Legalization of foreign documents to be used in Brazil
How to legalize documents to have legal validity in Brazil
With Brazil’s accession to the Hague Convention, foreign public documents will no longer be legalized by the Brazilian Consulate in the country of origin and must be legalized in bodies authorized for foreigners.
If the country that originated the document is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention here. As a member of the treaty, to use the document in Brazil you must:
Consult at HCCH – Authorities (in English) where the documents of foreigners must be legalized (abroad) to be used in Brazil;
Once the documents are legalized, they must be translated by a sworn translator in Brazil;
Then, they must be sent to be registered (the originals and the respective translations) in a Registry of Deeds and Documents in Brazil.
Once this is done, the documents will be ready to be presented in public agencies, notary offices, the Federal Police and others.
If the issuer of the document is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, the documents must be legalized through diplomatic channels, that is, at the Brazilian Consulate in the country of origin of the document.