How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Brazil

In accordance with legal requirements, all real estate holdings must be registered at the Real Estate Registry Office. For the purposes of registration, real estate encompasses land and any permanent improvements affixed thereto. Security, accuracy, and transparency are the basic principles of land registry. 

The land register information in Brazil can be accessed on the Real Estate Registry Office of the city or district where the land is located. There are municipalities with more than one real estate registry office. In this case, each office is responsible for keeping the record of properties located in certain districts or counties within the municipality. If the competent Registry Office is unknown it may be searched at https://mapa.onr.org.br/.

The document where the information on the property is called “Matrícula”, and it may be obtained by anyone either in person at the competent Registry Office or online through the website https://www.registrodeimoveis.org.br/ upon payment of an official fee. There are private websites that also provide theses services unofficially, and charging a service fee apart from the official fee.

All information is in Portuguese at the website, and the Matrículas are also issued only in Portuguese. There may be employees speaking English at the Registry Offices, so calling the competent one and inquiring on English speakers may be possible. If so, then going in person is feasible for a non-Portuguese speaker.

The easiest way of obtaining the Matrícula is by providing its number at the competent Registry Office. If that number is unknown, you can provide the taxpayer number of the owner or the complete address in person or by phone so the number of the Matrícula may be located.

The Matrícula contains the description of the property with area and location, any burdens or encumbrances as arrests, seizures and judicial attachments, guarantees as mortgage, pledge or fiduciary transfer of collateral, and their respective cancelation, when applied, the transactions involving the land with dates, amounts and parties (seller and buyer), any servitudes or restrictions on the use of the property, constructions, leases, inheritance sharing, beneficial ownership (Usufruto) judicial claims, among others. Any updates on the above-mentioned information are inserted in the Matrícula in chronological order.

In case of buildings and condominiums one can also obtain the Real Estate Development Memorial and the Condominium Agreement.

Besides the Matrícula, the following property related documents, among others, may be obtained:

• Public Deed for purchase and sale, donation, swaps, guarantees as mortgage, pledge or fiduciary transfer of collateral;
• Sale and purchase commitments;
• Urban or Rural Tax Property – Real Estate is subject to property taxes issued either by the municipality (urban) or by the federal government (rural), and certificates of inexistence of debts may be issued;
• Rural land is subject to registration with the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (“INCRA”) and the Rural Property Registration Certificate (CCIR) is proof of such registration. Only with this document is it possible to transfer, lease, mortgage, dismember, share (in the event of divorce or inheritance) the rural property, and obtain bank financing for investment in the property;
• Rural Environmental Registry (“CAR”) is a nationwide electronic public registry, compulsory for all rural properties, with the aim of integrating environmental information on rural properties and possessions relating to Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), restricted use, Legal Reserves, remaining forests and other forms of native vegetation, and consolidated areas, forming a database for control, monitoring, environmental and economic planning and combating deforestation;
• In case of buildings and condominiums one can also obtain the Real Estate Development Memorial and the Condominium Agreement.

Some examples are:

• Zoning and Land Use Regulations can be accessed through municipal planning departments. It is usually available at the city hall of the relevant municipality.
• Regularity status of constructions may be obtained by consulting the CEDI (Municipal Building Register) and informing the property’s taxpayer number.
• At the IBAMA website you can check environmental notices and embargoes at the Federal level. Each State and City have their own Environmental agency where you can obtain certificates of inexistence of debts.

Obtaing such information may vary among different municipalities and regions in Brazil. Local government offices, environmental agencies, and planning departments are typical sources of such data.

In some cases, judicial proceedings are registered at the Matrícula of the property, and they will appear in the full content certificate (“certidão de inteiro teor”). Even if the full content certificate does not show any judicial claims, there might be claims in course that have not been registered yet.

In any case, it is strongly advisible to request certificates in State, Federal and Labor Courts of the city and state where the property is located and at the domicile of the owners. These certificates usually are issued online at the website of each Court, but there are cases of smaller cities where they are only issued in person or by e-mail.