. 1.647, 1.829 and 1.845.

Which door applies to my decree?

Three questions decide it, in order.

Was the divorce consensual? Not “amicable” — consensual in the sense that both spouses asked for it or joined in it, and the judgment records that. A divorce granted on one spouse’s petition against the other’s opposition, or by default after the other did not appear, is contested for this purpose even if no one is bitter about it. If the judgment does not say on its face that it was consensual, the registrar may ask for proof, and the safer course is often to obtain a court certificate or a joint declaration.

Does the decree decide anything besides the dissolution? Read the operative part. If it fixes custody or visitation, orders child or spousal support, or allocates property — anywhere in the world — it is a qualified consensual divorce and goes to the STJ. Provisions that merely record that the parties have settled those matters by separate agreement are treated differently from provisions that decide them, but the line is drawn by the registrar and, in doubt, by the STJ. If the decree states that there were no children and no assets, or is silent, it is a simple divorce.

Is there a Brazilian marriage record to annotate? The direct route annotates the foreign divorce on an existing Brazilian assento de casamento. A marriage celebrated in Brazil has one. A marriage of a Brazilian celebrated abroad has one only once it has been transcribed in Brazil. A marriage between two foreigners celebrated abroad usually has none — in which case there is nothing to annotate, and recognition matters only when a Brazilian authority asks for it.

Your decree	Door	Legal basis
Consensual; dissolves the bond only; Brazilian marriage record exists	Cartório — direct annotation by the civil registrar	CPC art. 961, §5; CNN (Prov. CNJ 149/2023), art. 464
Consensual, but also decides custody, support or property	STJ homologation, then annotation	CNN, art. 464, §3 (qualified divorce); CPC arts. 960–965
Contested (including default judgments)	STJ homologation, then annotation	CPC arts. 960–965
Any decree allocating assets situated in Brazil	STJ refuses that clause; partition must be done in Brazil	CPC art. 23, III; art. 964
Brazilian married abroad; marriage never transcribed	Transcribe the marriage first, then the applicable door	Código Civil art. 1.544; Lei 6.015/1973, art. 32
Two foreigners, no Brazilian record	Nothing to annotate; present the decree when needed; STJ if formal recognition is demanded	CPC art. 961, §§5–6
Administrative (non-judicial) divorce	Same doors; treated as a judgment	CPC art. 961, §1

Speak to counsel — the “qualified” line is drawn document by document. Whether a recital that the spouses “have resolved all financial matters by agreement” turns a simple divorce into a qualified one is a judgement call that registrars make differently. A short review of the decree before filing avoids a rejection months later.

Route A: direct annotation at the cartório under the Código Nacional de Normas

The direct route is an averbação — an annotation in the margin of the marriage record — carried out by the Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais where the marriage is registered, without any judicial involvement. Art. 464, §1 of the Código Nacional de Normas states that it “does not depend on prior homologation of the foreign judgment by the Superior Tribunal de Justiça and/or on the prior pronouncement of any other Brazilian judicial authority”, and §2 dispenses with the assistance of a lawyer or public defender.

Documents. Art. 465 of the Código Nacional de Normas sets out the list, and it is short: a complete copy of the foreign judgment; proof that it is final (comprovação do trânsito em julgado) — a certificate of finality, a clerk’s attestation, or wording in the judgment itself, depending on the country; a sworn official translation into Portuguese, which under Lei nº 14.195/2021, arts. 22–34, means a tradutor e intérprete público registered with a state commercial board; and either a chancela consular or an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961 (in force in Brazil since 14 August 2016 under Decreto nº 8.660/2016). Registrars also ask for the applicant’s identification, and, if the judgment does not show on its face that the divorce was consensual and that nothing else was decided, for proof of that. Art. 467 requires the registrar to archive the documents presented, physically or in secure digital form, with a note of the archiving in the margin of the record.

Who can apply. Either former spouse, in person or through an attorney-in-fact; the applicant does not need to be Brazilian, and no lawyer is required (art. 464, §2). A person living abroad ordinarily instructs a lawyer or a relative under a power of attorney. Brazilian consular posts publish their own guidance on foreign divorce records and on what they can and cannot forward to a registry in Brazil, and that varies by post, so check with the consulate that serves you before assuming it can act as the channel.

