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CPF — the tax number

How a foreigner gets a CPF: the free route, documents, steps, and the SIM card and bank pitfalls.

CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas) is a personal tax number kept by the Receita Federal, Brazil's tax authority. You can hardly do anything in Brazil without it: a SIM card, a bank account, a rental, food delivery, even a ride-hailing app. It is the first document worth getting after you arrive.

Checked on 8 October 2026. Rules and websites change: check the links at the end before you go.

In short

  • Any foreigner can get a CPF, with or without a residence permit.
  • Through the Receita Federal website and its offices it is free. At "conveniado" points (a partner network) the fee is R$ 7.00.
  • You need a passport. Middlemen are not required.
  • The real-life route: fill in the online form, get a protocol number, show the protocol and your passport at the office.

What you need

According to the service page on gov.br:

  1. An official photo ID. For a foreigner, that is the passport.
  2. A birth or marriage certificate (a foreign equivalent works), only if your photo ID does not show your place of birth, your parents' details or your date of birth.
  3. The staff member may ask for extra papers on the spot.

For a child: the birth certificate or the child's photo ID, plus a photo ID of a parent (guardian) and a document proving guardianship if someone other than a parent applies.

Step by step (you are already in Brazil)

  1. Fill in the form "Inscrição de estrangeiro no CPF" on the Receita Federal website (link in the sources). Turn off your pop-up blocker, otherwise the form will not submit. Enter your details exactly as written in your passport.
  2. Save the protocol number (or print the form).
  3. Bring the protocol and your documents to a Receita Federal office or a conveniado point. The list of points and opening hours is on the website: it depends on the city.
  4. Get your number. You can check the status online: the public CPF status page (link below).

If you are still abroad, a foreigner has to book an appointment at the Brazilian consulate or embassy for their place of residence through the e-consular system: that is what the gov.br page "Inscrever no CPF no exterior" says. The Receita Federal e-mail address for requests from abroad is listed on the same page for Brazilian citizens, while foreigners apply through a consulate. The rule has applied since September 2023; before that an e-mail was enough for foreigners (post about the new rules, 14.10.2023, example for Moscow, 23.10.2023). The consulate will ask for the form protocol, a passport, a photo and a birth certificate.

How it went for others

The author of the @brazilwithliza channel filled in the form at a post office in April 2025 and received her number at the Receita Federal the same day: by her account, everything went quickly and without trouble (post, summary).

A July 2026 account from Rio de Janeiro describes it differently: arrive at the office on a working day by 9:00, say you need an "inscrição CPF", fill in the form, get a protocol and keep it, then wait 4–5 working days for the number to arrive at the e-mail address you gave. Write your name and e-mail legibly: a mistake means extra visits (post, 12.07.2026). Both can be true: timing depends on the office.

Pitfalls

  • Check your number in the Receita Federal public lookup: if it shows as active, the problem is in the carrier's or bank's database, not in your application.
  • When you move to a new address, update your details with the Receita Federal: the channel author did this after changing address (post).
  • A bank will almost certainly ask for the RNM too: see RNM / CRNM.
  • Update your CPF record after you get residence. In the Receita Federal database you stay a tourist until you report the new status yourself, and banks or carriers refuse for exactly that reason. After the update the systems pick up the data in about 5–7 days (post, 02.07.2023). There are two routes, both through the gov.br service "Atualizar Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas":
    1. By e-mail, no visit. Fill in the "Alterar dados cadastrais no CPF" request on the Receita Federal site and save the protocol as a PDF. Then send the protocol and your documents to the Receita address for your state. The address is [email protected], where NN is the region number: 01 DF, GO, MT, MS, TO; 02 AC, AM, AP, PA, RO, RR; 03 CE, MA, PI; 04 AL, PB, PE (Recife), RN; 05 BA, SE; 06 MG; 07 ES, RJ; 08 SP; 09 PR, SC; 10 RS (the current list is on the "Como enviar documentos por e-mail" page, linked in the sources). Attach: a scan of the RNM, a selfie holding the RNM next to your face (the card fully visible, otherwise two photos: front and back) and proof of address. The protocol is optional but makes it faster. With no lease or utility bill, just give the full address in the message. State that the CPF was issued while you were a tourist and that you later got the RNM or changed address: it helps Receita decide what to do (post, 15.10.2026). If approved, the reply arrives by e-mail.
    2. In person. Book an appointment at a Receita Federal office and bring an ID document, the RNM (or the PF protocol) and proof of address, such as a lease.
  • Giving your CPF at a shop or pharmacy will not speed up the update: the number only goes into the shop's loyalty programme. The "ativo/regular" status in the public lookup only says the CPF is not blocked, not that the record has been updated (post, 28.10.2025).
  • If someone asks for your CPF "as a document" rather than a number: the Receita Federal now sends only the number, and a PDF confirmation is generated in its "Impressão do Comprovante" service (link below). The plastic CPF card is no longer issued, and the printout and the digital version in the official apps carry equal weight (post, 21.06.2025).

CPF on the receipt: "Quer colocar CPF na nota?"

At the till and at the petrol station you are often asked whether to put your CPF on the receipt. The tax office is not watching you: this is how the state monitors sellers, and you get bonuses. In Rio state the accumulated cashback can be set against the IPTU property tax, but only in September (registration on the Nota Carioca portal); in São Paulo state it goes towards an IPVA discount (NFP portal), and Paraná has its own Nota Paraná programme. Each state has its own rules (post, 19.08.2024).

Sources

Official:

Personal experience (channel @brazilwithliza, in Russian):

Personal experience (channel @brazil_lifehacks, in Russian):

Personal experience (channels @russo_no_brasil and @svoibrazil, in Russian):

Personal experience (channel @spravka_brazil, in Russian):