Power of Attorney for Buying Property in Brazil

Why a private letter will not close the sale

A procuração is a power of attorney. The person who signs it is the outorgante, and the person acting for them is the procurador. You can buy property in Brazil without setting foot there, but the document has to take the right form.

The rule comes from two articles of the Civil Code read together. Art. 108 makes a public deed essential for any property deal above 30 times the highest minimum wage. Art. 657 says a mandate follows the form the law requires for the act itself. So the attorney who signs a public deed needs a public power. One Brazilian firm puts the 2026 threshold at R$ 48,630, recalculated each January. Almost any purchase on the for-sale page is above it.

A private power with a certified signature can still have uses. A firm's published guidance says it may support a preliminary contract, and art. 654 lets anyone capable grant one. Art. 654, §2 also lets the other side insist on a certified signature. It will not carry the deed. The stages it would need to cover are set out in the step-by-step buying guide.

Older advice on many websites says to sign at "any Brazilian consulate". For most foreign buyers that is wrong, as the next chapter shows.

The routes and who can use them

Consulates

Art. 18 of the Law of Introduction gives consuls notary powers "tratando-se de brasileiros", meaning for Brazilians. The Itamaraty's consular manual applies this directly. A public power in the consular books requires the grantor to be Brazilian or a foreigner holding a valid RNE card (rule 4.10.5). Foreigners without one must sign under local rules before local notaries, even for a simple spouse's consent, and that includes a foreign spouse of a Brazilian (rules 4.8.5, 4.10.6 and 4.10.7).

That section of the manual is dated 2014, and it uses the old name for the card, today's Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório (Decree 9.199/2017). Law firms read the position differently. One 2020 practitioner's note says a non-citizen non-resident has no consular route at all. Another firm says holders of qualifying immigration documents may be eligible, depending on the post. One guide says any foreigner living abroad can sign at a consulate, and the same firm elsewhere limits the route to Brazilians. Ask the consular section in writing before you book.

e-Notariado

Since CNJ Provimento 100/2020, Brazilian notaries can draw up a power by video, and the rules now sit in the CNJ's national code (Provimento 149/2023). Provimento 181/2024 made the service compulsory for all notaries. The notary with competence is the one at the grantor's domicile or at the property's location.

The practical question is the certificate. One São Paulo notary office advertises online powers for people abroad who hold an ICP-Brasil or e-Notariado certificate. A law firm says the certificate needs in-person identification by a Brazilian notary, so this is not a realistic route from abroad. A 2021 article in the notaries' own press describes offices turning away Brazilians living overseas over the domicile rule. If you will be in Brazil anyway, sign a paper power on that visit.

Signing before a foreign notary

Brazil joined the Apostille Convention through Decree 8.660/2016, in force since 14 August 2016. Notarial acts count as public documents under its art. 1. The apostille then replaces consular legalization. It confirms the signature, the signer's capacity and the seal (arts. 3 and 5). It says nothing about whether the content is right, and it does not guarantee that a Brazilian notary will accept the mandate.

The open question

Is a power signed before a foreign notary a public instrument for art. 657? Sources disagree, and buyers should know that going in.

• Art. 9, §1 of the Law of Introduction says that where an obligation is performed in Brazil and needs an essential form, that form is observed, allowing for the foreign law's peculiarities on external requirements. That wording supports accepting foreign notarial forms.
• Firms' published guides treat notary, apostille, sworn translation and RTD as a working route.
• A 2020 practitioner's note says a US power that is notarized and apostilled usually does not meet the requirement, since US state notaries have no public book of powers. It suggests travel or a negotiated solution with the notary.
• The consular manual treats a document signed by a foreigner and legalized as a private instrument (rule 4.8.2), and it instructs consuls to send such documents down that route.

The decision sits with the tabelião who will draw up the deed and then the registrar. So the order matters. Send the draft to the notary before you sign anything, ask whether the form is accepted, and keep the reply. Countries where notaries keep public books may meet less resistance, but do not assume that either. Ask the same question.

Apostille, sworn translation and the RTD

A foreign-language power needs more than the apostille before it works in Brazil. The Public Registries Law requires foreign documents and their translations to be registered to take effect before public bodies and courts (Law 6.015/1973, art. 129, item 6). It also says that to have legal effect in Brazil and against third parties, a foreign-language document must be translated and the translation registered, and it names powers of attorney (art. 148). This registry is the Registro de Títulos e Documentos, or RTD.

State notary codes spell it out. In Santa Catarina, which covers Florianópolis and Balneário Camboriú, the code requires an apostille or legalization, a sworn translation, and RTD registration for foreign documents to take effect at notaries and registries (arts. 340 and 342). Instruments made at a Brazilian embassy or consulate are exempt (art. 341). Other states have their own codes, and what offices ask for in Rio or Salvador may differ, so ask locally.

