Need a new certified copy of your certificate? We handle the request.
A certified copy always comes from whoever holds the original record: the registry office (cartório) in Brazil, the Brazilian consulate, or the vital records office of the US state. Cartório BR, a private document services company, determines which situation applies to you, prepares the request, and follows it through until the certificate is in your hands. We are not a registry office, a consulate, or a government agency.
- Brazilian, consular, and US certificates
- A team in the US and in Brazil
- Fully remote, no trip to Brazil
The certificate in your drawer may no longer be accepted.
Brazilians living in the United States tend to discover a missing certificate at the worst possible time: when renewing a passport, registering a marriage at the consulate, transcribing a child's birth in Brazil, or settling an estate.
Sometimes the certificate was lost in a move. Sometimes you still have it, but it is old and does not show a divorce, a name change, or another update made after the original registration. And sometimes the agency asks for a recently issued certificate, and the one you have no longer meets that requirement.
Every certificate has its own source. A Brazilian certificate comes from the registry office where the record was made. A consular certificate comes from the consulate, but only if the record has not yet been transcribed at a registry office in Brazil. A US certificate comes from the agency of the state where the event took place. Requesting it from the wrong place costs you time.
What holds up your plans is not the missing document. It is finding out it is missing on the day you need it.
What is a new certified copy of a certificate?
In Brazil, this is called a segunda via: a new certificate issued from the original record, which is kept at the registry office, the consulate, or the vital records office. The record itself does not change. What you receive is an official, up-to-date copy of it.
Under Brazilian law, a certificate must reflect every update made after the original registration, such as a divorce, a name change, or the addition of the father's name. The only exception is information the law requires to be kept confidential. That is why a new certificate may show what the old one leaves out.
A Brazilian certificate can be issued electronically, with the same legal validity and evidentiary value as the printed version, or on paper, signed by the registry office, when the receiving agency requires it.
An old certificate, lost or left in Brazil, that does not show changes made after the registration or was issued too long ago for the agency that will receive it.
A new certificate, issued by the office that holds the record, reflecting every update up to the issue date and in the format your case requires: electronic or paper.
Which certificate do you need?
A Brazilian birth, marriage, or death certificate
A record made at a registry office in Brazil, including a consular record that has already been transcribed there. Without an updated certified copy, your passport, your marriage registration at the consulate, your child's birth transcription, and probate all stay on hold.
A certificate issued by a Brazilian consulate
A birth or marriage registered at the consulate and not yet transcribed in Brazil. Without the certificate in hand, the transcription and every request that depends on it cannot move forward.
A US certificate
A birth registered in the United States, including cases where incorrect information on a child's certificate needs to be corrected. Without the US certificate, the consular birth registration, the passport, and the transcription in Brazil cannot be completed.
The law guarantees your right to a certificate. Filing correctly puts it in your hands.
In Brazil, the registry office is required to issue any certificate requested, and anyone may ask for one without giving a reason (Articles 16 and 17 of Law No. 6,015/1973, the Public Records Act, or Lei de Registros Públicos). This rule applies to the standard short-form certificate (certidão em breve relato). A full-text certificate (certidão em inteiro teor) requires a written, signed request stating the reason. Certificates containing sensitive or restricted information follow specific rules set out in Articles 113 to 117 of the National Code of Rules (Código Nacional de Normas) issued by Brazil's National Council of Justice (CNJ).
Under Law No. 14,382/2022, certificates are now issued electronically, with the same legal validity and evidentiary value as the paper version. They can also be requested at any registry office through the Electronic Public Records System (Serp). The same National Code of Rules governs requests made through the Civil Registry Information Center (CRC).
Consular certificates follow a different rule: a consulate only issues a certified copy of a record it made itself and that has not yet been transcribed in Brazil. Depending on the consulate, the request may be sent by mail or may require an in-person visit. If the record has already been transcribed, the certified copy comes from the First Civil Registry Office (1º Ofício) responsible for the transcription.
In the United States, each state has its own laws. In Washington State, a certified birth certificate is released only to the person named on it, to relatives listed in the law, to a legal guardian, to legal or authorized representatives, and to government agencies and courts. Death certificates have a separate list, which includes heirs and the funeral home.
Cartório BR does not issue certificates. We identify the office with jurisdiction, prepare the request in line with these rules, and follow the process through to delivery.
