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How to verify CNPJ in Brazil?

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CNPJ check on REDESIM website​

CNPJ number search option is available for free on the Brazil REDESIM website.

  1. Access the Tool: Go to the REDESIM CNPJ Search.
  2. Enter Details: Enter the CNPJ number (Example: 06.990.590/0001-23).
  3. Security Check: Complete the Captcha challenge to prove you are human.
  4. Verify Results: Click "Consultar" to view the registration status.

REDESIM, short for "Rede Nacional para a Simplificação do Registro e da Legalização de Empresas e Negócios" in Portuguese, is a Brazilian government initiative aimed at simplifying the process of registering and legalizing businesses. It is the National Network for the Simplification of Business Registration and Legalization

This Search acts as the Proof of Registration and give the Registration Status of entities

CNPJ Verification
CNPJ Verification

Example : 06.990.590/0001-23 , 05.866.415/0001-66, 07.650.459/0001-80

A successful verification of the CNPJ on the CNPJ lookup tool on REDESIM website will return the following details

  • Registration number
  • Opening date
  • Business name
  • Establishment title
  • Scale of a business
  • Code and description of main economic activity
  • Code and description of secondary economic activities
  • Code and description of legal nature
  • Address
  • Street number or building number
  • Additional information
  • CEP
  • Neighborhood/District
  • Municipality
  • UF
  • Email Address
  • Phone
  • Responsible Federative Entity
  • Registration status
  • Date of registration status
  • Reason for Registration Status
  • Special Situation
  • Date of Special Situation
Successful CNPJ Verification
Successful CNPJ Verification
Active CNPJ Verification details
Active CNPJ Verification details
Inactive CNPJ Verification
Inactive CNPJ Verification

Entity search on Transparency Portal​

CNPJ number/Entity search option is available for free on the Brazil Transparency Portal(Portal da Transparência). You can access the CNPJ search here. You can search an entity by its name or CNPJ

CNPJ Search on Transparency Portal
CNPJ Search on Portal da Transparência

A successful search of the CNPJ on the Transparency Portal CNPJ lookup tool will return the following details

  • Registration number
  • Opening date
  • E-mail
  • Telephone
  • Business name
  • Legal nature
  • CNAE
  • Address
  • Street number or building number
  • Additional information
  • Zip code
  • Neighborhood / district
  • County
  • UF
Successful CNPJ Verification on Transparency Portal
Successful Entity Verification on Transparency Portal

For more details on taxes in Brazil, see our Brazil Tax ID Guide.

Note that neither the REDESIM lookup nor the Portal da Transparência search reports Simples Nacional sublimit status. Resolução CGSN nº 190/2026 (dated 4 August 2026; published in the Diário Oficial da União of 10 August 2026) extends the existing R$3.6 million Simples Nacional sublimit — previously relevant only to ICMS/ISS collection — to also cover IBS collection, effective 1 January 2027. This does not change what a CNPJ verification returns: a company that crosses the sublimit stays "Ativa" and remains a Simples Nacional optant on the Consulta de Optantes do Simples Nacional; the sublimit only changes how tax above R$3.6 million is calculated and paid from 2027. [1] [2]

Frequently Asked Questions​

What do CNPJ registration statuses mean — and which ones block invoice acceptance?​

The Receita Federal assigns four cadastral statuses to every CNPJ. ATIVA means the entity is in good standing and can issue or receive NF-e invoices normally. SUSPENSA means the Receita Federal has identified an inconsistency in the company's declared information — invoices can still be issued in most states, but buyers should treat this as a risk signal. INAPTA means the company has failed to deliver mandatory declarations (DCTF, DASN, DEFIS) for two consecutive years; the SEFAZ will deny any NF-e where either the emitter or recipient carries this status, and the buyer loses the right to ICMS, PIS, and COFINS tax credits on those transactions. BAIXADA means the CNPJ has been formally closed — no invoicing is possible. Always confirm ATIVA status at the Receita Federal lookup before paying an invoice or onboarding a new supplier. [1]

My supplier's CNPJ shows INAPTA — what happens to my NF-e and tax credits?​

When a CNPJ carries INAPTA status, the SEFAZ issues a denegação (denial) on any NF-e naming that entity as emitter or recipient. Unlike a simple rejection, a denied NF-e cannot be reissued with the same number — the access key is permanently invalidated. More critically, if you have already taken PIS, COFINS, or ICMS tax credits based on invoices from that supplier, the Receita Federal can disallow those credits retroactively. To restore an INAPTA status to ATIVA, the company must file all omitted declarations (DCTF, DEFIS, DASN-SIMEI) through the Receita Federal's e-CAC portal. Regularisation can take several business days to propagate before SEFAZ systems recognise the change. [1]

Should an MEI freelancer put their CPF or CNPJ on an invoice to a business client?​

CNPJ. When an MEI (Microempreendedor Individual) registers, the Receita Federal automatically issues a CNPJ for that registration — and that CNPJ must appear on the NF-e when billing a business (another CNPJ holder). Using a CPF in the emitter field of an NF-e is a structural error: the NF-e schema requires a CNPJ for legal entities, and SEFAZ will reject the document. CPF is only used on the recipient side when the end customer is an individual consumer. Since January 2023, MEIs can issue Nota Fiscal de Serviços Eletrônica (NFS-e) directly through the Simples Nacional portal at www8.receita.fazenda.gov.br — no separate municipal login required. [1]

