Brazil Moves to Service of Process by E-mail

Recent changes to the Code of Civil Procedure have made e-mail the preferred method for serving process in Brazil. Here's how it's supposed to work.

In general, a defendant must be served with process within 45 days of the start of a lawsuit. However, according to Law 14.195/2021, if the judge chooses electronic service, the e-mail must be sent within two business days.

The defendant then has three business days to confirm receipt according to the instructions in the court's e-mail. If the defendant doesn’t respond, then service of process will be delivered by registered mail or by the court clerk. However, the defendant will still need to explain why they didn’t respond to the e-mail.

The challenge is ensuring that the e-mail address used to serve process is correct. Despite a law creating an obligation on companies to maintain an updated e-mail address with the government, the database where this information is to be stored is still under development.

This, of course, begs the question: how do you comply with the law if the system isn’t even ready? This question is particularly relevant considering the law subjects non-compliant companies to a fine of 5% of the amount in dispute.

We most definitely haven’t heard the end of this story. While service of process by e-mail is certainly innovative, Brazil has a long way to go before the system will be up and running. A campaign designed to educate the public about the new legal requirement will likely also be needed.