All Roads Lead to the Notary Office

Living in Brazil? Chances are you’ll be visiting a notary office (cartório) sooner rather than later. It’s hard to get anything done without one.

The most common notary service is the recohecimento de firma. It’s what most people from the United States think of when they picture a notary: confirming that a signature on a document belongs to the person who signed it.

Real estate transactions also depend on the notary. The deed (escritura) for a property must be signed in front of the notary. Once signed, the transfer history (matrícula) must be updated and registered to complete the change of ownership.

But notaries don’t just handle signatures; they record documents too. Condominium bylaws, loan agreements, lease agreements, and other private contracts can all be filed with a notary to give them added legal weight and public visibility. Protestos, formal notices that a debt remains unpaid, are also recorded there.

Need to serve an extrajudicial notification on someone? The notary will take care of it. Want to grant a public power of attorney? That gets registered at the notary office too. Need a certified copy of a document? The notary can issue a cópia autenticada.

Notaries also handle life events. Births, marriages, divorces, and deaths must all be registered. Entering into a civil union? Preparing a will or naming a healthcare proxy? It all happens at the notary office.

In Brazil, when something needs to be official, it typically starts and ends with a notary office. Just make sure you visit the right notary.