What the registrar checks. The registrar verifies that the decision is a divorce, that it is consensual and simple, that the marriage record exists, that the formalities (apostille, translation, finality) are met, and that nothing in the decree touches custody, support or property. If anything does, the registrar must refuse the direct route and indicate that prior STJ homologation is required. The registrar does not assess the merits, the fairness of the divorce, or the law applied abroad.

Name. The annotation also records the name each spouse will use after the divorce. Brazilian law allows a divorced spouse to keep the married name (Código Civil, art. 1.571, §2, read with art. 1.578, §2). Reverting to the maiden name in a direct annotation has its own rule: under art. 466 of the Código Nacional de Normas, the applicant must show an express provision in the foreign judgment allowing it — unless the foreign legislation itself permits the reversion, or the applicant proves the name change with a document from the foreign civil registry. Identity documents are updated afterwards, from the annotated certificate.

After the annotation. The updated marriage certificate — now bearing the divorce annotation — is the document every later Brazilian act keys off: remarriage, property deals, estate proceedings, immigration updates. Obtain several certified copies.

Legal basis: Código Nacional de Normas do Foro Extrajudicial (Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023), arts. 463 (annotation of an STJ carta de sentença), 464 (direct annotation of a simple consensual foreign divorce; §3, qualified divorces require prior homologation), 465 (documents), 466 (name) and 467 (archiving); CPC/2015, art. 961, §§5–6; Lei nº 6.015/1973 (Lei de Registros Públicos), art. 29, §1, “a” and art. 100 (annotations on the marriage record); Decreto nº 8.660/2016 (Apostille Convention); Lei nº 14.195/2021, arts. 22–34 (sworn translators).

Route B: homologation by the Superior Tribunal de Justiça

Homologation is a special proceeding before the STJ in Brasília, governed by arts. 960–965 of the CPC and arts. 216-A to 216-N of the STJ’s internal rules (Regimento Interno, as amended by Emenda Regimental nº 18/2014). Its object is a juízo de delibação — a limited review of whether the foreign decision meets Brazil’s formal conditions for effectiveness — not a retrial.

The requirements. Under art. 963 of the CPC, mirrored in RISTJ arts. 216-D and 216-F, the foreign decision must: (i) have been rendered by a competent authority; (ii) have been preceded by regular service of process on the defendant, even if judgment was then entered in default; (iii) be effective in the country where it was rendered — the STJ’s rules require that it be final, with proof of trânsito em julgado; (iv) not offend Brazilian res judicata; (v) be accompanied by an official translation, unless a treaty dispenses with it; and (vi) not manifestly offend public order. The RISTJ adds sovereignty and human dignity to the public-order screen.

Who files, and against whom. Either former spouse may file. If both join the request — common in consensual but “qualified” divorces — there is no one to serve and the President of the STJ can decide on the papers. If one files alone, the other is served: in Brazil, by the ordinary means; abroad, by letter rogatory; and if untraceable, by public notice, with a special curator (in practice the Defensoria Pública da União) appointed to protect the absent party’s interests. A contested request — where the served spouse files an objection — is decided by the Corte Especial rather than the President (RISTJ art. 216-K).

What the other spouse can argue. Not much. RISTJ art. 216-H limits the objection to the authenticity of the documents, the intelligibility of the decision, and compliance with the requirements listed above. “The foreign court got it wrong” is not a ground.

Partial homologation. The STJ may homologate part of a decision (CPC art. 961, §2). This is the mechanism by which a decree containing a clause Brazil cannot accept — a division of Brazilian real estate, or a provision that offends public order — is still recognised as to the dissolution, custody and support, with the offending clause left out. The STJ applies it in family cases: it has homologated foreign divorce and custody rulings while refusing a clause that removed a parent’s contact with the child as contrary to Brazilian public order.

After homologation. The STJ issues a carta de sentença. With it, the divorce is annotated on the Brazilian marriage record (Route A’s final step), and any provision requiring enforcement — a support order, a transfer of an asset abroad with Brazilian effects — is enforced before the competent federal court under art. 965 of the CPC, following the rules for enforcing a Brazilian judgment.

