Don’t Forget Your Municipal Registration

After getting your Brazilian company’s CNPJ and NIRE numbers, it’s time to get your Inscrição Municipal. This is a registration issued by the local government where the company was formed. Without it, your business can’t legally operate.

Sometimes you’ll see it with the name Cadastro Mobiliário or Cadastro do Contribuinte Mobiliário (CCM). Other times, it’ll appear as Inscrição Municipal. Every location uses a different name. What matters is that with it, you’ll be authorized to do business.

Every business entity must get an Inscrição Municipal. It doesn’t matter if you provide services or sell products. To get it, you’ll need to provide a copy of the Articles of Incorporation (Contrato Social) and CNPJ of the company along with copies of each shareholder’s CPF, RG and proof of address.

Companies that sell products, however, have another license to get as well. If a company sells goods, they’ll need an Inscrição Estadual from the state government. What if the company combines the sale of goods and services? Well, it’ll need both registrations. This is because local authorities regulate services while state governments regulate goods.

Other licenses may be required too depending on the company’s specific activities or products. For example, an import-export company will need a RADAR license; a pharmaceutical company will need a license from ANVISA; and a financial institution will need a license from the Central Bank.

Before you start your business, it’s important to create a checklist of everything you might need. And plan ahead as some of the licenses can take months to get.