Brazilian company set-up
Forming the entity is not the hard part on paper. It is a sequence of registrations, each depending on the one before it, and a foreign founder trips on the same two or three steps every time.
Who this is for
A foreign company that has decided to sell into Brazil through its own entity, either because the market entry assessment showed the volume justifies it, or because a distributor or marketplace route needs a Brazilian counterparty on your side of the table.
The problem this solves
Company formation itself runs on published, dated timelines, two business days for a straightforward filing, up to five for others (see company formation for the acts behind those periods). What actually stretches a launch date is the sequence around it: the administrator's power of attorney has to be drafted before the contrato social is filed, RADAR cannot be requested before the CNPJ exists, and inscrição estadual runs in parallel with RADAR rather than after it. Getting the order wrong adds weeks, not because any single step is slow, but because a step done out of sequence has to be redone.
What we do
- Confirm Ltda or S.A. against your ownership structure and plans, and draft the contrato social or estatuto with our lawyer (OAB).
- Prepare the administrator's power of attorney and, where the founder is a foreign legal entity, the second power of attorney for the CNPJ representative, both required under the rules described on company formation.
- File the CNPJ through REDESIM, then request RADAR accreditation and inscrição estadual in parallel once the CNPJ is active.
- Open the Brazilian bank account and register the foreign capital contribution with the central bank through SCE-IED (triggers, thresholds and later filing windows: SCE-IED reporting).
Deliverables
An active CNPJ, a filed contrato social or estatuto, RADAR accreditation at the starting Limitada tier (or a documented path to the tier your volumes need), inscrição estadual, and an opened bank account with the capital contribution registered.
Timeline
Timeline is set in the written quote after the diagnostic call, since it depends on how quickly documents can be legalised and translated abroad and how the specific state registry runs its queue.
What we need from you
Passport or incorporation documents for each founder, the planned ownership split, and, if a foreign legal entity is the founder, its own constitutive documents for legalisation and translation.
Price
From USD 1,000 as an individual service. Company set-up is also included in the full-cycle market entry package; see pricing for the package breakdown. Government fees, notary costs and sworn translation are quoted separately and shown as a separate line.
Who does the work
Our desk in Rio de Janeiro runs the sequence; a Brazilian lawyer registered with the OAB drafts and files the constitutive documents, and an accountant registered with the CRC handles the CNPJ and inscrição estadual filings.
Sources
- Registration timelines, the administrator's and CNPJ-representative powers of attorney, and RADAR sequencing: company formation, acts and dates cited there.
- 100% foreign ownership treated identically to national capital: Lei 14.286/2021, primary; sector-specific restrictions per company formation.
- RADAR accreditation and Siscomex: RADAR and Siscomex.
- Price, USD 1,000 as an individual service: our own fee, confirmed 24 September 2026, see pricing.
This page describes a paid service. It is not a guarantee of a specific approval timeline; the registries set their own periods, cited on company formation.
Facts checked 24 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Ltda or S.A.: which one do I need?
Most foreign founders selling into Brazil use a Ltda. It needs one member, has no minimum capital requirement in the registration rules, and its contrato social is simpler to amend than an S.A.'s constitutive documents. An S.A. suits a case with multiple investors or a planned share sale; see company formation for the full comparison, including when a board is legally required.
Do I need to be resident in Brazil to be the administrator?
No. Current rules do not require it. The condition is a power of attorney to a resident representative with powers to receive service of process, valid for at least three years after the management term ends. Full detail, including the two separate powers of attorney a foreign legal entity founder needs, is on company formation.
Can 100% of the company be foreign owned?
In most sectors, yes. Foreign capital gets treatment identical to national capital under Lei 14.286/2021. A handful of sectors carry specific restrictions, rural land and media among them; company formation lists the ones we have checked.
What does this service not include?
It does not include the regulatory registration your product itself may need with ANVISA, MAPA or INMETRO, which is a separate service, and it does not include the RADAR limit increase beyond the automatic starting tier. Both build on the entity once it exists.
Work the Brazilian side of your deal with us
We are based in Rio de Janeiro. Send us the specifics and we will tell you where things stand before you commit.