Timing. There is no fixed duration. An uncontested request whose documents are in order is decided by the President on the papers, typically in months; contested requests, requests requiring service abroad by letter rogatory, and requests requiring a special curator take substantially longer. The Ministério Público Federal is given sight of the file and delivers an opinion before the decision, under the STJ’s internal rules for these proceedings.

Legal basis: CPC/2015, arts. 960–965 (homologation of foreign decisions; partial homologation in art. 961, §2; requirements in art. 963; refusal on exclusive-jurisdiction matters in art. 964; enforcement before federal courts in art. 965); Regimento Interno do STJ, arts. 216-A to 216-N (Emenda Regimental nº 18/2014).

Speak to counsel — service abroad is where homologations stall. If your former spouse must be served outside Brazil, the letter rogatory alone can take a large share of the total calendar. Where the divorce was in fact consensual, a joint filing, or a notarised consent from the other spouse, converts a slow case into a quick one; the possibility is worth exploring before filing.

What will the STJ refuse — and what will it not re-examine?

The refusal grounds are the mirror of the requirements, plus one structural rule.

Exclusive Brazilian jurisdiction. Art. 964 of the CPC directs that a foreign decision will not be homologated where Brazilian jurisdiction is exclusive under art. 23. For divorces, the relevant head is art. 23, III: the partition of assets situated in Brazil in a divorce, separation or dissolution of stable union is reserved to Brazilian authorities, whatever the owner’s nationality or domicile. A foreign decree that awards the São Paulo apartment to one spouse will not be homologated on that point. STJ case law has long drawn a distinction between a foreign court deciding the allocation of Brazilian property — which it refuses — and a foreign court ratifying an agreement the spouses themselves reached about it, which it has homologated in a line of decisions, on the reasoning that the disposal came from the parties rather than from the foreign judge, and provided the agreement does not offend Brazilian internal law. That line is real, but it is fact-sensitive: it turns on how the foreign decree is worded, and it must be checked against the current state of the case law before anyone relies on it. Our guide to dividing a Brazilian property in a foreign divorce covers what to do instead.

Defective service. A default judgment abroad against a spouse in Brazil who was “served” by email, courier or a relative fails art. 963, II. Service on a person in Brazil must follow the channels Brazil accepts — a letter rogatory, or the 1965 Hague Service Convention, in force for Brazil since 1 June 2019 (Decreto nº 9.734/2019), through the Central Authority, which Brazil designated as the Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública. Brazil entered reservations to Articles 8 and 10 of that Convention and formally objects to those alternative transmission methods, postal service among them, so a decree obtained after “service” by post or courier is exposed. Homologation is where the shortcut is discovered.

Non-final decisions. An interim or provisional order, or a judgment still subject to appeal, is not homologated as a judgment (though certain urgent measures can be given effect through letters rogatory under art. 962).

Public order. Rarely invoked in divorce, because Brazil’s own divorce law is liberal since EC 66/2010. It surfaces in edge cases — decrees purporting to strip a parent of contact without process, or clauses offending mandatory Brazilian rules.

The one-year relic. Art. 7, §6 of the LINDB, as rewritten by Lei nº 12.036/2009, still provides that a foreign divorce involving a Brazilian is recognised only one year after the judgment unless preceded by a year of judicial separation. Emenda Constitucional nº 66/2010 removed separation and waiting periods from the constitutional rule on divorce, and the prevailing reading is that the condition no longer stands with it; the text of §6 was nonetheless never repealed, and it is occasionally raised at a registry. If it is, the answer is the constitutional amendment, and it is worth having it argued in writing rather than at the counter.

What the STJ does not do is re-examine whether the foreign court applied the right law, divided property fairly, or set support at the right level. Those questions were for the foreign court; Brazil’s review is of form and public order.

Legal basis: CPC/2015, art. 23, III and art. 964 (exclusive jurisdiction; refusal of homologation), art. 963, II, III, IV and VI (service, effectiveness, res judicata, public order), art. 962 (urgent measures via letters rogatory); LINDB, art. 7, §6 (Lei nº 12.036/2009) read with EC nº 66/2010.