Bill 393/2021 in the Chamber of Deputies would drop the RTD step for apostilled documents. A notice on the registrars' institute site, which may date from 2021, had it waiting at the Chamber's Constitution and Justice Committee. Check its current status, and plan on the step being needed.

What it costs

These are one Brazilian firm's published ranges, using US$ 1 = R$ 5.42. They are not official fees.

For comparison, the same firm's figures for a consular power are about R$ 108 to 271 (US$ 20 to 50) per signature in the US and EUR 15 to 40 in Europe, and it puts a public power at a Brazilian notary at R$ 150 to 500. State fee tables and consular tables change, so confirm the current figure. The wider purchase budget is in closing costs.

What the document must say

A mandate in general terms confers only powers of administration. To dispose of property, mortgage it, settle a dispute, or do anything beyond ordinary administration, the power must be special and express (Civil Code, art. 661, §1).

The STJ reads that strictly. In REsp 1.814.643/SP (Third Panel, October 2019), a power to sell "any properties" anywhere in Brazil was held insufficient. In REsp 1.836.584 (Third Panel, reported February 2020), an owner gave his brother broad powers, and 17 years later the brother sold a property to his own company. The deed was declared null because the power did not identify the property. The court wanted reference to specific assets. Those cases were sales, but buying is also outside ordinary administration, and a buyer's notary will apply the same logic.

What each power is for

Sample wording

This is an illustration for your lawyer to adapt, using made-up details. It is not a template.

Para, em nome do outorgante, adquirir o apartamento 802 objeto da matrícula nº 12.345 do 1º Registro de Imóveis de Salvador, pelo preço máximo de R$ 850.000,00, assinar a promessa de compra e venda, seus aditivos e a escritura pública, pagar o preço, ITBI, emolumentos e custas, requerer o registro e atender às exigências do oficial, e receber a posse e as chaves.

In English: to buy, on the grantor's behalf, apartment 802 under matrícula 12,345 at the 1st Land Registry of Salvador, for at most R$ 850,000; to sign the promise, its amendments and the public deed; to pay the price, ITBI and fees; to file for registration and meet the registrar's requirements; and to receive possession and keys.

If you do not have the unit yet, a firm's guidance says a power may describe the property or set a ceiling, but the more it leaves open, the more a notary may push back. If the attorney goes beyond the powers, the act does not bind you unless you ratify it (art. 662).

Choosing the attorney

Any capable adult can be your attorney. No rule in the Civil Code articles on mandate requires a lawyer, though many buyers use one. The attorney must apply ordinary diligence and answers for losses caused by their fault (art. 667). That remedy only helps after the damage is done, so the choice matters more than the wording.

Keep the person away from the sale's interests:

• A deal the attorney makes with themselves is voidable unless the law or you allow it (art. 117). Do not add wording that allows it without a reason.
• A law firm's published guidance lists appointing an interested party, such as the seller's broker or lawyer, as a key risk. Anyone earning a commission on the sale wants it to close. If a broker from the directory is handling the deal, hold the power elsewhere.
• Have the price go from your account to the seller's account. The attorney then signs without holding your money. Where they have to hold funds, set a limit.

Decide on substitution, called substabelecimento. Even a public power can be passed on by private document (art. 655), so a power that allows it lets a stranger act for you. The consular manual suggests a fixed term and a bar on substitution as sensible options (rule 4.10.16).

Say what happens to documents. Ask for scans of everything signed and for the registered matrícula once it is ready. Checking a title shows what that document should say when it arrives.

CPF, spouse and matching names

CPF

You can usually sign a procuração before you have a CPF, but ask the notary first. A 2023 decision from the National Justice Inspectorate, signed by Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, allows a passport number in a notarial act by a foreigner abroad or in transit who isn't required to hold a CPF. The request behind it concerned powers of attorney naming foreign representatives. The CPF stays compulsory where the notary has to file a Declaração de Operações Imobiliárias, the property transaction report. A deed of sale is one of those acts, so the buyer's CPF has to exist by closing. Getting a CPF covers how. If an attorney will handle it, name CPF registration in the power and ask whether the local Receita unit accepts that route.

Your spouse

Under art. 1.647 of the Civil Code, a married person needs the spouse's consent to sell or encumber real estate, except under the separação absoluta regime (full separation of assets). Buying is not on that list. A mortgage or fiduciary lien is an encumbrance, so a purchase with a loan can bring the spouse in. A later sale almost always will. A foreign spouse without a Brazilian migration card has to give that consent through a local notary, per the consular manual.

Ask your lawyer how the marital regime will be recorded. A couple married abroad may need to show their marriage certificate, which then goes through the same apostille and translation chain. If you plan on rural land, marriage can change the analysis in other ways, as explained in the rural land guide.

Matching names

A registrar compares the names on the deed with those on the power and the passport. A firm's guidance lists inconsistent names, marital status or nationality as a common cause of trouble. A hyphen or a missing middle name can produce an objection, and an objection at the registry starts the 20-day clock.

