🇧🇷How to verify a supplier in Brazil
To verify a supplier in Brazil, look the company up in the official Receita Federal CNPJ lookup for free and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns legal name (razao social), CNPJ, registration status (situacao cadastral), CNAE activity code, and address.
Le registre officiel
- Registre
- Receita Federal CNPJ lookup
- Identifiant de l'entreprise
- CNPJ (14 digits)
- Coût
- Consultation de base gratuite
- Statut actif
- Situacao cadastral reads ATIVA (active) or BAIXADA/SUSPENSA; the CNAE code shows manufacturing vs trade. Legal acts are filed at the state Junta Comercial.
Licences d'exportation sectorielles
Being a registered, active company is not the same as being allowed to export a specific product. In Brazil, some goods need their own export licence or certificate from a named body. Each entry says which goods it covers and when it applies; an entry marked “scope not checked” names the body, but we have not yet checked its product scope and conditions against the legal text, so confirm with that body whether it applies to your goods.
- organic foodscope not checked
phytosanitary certificate from the Ministerio da Agricultura e Pecuaria.
Verify the phytosanitary certificate using the tracking code on the MAPA Sigvig digital portal.
Official source - timberscope not checked
export licence from the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis.
Validate the IBAMA export authorization and DOF timber tracing code via Siscomex.
Official source - coffee & cocoascope not checked
export registration from the Ministerio da Agricultura e Pecuaria.
Cross-reference tax registration and commodity allocation code via the unified corporate portal.
Official source
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice, and the list is not exhaustive.
Before you sign: five asks no registry can answer
The register proves the company exists and who signs. It says nothing about whether the supplier survives a bad quarter, a fire or a key person leaving. Serious suppliers answer these five asks without friction; hesitation on any of them is information too.
- Business continuity: what happens to your order if their plant loses power, a strike hits or their systems go down? Ask for the plan, not a reassurance.
- Liability insurance: is product or professional liability insured, with which insurer and to what ceiling? A certificate of insurance is a one-page email for a real firm.
- Exit terms: how do you terminate if it goes wrong, what notice and fees apply, and how do you get your tooling, molds or data back?
- Support in numbers: ask for response and resolution times as figures, not adjectives. A supplier who commits to hours in writing has a support process; one who writes fast support does not.
- Named people: who exactly runs production and who owns your account? Continuity of a named team matters more than a polished sales deck, and employee-review sites often show whether that team stays.
General commercial hygiene, not legal advice.
Vérifier en quatre étapes
- 1
Open the Receita Federal CNPJ lookup
Receita Federal CNPJ lookup is the official government record of companies in Brazil. Basic name or number search is free.
- 2
Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its CNPJ (14 digits). If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
- 3
Confirm it is active, not struck off
Situacao cadastral reads ATIVA (active) or BAIXADA/SUSPENSA; the CNAE code shows manufacturing vs trade. Legal acts are filed at the state Junta Comercial.
- 4
Check it makes what it sells
A manufacturing activity code on the record supports the claim that the company makes rather than resells, but it is a registered activity, not proof of an operating plant: facility permits, inspections or product registrations are stronger.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
Cette vérification, nous la faisons pour vous
On every Brazil company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine Brazil suppliers, not just the loudest.
Brazil suppliers by sector
Every company on these pages shows what the open record says about it, each fact linked to its free public source.
Guides associés
Questions
Is checking a Brazil supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Receita Federal CNPJ lookup is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Brazil company have?
Its CNPJ (14 digits). Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Receita Federal CNPJ lookup and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Brazil supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the first signal: a manufacturing code supports a maker, a wholesale or retail code points to a trader. It records what the company is registered to do, not what it currently makes.