Special situations that change the answer

A Brazilian married abroad and never transcribed the marriage. Under Código Civil art. 1.544, a Brazilian’s marriage celebrated abroad must be registered in Brazil within 180 days of return, at the registry of the domicile or, failing one, the 1º Ofício of the state capital; for a Brazilian still abroad, art. 32, §1 of the Public Registries Law points to the 1º Ofício of the Federal District. The transcription is normally requested through the Brazilian consulate, using the foreign marriage certificate (apostilled and translated). Only after the transcription exists can the divorce be annotated on it — by either route. Doing the two steps together, with counsel sequencing the documents, avoids two separate rounds of apostilles.

Two foreigners with no Brazilian record. There is no marriage record to annotate. The divorce matters only when something in Brazil requires it: marrying in Brazil, partitioning Brazilian assets, an estate, an immigration update. For those purposes the decree is presented apostilled and translated, and, if the notary, court or agency requires formal recognition, STJ homologation is the instrument. Note the structural point: the direct route in art. 464 of the Código Nacional de Normas works by annotating a Brazilian marriage record, so where none exists it simply has nothing to operate on. Whether a particular notary handling a habilitação de casamento, or a particular agency, will accept a consensual foreign decree on the strength of art. 961, §5 alone varies in practice, and is worth confirming with that office before the documents are prepared.

Administrative divorces. Some countries dissolve marriages without a court — Japan’s kyōgi rikon by registration at the municipal office, Denmark’s and Norway’s administrative divorces, certain Portuguese registry divorces. Art. 961, §1 of the CPC treats as a foreign judgment any non-judicial decision that would be judicial in Brazil, so these follow the same doors, with the administrative record standing in for the judgment and proof of finality taking the form the issuing country uses.

Non-Hague countries. If the decree comes from a country outside the Apostille Convention, the apostille is replaced by consular legalisation at the Brazilian consulate for that country. The rest of the file is the same.

A spouse who cannot be found. The direct route can be used by one former spouse alone. In the STJ, an untraceable respondent is served by public notice and represented by a special curator; the case still proceeds, but more slowly.

Dissolution of a union rather than a marriage. A foreign judgment dissolving a registered partnership or a stable union may need to be given effect in Brazil for property or succession purposes. Brazil’s união estável has its own recognition and dissolution rules, and the foreign decision is analysed for what it actually decided. This is a case-by-case question for counsel.

Decrees with a Brazilian-property clause. See the previous section: the clause will not be homologated; the partition is done in Brazil, by notarial deed if consensual or in court if not; the rest of the decree can be homologated in part.

Legal basis: Código Civil, art. 1.544 (registration of a Brazilian’s foreign marriage); Lei nº 6.015/1973, art. 32 and §1 (transcription of foreign civil records; 1º Ofício do Distrito Federal for those without Brazilian domicile); CPC/2015, art. 961, §§1–2.

What actually happens after recognition?

Recognition produces an annotated marriage certificate, and the certificate produces everything else.

• Remarriage in Brazil. The habilitação de casamento requires proof that a previous marriage was dissolved (Código Civil, art. 1.525, V); the annotated certificate is that proof.
• Property. A divorced owner sells Brazilian real estate without spousal consent, since art. 1.647 no longer applies. But recognition of the divorce does not itself transfer property: if the asset was jointly owned or subject to a community regime, the partition of Brazilian assets is a separate Brazilian act — a notarial deed or a court partition — registered at the property registry. The foreign decree is not the title.
• Succession. A divorced former spouse is no longer a necessary heir; a spouse whose divorce was never registered may still appear as one. Where an estate is already open, recognition of the divorce can change who inherits.
• Immigration. A residence authorisation obtained through family reunion is affected by the end of the relationship. Update the file consciously and read our guide on residency through marriage or união estável.
• Name and documents. Update CPF, passport and identity records to the post-divorce name once the annotation is made.
• Support and custody orders. Homologated provisions are enforced, when necessary, before the competent federal court (CPC art. 965). Cross-border collection of support also runs through the treaty channels described in our guide on child support in Brazil.

Hypothetical illustration — not a real client.

