Company registration (CNPJ)
From choosing the tax regime to the operating licence. You sign digitally and receive the CNPJ ready to invoice.
What's included
- Choice of business activity code (CNAE) and tax regime
- Articles of association and Board of Trade registration
- Municipal and state registration, plus operating licence
- Digital certificate and invoicing software
Need something that is not on the list? We quote it separately and only proceed after your written approval — no surprises on the invoice.
Registering a company in Brazil is less bureaucratic than it was ten years ago, but it is still full of decisions that only surface later. The hard part is not filling in forms: it is choosing the right CNAE (activity code), the type of company and the tax regime. Those three choices define how much tax the business pays for years, and some can only be undone through a formal process.
The route is the same whether you are leaving a CLT job to invoice as a company, already earning as an individual and now needing to issue invoices, or outgrowing the MEI ceiling. The bracket changes; the roadmap does not.
Below is the whole process, in the order it actually happens, so you know what to expect — including which parts depend on you and which depend on a public body.
1. Bracket: the decision worth the most money
Before any form, we settle the CNAE, the type of company and the regime. The CNAE decides which annex of Simples Nacional the company falls under — and the gap between Anexo III and Anexo V is 6% against 15.5% in the first bracket. For some service activities the Fator R decides which of the two applies, and it depends on how much goes out as payroll and pró-labore.
2. Feasibility check
The city hall checks whether the activity may operate at the chosen address, and the Junta Comercial checks the name is free. This is where most blockages appear: a residential address that does not allow the activity, zoning, a building that forbids it. Finding out now costs a query; finding out later costs a contract amendment.
3. Articles of association and registration
Once feasibility clears, the founding document is drafted — articles of association for a limited company, a simple filing for a sole trader — and registered with the Junta Comercial. A sociedade simples (certain intellectual activities) registers with a notary instead. Signing is digital, with a certificate, and you do not have to go anywhere.
4. CNPJ and tax registrations
The CNPJ is issued together with the registration, through Redesim. Then come the registrations the activity requires: municipal, for service providers who pay ISS; state, for trade and industry, which pay ICMS. A company doing both needs both.
5. Operating licence
This depends on the municipality and the activity. Part of it is automatic at registration; part requires inspection — health, fire brigade, environmental. It is the step with the least predictable timing, because the clock belongs to the public body, not to us.
6. Digital certificate and invoicing
The e-CNPJ is what lets you sign, reach the government portals and file obligations. With it, invoicing is enabled at municipal or state level. Only after that does the company really start billing.
O que você precisa ter em mãos
- ID document and CPF for each partner
- Proof of home address for each partner
- The company address, with property tax bill or lease
- Share capital defined, and how it is split between partners
- A clear idea of the activity — that is what becomes the CNAE
Perguntas frequentes
- How long does it take to register a CNPJ?
- The part that depends on documents and signatures takes a few days. What stretches the timeline is the public bodies: every Junta Comercial moves at its own pace, and a licence requiring inspection depends on the city hall diary. That is why we do not promise a fixed number — we promise you always know which stage you are at.
- How much does it cost to register a company?
- It depends on the state and the type of company, because each Junta Comercial sets its own fee. We built a calculator with the fees itemised and the source for each figure. In the city of São Paulo, registering a head office through the Balcão Único is free — what remains is the digital certificate and professional fees.
- Can I register a company on my own, with no partner?
- Yes, in two ways. The Empresário Individual is simpler, but your personal assets answer for the company debts. The Sociedade Limitada Unipessoal separates the two, requires no minimum capital and no second partner. For someone providing services under contract, the second usually wins.
- I am a MEI and went over the ceiling. Do I need a new company?
- No. The MEI status is withdrawn and the same company becomes a Microempresa under Simples Nacional, keeping the CNPJ. What changes is the filing burden and the tax calculation, which stops being a fixed amount and becomes a percentage of revenue.
- I picked the wrong CNAE. Can it be changed?
- It can, through a contract amendment and a new filing with the Junta. The change itself is not the problem: it is that, until it happens, the company has been paying under the wrong annex. Correcting underpaid tax means penalties and interest. That is why the bracket is the first step, not the last.
- Do I need commercial premises to register?
- Not always. Many service activities may operate from a home address, if the municipality and the building allow it — which is exactly what the feasibility check verifies. When they do not, a virtual office solves the address without keeping a physical site.