When verifying a supplier's CNPJ, should I look up the matriz (/0001) or the filial (/0002)?​

Always verify the exact CNPJ printed on the invoice. The four digits after the slash identify the establishment: /0001 is always the matriz (headquarters), /0002, /0003, etc. are filiais (branches). All establishments under the same 8-digit root share one legal entity and joint tax liability, but each has its own CNPJ and its own cadastral status — a filial can be ATIVA while the matriz is INAPTA, or vice versa. For NF-e compliance, the status that matters is that of the specific establishment named on the invoice. Verify any establishment individually at solucoes.receita.fazenda.gov.br. [1]

The REDESIM CNPJ lookup keeps failing with CAPTCHA errors or validation loops. Are there alternatives?​

The REDESIM portal has documented instability: CAPTCHA refresh failures, indefinite "validating" loops from JavaScript timeouts, and periodic "Conteúdo Restrito" authentication errors. Two reliable fallbacks exist: (1) the Portal da Transparência at portaldatransparencia.gov.br/pessoa-juridica offers CNPJ search without CAPTCHA; (2) the Receita Federal monthly open-data bulk file published at dados.gov.br provides a downloadable snapshot of the full CNPJ register, used by developers who need offline or high-volume lookup. No official Receita Federal REST API exists — third-party aggregators cache the open-data files for automated integrations. [1]

Does the CNPJ lookup on REDESIM show whether a company is enrolled in Simples Nacional?​

No. The REDESIM CNPJ search shows cadastral information (status, address, CNAE codes, legal nature) but does not display the fiscal regime. To verify whether a supplier is a Simples Nacional optant — which affects the tax rates on their invoices and whether they can pass on ICMS credits — use the dedicated Consulta de Optantes do Simples Nacional at www8.receita.fazenda.gov.br/simplesnacional. This lookup returns the current and historical Simples/MEI enrollment status by CNPJ. A CNPJ can be ATIVA on REDESIM but excluded from Simples Nacional in the same period, so both portals must be queried for full supplier due diligence. [1]

Will new CNPJs issued from July 2026 contain letters — and will that break my validation code?​

Yes. Under Instrução Normativa RFB 2.229 (15 October 2024), the Receita Federal will begin issuing alphanumeric CNPJs for new registrations from July 2026. The 14-position format is preserved, but the first 8 characters (root) and next 4 (establishment order) can now include uppercase letters A–Z alongside digits; the final 2 check digits remain numeric. The Modulo 11 checksum algorithm is unchanged — letters map to their ASCII value minus 48 (A=17, Z=42) before the weighted sum calculation. Any validator using a digits-only regex such as \d{14} will silently reject valid alphanumeric CNPJs after July 2026. Existing all-numeric CNPJs are unaffected and will not be renumbered. [1] [2]

I verified a CNPJ and it shows Ativa and Simples Nacional — does the new R$3.6 million IBS sublimit mean I should check anything else?​

No additional check is needed on the CNPJ verification itself. Resolução CGSN nº 190/2026 (dated 4 August 2026; published in the Diário Oficial da União of 10 August 2026) extends the existing R$3.6 million Simples Nacional sublimit — which already governed when a Simples-enrolled company must collect ICMS and ISS outside its unified DAS payment — to also apply to IBS, effective 1 January 2027. Neither REDESIM nor the Consulta de Optantes do Simples Nacional reports sublimit status; both tools continue to show only whether the CNPJ is Ativa and whether it is currently a Simples Nacional optant. The sublimit affects how the company itself calculates and remits tax above R$3.6 million from 2027 — it has no separate field or status a counterparty can verify. For the fuller CBS/IBS transition, see the Brazil Tax ID Guide. [1] [2]

A small Brazilian supplier says they have no CNPJ, only a CPF. Is that a red flag?​

Not necessarily — a counterparty may legitimately have no CNPJ. Ato Conjunto RFB/CGIBS nº 6, de 28 de agosto de 2026, waives the nanoempreendedor (under art. 26, IV of Lei Complementar 214/2025, an individual whose gross revenue is below 50% of the MEI ceiling and who has not joined MEI) from the obligation to register in the CBS/IBS unified registry via CNPJ and from issuing CBS/IBS electronic fiscal documents, until 31 December 2028. The waiver does not apply to a nanoempreendedor who opts into the regular IBS/CBS regime. For such a supplier a CNPJ lookup returning nothing is expected and is not in itself a warning sign: identify and verify them by CPF instead. [1] (signed text)

Recent changes​

  • 2026-08-28 — Ato Conjunto RFB/CGIBS nº 6, de 28 de agosto de 2026, waives the nanoempreendedor from CNPJ registration and from issuing CBS/IBS electronic fiscal documents until 31 December 2028 (not where the nanoempreendedor opts into the regular IBS/CBS regime) — so a small individual counterparty may legitimately have no CNPJ. (Comite Gestor do IBS) — see issue
  • 2026-08-04 — Resolução CGSN nº 190/2026 (dated 4 August 2026; published in the DOU of 10 August 2026) extended the R$3.6 million Simples Nacional sublimit — previously governing only ICMS/ISS collection outside the unified DAS — to also cover IBS collection, effective 1 January 2027; this does not change what REDESIM or the Consulta de Optantes reports for a CNPJ. (Receita Federal do Brasil; SIJUT record) — see issue

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