Imagine a Brazilian nurse who married a British engineer in Manchester, registered the marriage at the Brazilian consulate, and divorced eleven years later in England by consent. The Final Order dissolves the marriage and states that financial matters were settled by a separate consent order; there were no children. Wanting to remarry in Brazil, she asks whether the STJ is needed.

Because the marriage was transcribed in Brazil, a Brazilian marriage record exists. The Final Order is consensual and, on its face, decides nothing about custody, support or property — the reference to a separate consent order records a settlement rather than deciding it. Counsel obtains an apostilled copy of the order with the court’s certificate that it is final, a sworn translation, and a short declaration confirming the consensual nature of the divorce, and presents the file to the registry holding the transcribed marriage, which annotates the divorce directly under art. 464 of the Código Nacional de Normas. The consent order itself, which allocates a London flat and a pension share, is never presented in Brazil because it has nothing to do there.

Had the Final Order itself allocated the couple’s flat in Fortaleza, the registrar would have refused, the STJ would have refused that clause under art. 23, III, and the flat would have needed a Brazilian partition. Every distinguishing detail here is invented. Real situations turn on their own facts and require individual analysis. Nothing in this example predicts any outcome.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Filing at the STJ when the cartório would do. A simple consensual divorce does not need homologation; the STJ route costs months for no benefit.
• Trying the cartório with a qualified decree. A decree that decides custody, support or property will be refused at the counter and sent to the STJ — after the apostille and translation have been paid for once already.
• Not transcribing the foreign marriage first. A Brazilian who married abroad must register the marriage in Brazil before any divorce can be annotated on it.
• Presenting a decree that is not final. Proof of finality is required by both routes; many foreign courts issue it as a separate certificate that must itself be apostilled.
• Ordinary translation instead of sworn translation. Only a translation by a Brazilian tradutor público is accepted.
• Serving the Brazilian spouse informally in the foreign case. The homologation fails on art. 963, II, and the divorce has to be redone.
• Letting the foreign court allocate Brazilian property. The clause is refused; keep Brazilian assets out of the foreign order or record only an agreement about them.
• Assuming the old one-year rule is gone. It is treated as inapplicable, but it is still printed in the LINDB; be ready to address it.
• Stopping at recognition. Recognition changes civil status; it does not partition property, update the immigration file, or change the name on your documents. Those are further steps.

Recognising a foreign divorce in Brazil at a glance

Question	Simple consensual divorce	Contested or qualified divorce
Where	Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais holding the marriage record	Superior Tribunal de Justiça, then the registry
Legal basis	CPC art. 961, §5; CNN (Prov. CNJ 149/2023), art. 464	CPC arts. 960–965; RISTJ 216-A ff.
Court involved	None	STJ (President; Corte Especial if contested)
Core documents	Judgment, proof of finality, apostille, sworn translation, marriage record	Same, plus petition, service on the other spouse or joint filing, MPF opinion
Review	Formal: consensual? simple? formalities?	Delibation: competence, service, finality, translation, res judicata, public order
Brazilian-situs property clause	Not allowed (would make the divorce qualified and, in any case, be ineffective)	Refused under art. 964; partition done in Brazil
Typical duration	Weeks, once documents are ready	Months uncontested; longer if contested or service abroad
Output	Annotated marriage certificate	Carta de sentença, then annotated certificate

Key terms

• Averbação — the marginal annotation of the divorce on the Brazilian marriage record.
• Homologação de sentença estrangeira — the STJ proceeding giving a foreign judgment effect in Brazil.
• Juízo de delibação — the STJ’s limited review of form and public order, not merits.
• Divórcio consensual simples / qualificado — bond-only consensual divorce versus one also deciding children, support or property.
• Trânsito em julgado — finality of the judgment; proof of it is required.
• Apostila — Hague Convention authentication replacing consular legalisation.
• Tradução juramentada — sworn translation by a Brazilian public translator.
• Traslado / transcrição de casamento — registration in Brazil of a Brazilian’s foreign marriage.
• Carta de sentença — the STJ’s certified homologation used for registration and enforcement.