How long it lasts and how it ends

Brazilian law sets no general expiry date for a power. A mandate ends on revocation or renunciation, on the death or incapacity of either party, on a change of status that disqualifies the grantor, at the end of its term, or when the deal is done (art. 682).

In practice, offices may refuse an old power. Firms' published guides give different figures: some cartórios want a power issued within 90 days for certain transactions, and banks or notaries may set six months or a year. Ask the closing notary how old a power it will take, and time the signing to match, especially where a closing could slip. An old power was part of what went wrong in the 17-year case above.

Revoking

Revoke in the same form as the original. Telling only the attorney is not enough: a revocation notified only to the attorney cannot be used against third parties dealing in good faith (art. 686). Acts done with good-faith parties while the attorney does not know of the death or the end of the mandate stay valid (art. 689). Tell the notary who drew it up, your bank and anyone else holding a copy.

The procuração em causa própria

This special power, "in one's own cause", cannot be revoked, does not end on death, and frees the attorney from accounting to the grantor (art. 685). It is sometimes offered as a shortcut in place of a deed. The STJ has held twice that it does not transfer ownership. See REsp 1.345.170 (Fourth Panel, May 2021) and REsp 1.962.366 (Third Panel, 2023, by majority). Title moves only with a new deed and its registration, and until then the seller can still act on the property. Paying for property on this basis leaves you exposed. Posse and escritura compares it with the other ways of holding property without title.

A power with an irrevocable clause tied to a two-sided deal also cannot be revoked (art. 684), so read any clause with that word before signing.

Your purchase power will not cover a later sale, and it should not. When the time comes, the guide to selling deals with the new power you would need.

What a power of attorney cannot fix

The attorney stands in your place, with your legal status. Any limit that applies to you applies to the signature made in your name.

• Rural land. A non-resident foreigner cannot buy rural land, and a power does not change that. Land near Trancoso or Jericoacoara can fall on the wrong side of this line. See the rural land guide.
• Federal coastal land. A beachfront purchase may need a federal certificate valid for 90 days. Time the power and the closing around it, using the terreno de marinha guide.
• Off-plan regret period. The 7-day window for withdrawing from a contract signed at a stand runs whoever signs. If an attorney signs for you, they need clear instructions. Buying off-plan has the details.
• Bank decisions. A firm's guidance notes that a power does not guarantee account opening or remove identification checks. A bank or a court decides for itself whether to accept it.
• Tax. A power does not make your attorney your tax representative unless it says so, and non-resident owners have continuing duties. See tax on rental income if you plan to let the property.

Buying directly from a private seller adds another reason for care, since no broker is there to spot problems. Buying directly from an owner lists the checks an attorney should carry out before signing.

Working back from the closing date

Paper moving between countries sets the pace. Plan backwards from the day you want to sign.

That last line is why the power should let the attorney answer objections and why you should stay reachable after closing. An objection that needs your signature, with a courier on top, can use up the 20 days. Once priority lapses, a competing title filed in the meantime can take its place, and that is the risk a buyer most wants to avoid.

Consider a spare original. A notary or registry may keep one, and a bank may ask for another. Ask for two or three certified copies when you sign, and have them apostilled together, since going back for more means repeating the chain.

Questions

Sources

1. Planalto, Civil Code, Law 10.406/2002, arts. 108, 117, 653 to 692 and 1.647
2. Planalto, Law of Introduction, Decree-Law 4.657/1942, arts. 9 and 18
3. Planalto, Public Registries Law, Law 6.015/1973, arts. 129, 148, 188 and 205
4. Planalto, Decree 8.660/2016, the Apostille Convention
5. Planalto, Decree 9.199/2017, migration regulation
6. Itamaraty, Manual do Serviço Consular e Jurídico, Chapter 4, sections 8 and 10, FGV-hosted copy
7. TJSC, Código de Normas, foreign documents, arts. 340 to 343
8. Colégio Notarial do Brasil, CNJ decision on passports without CPF in notarial acts, May 2023
9. Colégio Notarial do Brasil, competence for electronic notarial acts, March 2021
10. Colégio Notarial SP, Provimento 181/2024 and the e-Notariado
11. Colégio Notarial SP, Gustavo Bandeira on notarial acts for expatriates and foreigners, 2021
12. 26º Tabelionato de Notas, how to make a power of attorney while abroad
13. IRIB, STJ on general powers and unspecified property, REsp 1.836.584
14. Conjur, a general power does not allow the sale of an unspecified property, February 2020
15. Colégio Notarial do Brasil, procuração em causa própria and REsp 1.962.366, April 2023
16. IRIB, Bill 393/2021 on dropping RTD registration for apostilled documents
17. ZS Associados, buying Brazilian property by power of attorney from abroad
18. ZS Associados, power of attorney guide for foreigners
19. ZS Associados, public compared with private powers of attorney
20. Oliveira Lawyers, power of attorney for use in Brazil
21. Brazil Counsel, public powers of attorney, March 2020