Anyone may request a certificate of a record without informing the registrar or the clerk of the reason for, or interest in, the request.
Certificates must be provided electronically, using technology that allows them to be printed and their authenticity verified; any registry office may be asked, through the Serp, for electronic certificates of acts recorded at another office; printed and electronic certificates both carry legal validity and evidentiary value.
Whenever any change has been made after the act whose certificate is requested, the registrar must mention it in the certificate.
Once the record is located, a certificate requested through the CRC is made available in electronic form within five business days after the registry fees are paid; the applicant may ask any registry office that is part of the CRC to print the electronic certificate on paper and sign it.
Access to the civil registry through a short-form certificate is unrestricted, with no application or identification required; a full-text certificate requires a written, signed application stating the reason and the degree of kinship; when requested by a third party, a certificate containing sensitive information requires a court order.
For a surname change handled directly at a registry office, a civil registry certificate is considered up to date if it was issued no more than 90 days earlier.
Issuing a new copy of a birth, marriage, or death certificate will depend, whenever possible, on first annotating the CPF number (Brazilian taxpayer ID) on the record, free of charge, or doing so electronically under a technical standardization instruction (ITN) of the National Operator of the Civil Registry of Natural Persons (ON-RCPN).
A consular post only issues copies of certificates it registered itself and that have not been transcribed in Brazil; it does not issue copies of records made at a Brazilian registry office or at another consular post. Depending on the post, the applicant may be required to appear in person before the consular authority.
A new copy is granted only if the record has not been transcribed in Brazil; the request is made through e-Consular and sent by mail, with a copy of the certificate (without it, processing takes longer), a copy of the applicant's ID, and a statement that the record has not been transcribed.
A certified birth certificate may be issued only to the person named on it, a spouse or domestic partner, children, parents, stepparents, stepchildren, siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, a legal guardian, and legal or authorized representatives.
What you need to send
For a new copy of a Brazilian certificate (electronic or paper)
- A copy of the certificate, if you have one. If not, the record details: full name, date and place of the birth, marriage, or death, parents' names, and, if you know it, the registry office
- Brazilian photo ID: a valid passport or a Brazilian ID card (RG)
- Recent proof of address
- CPF number of the person named on the record, if they have one
- Phone number, email, and occupation
- For a full-text certificate: a written request, with a notarized signature or a digital signature (gov.br or ICP-Brasil), stating the reason and your relationship to the person named on the record
For a new copy of a certificate issued by a Brazilian consulate
- A copy of the consular certificate, if you have one. If not, the record details: full name, date and place of the birth or marriage, and parents' names
- The consulate's certified copy request form, completed, dated, and signed by the applicant; some consulates require the signature to be acknowledged by a notary public
- A signed statement that the record has not been transcribed at a registry office in Brazil
- ID of the person signing the request (Brazilian passport or ID card) and, if the signer is not the person named on the record, that person's ID as well
- CPF number of the person named on the record, if they have one
For a new copy or a correction of a US birth certificate for a minor
- A copy of the US birth certificate, if you have one, or the hospital record
- Valid Brazilian passports of both parents
- Birth or marriage certificates of both parents
- A US driver's license or state ID of at least one parent
- SSN or ITIN of the parent submitting the request
- Proof of address, if the address on the driver's license is not current
- Phone number, email, and occupation
For a new copy of a US birth certificate for an adult
- Social Security number (SSN)
- A copy of the US birth certificate, if you have one
- A US driver's license or state ID; if you have neither, your Brazilian passport
- Phone number, email, and occupation
How it works: four steps, all handled remotely
You contact Cartório BR
Our team determines which certificate you need and where the record is kept. We also confirm what the receiving agency requires: electronic or paper format, a recent issue date, a full-text certificate, or an apostille.
You send the documents on our list
Our team reviews every item before filing. For a certified copy, you do not need to send the original certificate: a copy, if you have one, helps us locate the record.
Cartório BR files the request with the right office
Whether it is a registry office in Brazil, a Brazilian consulate, or a US state vital records office, the request goes to whoever holds the record, with the forms, statements, and fees required. Our team follows every step until the certificate is issued.
You receive the certificate in the agreed format
Once the process is complete, the new copy reaches you: the electronic file of the Brazilian certificate, the printed certificate signed by the registry office, or the certificate issued by the consulate or the US agency.