Key takeaways

• The door is chosen by the decree’s content: a consensual foreign divorce that only dissolves the marriage is annotated directly by the civil registrar under art. 464 of the CNJ Código Nacional de Normas (Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023, which replaced Provimento nº 53/2016); anything else — a contested divorce, or a consensual decree that also decides custody, support or property — goes through STJ homologation first.
• STJ homologation is a formal review — competence, service, finality, translation, res judicata, public order — not an appeal. The other spouse’s objections are limited accordingly.
• The STJ will not homologate a clause dividing assets situated in Brazil (CPC art. 23, III; art. 964); that partition is a Brazilian act. Partial homologation saves the rest of the decree.
• A Brazilian who married abroad must transcribe the marriage in Brazil before the divorce can be annotated on it.
• Administrative divorces are treated as judgments (art. 961, §1) and follow the same doors.
• Every route needs an apostille (or consular legalisation) and a sworn translation; proof of finality is the document most often missing.
• The LINDB’s one-year waiting rule survives in the statute book but is generally treated as displaced by EC 66/2010; be prepared to address it if a registry raises it.
• Recognition updates civil status; property partition, immigration files and name changes are separate steps.

Related guides on this site

• Divorcing a Brazilian spouse while living abroad: where to file and why it matters
• Dividing a Brazilian property in a foreign divorce
• International divorce in Brazil: jurisdiction and assets
• International divorce in Brazil: legal and immigration aspects
• Apostille and document validation for Brazil
• Marrying a foreigner in Brazil: complete guide
• Residency through marriage or união estável in Brazil
• International inheritance in Brazil

How ZS Advogados can help

Recognising a foreign divorce is mostly a question of reading the decree correctly and assembling the right file once: deciding whether the cartório or the STJ is the door, transcribing a foreign marriage where needed, obtaining proof of finality in the form the issuing court uses, sequencing apostilles and sworn translations, and — where the STJ is required — drafting the petition, arranging a joint filing or the other spouse’s consent, and managing service abroad. Most delays come from a file that went to the wrong door or arrived incomplete.

Our team handles both routes for clients abroad: direct annotations at civil registries across Brazil, STJ homologation petitions, transcription of foreign marriages, and the follow-on steps — partition of Brazilian assets, immigration updates, and succession consequences — so that recognition actually produces the result the client needs. We work in English and Portuguese, under power of attorney where the client cannot travel. See our cross-border family law page for how an engagement is structured.

• International law — homologation, foreign documents, apostilles and consular procedures
• Family law — divorce, dissolution of stable union, partition and succession consequences
• Immigration — residence-permit consequences of a divorce

Book a consultation to have your decree reviewed and the right recognition route confirmed before documents are apostilled.

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

• Lei nº 13.105/2015 — Código de Processo Civil (arts. 23, 960–965) (Planalto)
• Código Nacional de Normas do Foro Extrajudicial — Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023, arts. 463–467 (CNJ)
• Provimento CNJ nº 53/2016 — revogado pelo Provimento CNJ nº 149/2023 (CNJ)
• Decreto nº 9.734/2019 — Convenção da Haia de 1965 sobre citação; reservas aos Artigos 8º e 10 (Planalto)
• STJ — Sentença estrangeira: procedimento, documentos e tradução juramentada (STJ)
• Decreto-Lei nº 4.657/1942 — LINDB (arts. 7, 15, 17) (Planalto)
• Lei nº 10.406/2002 — Código Civil (arts. 1.525, 1.544, 1.571, 1.578, 1.647, 1.829, 1.845) (Planalto)
• Lei nº 6.015/1973 — Lei de Registros Públicos (arts. 29, 32, 100) (Planalto)
• Emenda Constitucional nº 66/2010 (Planalto)
• Lei nº 12.036/2009 — nova redação do art. 7º, §6º, da LINDB (Planalto)
• Decreto nº 8.660/2016 — Convenção da Apostila da Haia (Planalto)
• Lei nº 14.195/2021 — tradutores e intérpretes públicos (arts. 22–34) (Planalto)
• STJ — Homologação de Decisão Estrangeira: informações ao cidadão (STJ)
• Ministério das Relações Exteriores — registro de casamento e divórcio realizados no exterior (gov.br)

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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; references to foreign divorce procedures and decrees are factual context only and are not advice on the law of any other country. Registry practice varies between states and offices, and STJ case law on specific clauses evolves. 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.