If you’ve ever worked or had employees in Brazil, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. Brazilians know it as the “little blue book” and for good reason. It’s blue, it’s little, and it looks like a booklet. And, until recently, anyone who has ever worked “on the books” in Brazil had one.

It’s known in Portuguese as Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social (or Carteira Profissional for short) and served as an employee’s work registration document. Before being hired for a job, an employee had to get one from the federal government - no matter whether they were Brazilian or not.

Every job you ever had would be notated, including the dates of employment, names of past employers, salaries, and vacation time. It was, in essence, a record of your work history, all there in this one paper document that you would carry from job to job. Without it, you couldn’t claim unemployment or retirement benefits, for example.

Today, the little blue book has been replaced with a digital version. Like everything these days, there’s even an app. The government now collects the same information electronically and stores it in a central database. The goal: to fight fraud, forgeries, and the occasional misplacement of one’s entire employment history.

While it may look different, the Carteira Profissional still exists and remains a requirement for all employees. So if you’re looking for a job or you’re wanting to hire employees in Brazil, don’t forget to update what was once that little blue book.