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Interpreting Brazil’s CNPJ Number

The Brazil National Registry of Legal Entities number (CNPJ) is a company identification number that must be obtained from the Department of Federal Revenue (Secretaria da Receita Federal do Brasil) prior to the start of any business activities. The CNPJ (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica) number is similar in function to the IRS’s Employer Identification Number in the United States. The number is assigned to the following:

  • All Brazil-based companies along with their foreign branch offices
  • Foreign companies that “have assets or rights in Brazil subject to a public registry”
  • Public and private funds
  • Select government agencies

The number consists of 14 digits. The first eight digits (A) make up the registration number. Digits nine through 12 (B) delineate whether the registered entity is a company’s headquarters or a branch office of the company. Digits 13 and 14 (C) are verification digits that are calculated using digits one through 12.

The resulting ID number is as follows:

AAAAAAAABBBBCC

One Company, Multiple CNPJs

It is important to emphasize that all branch offices of a Brazil-based company receive a different CNPJ; therefore, a company can have multiple CNPJ numbers. The point of difference between a company’s multiple CNPJs can be found in digits nine through 12 (B). In this section of the CNPJ, a company’s headquarters will always be “0001.” All subsequent branch offices of the same company will receive numbers “0002,” “0003,” “0004,” and so on. 

Below is an example of a company in the municipality of Guanambi, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, that has several branch offices in different municipalities throughout the state. The first entity listed is the company’s headquarters, as denoted by the four digit code “0001” in its CNPJ. The following four entities are branch offices, as denoted by digits nine through 12 of their “CNPJ’s” (in bold below):

 

FUNERARIA BAHIA DE GUANAMBI LTDA (Headquarters)

  • Trade Name: FUNERARIA BAHIA 
  • CNPJ: 03417743000150
  • Address: Rua Dr. Jose Humberto Nunes 1653, Guanambi, BA 46430000

FUNERARIA BAHIA DE GUANAMBI LTDA (Branch Office)

  • Trade Name: FUNERARIA BAHIA
  • CNPJ: 03417743000230
  • Address: Rua Tiberio Fausto 133, Pindai, BA 46360000

FUNERARIA BAHIA DE GUANAMBI LTDA (Branch Office)

  • Trade Name: FUNERARIA BAHIA
  • CNPJ: 03417743000311
  • Address: Avenida Monteiro Lobato 234, Licinio de Almeida, BA 46330000

FUNERARIA BAHIA DE GUANAMBI LTDA (Branch Office)

  • Trade Name: FUNERARIA BAHIA
  • CNPJ: 03417743000400
  • Address: Praca da Matriz 163, Candiba, BA 46388000

FUNERARIA BAHIA DE GUANAMBI LTDA (Branch Office)

  • Trade Name: FUNERARIA BAHIA
  • CNPJ: 03417743000583
  • Address: Avenida Anisio Teixeira 1994, Caetite, BA 46400000

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