Why request your certified copy through Cartório BR?
Three systems, one point of contact
Registry offices in Brazil, Brazilian consulates, and US agencies each have their own rules, forms, and timelines. Cartório BR knows all three and tells you, right from the start, where your request should be filed.
A team in each country
In the United States, our team guides you and reviews your documents. In Brazil, another part of the team follows the request at the registry office. You deal with people, not with a form.
Experience with the Brazilian community
Francisco Harto has lived in the United States since 2016 and, since 2017, has volunteered with the Brazilian consulate's mobile consular missions, helping the community with document procedures. Cartório BR is a private company and is not affiliated with the consulate.
The right certificate for the right purpose
Before filing, our team checks the receiving agency's requirements, so the certificate is issued in the format and with the issue date it accepts. This reduces the risk of paying twice for the same certificate.
Your next step, already planned
A certified copy almost always opens the door to another process: a passport, a transcription, a marriage registration, a divorce, or probate. Our team files the request with that next step already in mind.
Ready to get started?
Talk to our team and get the right guidance for your case.
Request my certified copy →Mistakes that delay a certified copy or get a certificate rejected
Asking the consulate for a new copy of a consular certificate that has already been transcribed in Brazil. In that case, the copy is issued by the First Civil Registry Office (1º Ofício) where the record was transcribed.
Using an old certificate that does not show a divorce, a name change, or another update made after the registration.
Submitting a certificate issued long ago when the agency asks for a recent one. To register a marriage, for example, the consulate may require an up-to-date birth certificate.
Requesting an electronic certificate when the receiving agency requires paper, or the other way around.
Requesting a US certificate on behalf of someone who is not entitled to receive it. In Washington State, for example, only the person named on the record and those authorized by state law can receive a certified birth certificate.
Waiting to look for the certificate until the passport application, the marriage, or the probate case is already underway.
The timeline depends on who holds the record.
In Brazil, the Public Records Act prohibits registry offices from delaying the issue of a certificate by more than five days. Through the CRC, the electronic certificate becomes available within five business days after the registry fees (emolumentos) are paid. A paper certificate also requires mailing time to the United States. At consulates and US agencies, each office's own processing time applies, plus mailing. During the initial review, our team gives you the expected timeline for your case. The sooner the request is filed, the lower the chance that the certificate will delay your passport, your marriage, or probate.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. With the record details (name, date and place of the birth, marriage, or death, parents' names, and, if you know it, the registry office), our team locates the record. A copy of the old certificate helps, but it is not required, and you never need to send the original.
Yes. Article 19 of Law No. 6,015/1973 gives the electronic certificate, and any certificate printed from it, the same legal validity and evidentiary value. If the receiving agency requires paper, the registry office can print and sign the certificate.
Brazil's Public Records Act does not set an expiration date for certificates. However, the receiving party may require a recent certificate to be sure it reflects the latest updates to the record, and some rules set that period for certain requests. For a surname change at a registry office and for registering a common-law union (união estável), for example, the CNJ's National Code of Rules considers a certificate current if it was issued within the last 90 days. That is why our team checks the agency's requirement before filing.
From the consulate that made the registration, if the record has not yet been transcribed in Brazil. If it has, from the First Civil Registry Office (1º Ofício) responsible for the transcription. Our team confirms which applies to you before filing.
You do not need to travel to Brazil: Brazilian certificates are requested remotely. Whether you need to visit the consulate depends on which consulate holds your record. Some consulates accept requests by mail, with the form and the statement signed by you, sometimes with the signature notarized. Others require you to appear in person. During the initial review, our team tells you how your consulate handles it.
In Brazil, anyone can request a standard short-form certificate (breve relato) without giving a reason. A full-text certificate (inteiro teor) requires a written, signed request stating the reason and the family relationship. If the certificate contains sensitive information and is requested by a third party, it can only be issued with a court order. In the United States, each state sets its own rules. In Washington State, a certified birth certificate is released only to the person named on it, to relatives listed in the law, to a legal guardian, to legal or authorized representatives, and to government agencies and courts.
Don't wait until your case stalls to find out a certificate is missing.
If you need a certified copy of a Brazilian, consular, or US certificate, Cartório BR finds where the record is kept, files the right request, and follows every step until the certificate is delivered in the format your case requires.
Remote service for Brazilians in the United States, with a team in both countries.