Property Records in Brazil
Obtain the Records for a Property in Brazil
Property records in Brazil are kept by registries known as “cartórios.” Legal ownership in Brazil is established by having the owner’s name recorded in the chain of title. The main title is known in Brazil as “Registro do Imóvel.” The registro do imóvel is also known as “RGI” or “matrícula do imóvel”.
Pulling a current copy of a property’s record is how anyone confirms who legally owns it — a buyer checking a seller before an offer, a party to a lawsuit or an inheritance, or an owner protecting their own title.
We retrieve the records for real estate properties in any Brazilian state. Property records indicate, among other things:
- Current legal owner
- Existence of liens
- Chain of title
- Encumbrances and real covenants
- Amounts declared for transactions
Reviewed by Luciano Oliveira — Brazil–US attorney, LL.M., licensed in Brazil, Texas, and California · Last reviewed: July 2026.
This page is general information about property records in Brazil, not legal advice for your situation. What a record shows can turn on the property and the registry, so confirm your specifics with a lawyer.
What the record is — the matrícula
Every registered property has one master record at the local cartório de registro de imóveis: its matrícula. It is the single source of truth for who owns the property and everything that has ever attached to it. The contract you sign and the keys you hold prove nothing until the matrícula says so.
The certificates you actually pull
You read the record through the certificates the registry issues: the up-to-date certidão de matrícula; the certidão de ônus reais (mortgages, liens, penhoras, judicial blocks); the certidão vintenária (the long chain of title); and the seller’s own negative certificates (lawsuits, tax and labor debts, insolvency) — because a clean property can still have a compromised seller.
What this catches before anyone relies on the property
Undisclosed mortgages and liens, a property seized in someone else’s lawsuit, an inheritance that was never settled, construction that was never registered (averbação), area or boundary mismatches, and the classic fake-seller fraud.
Why the stakes are higher in Brazil
Brazil has no title insurance — if the record is wrong and the title fails, no one makes you whole. The only protection is reading the record properly before you act on it. We don’t hand you a stack of documents; we retrieve them, read them, and tell you what they mean for your decision.
Property Records in Brazil?
We Can Help You
#1 Contact us to get a consultation, or
#2 Schedule a Consultation now.
Should I buy a property in Brazil that was not properly recorded?
No. Unfortunately, some owners in Brazil avoid recording the purchase transaction to circumvent the applicable sales taxes. Stay away from these properties and sellers.
The process of registering legal information about a property with the cartorio responsible for such records. This process is important because it ensures legal security for real estate transactions and helps prevent fraud.
During the registration process, information such as the property description, location, area, name of the owner, rights, and interests related to the property, such as mortgages and usufructs, are registered in the cartorio. This information is important because they serve as proof of property ownership and is also used for public consultation purposes, such as for issuing property registration certificates.
What it costs and how long it takes
We handle the search as a defined-scope service.00 for each Property Record searched. A large tract of land may span more than one record.
Turnaround will depend on the actual time required by the registration office (“Cartório”) to retrieve the records. While cartórios in main urban centers will take a few days to process a request, those in the country may take several weeks. Anyhow, the average turnaround will be within the registry’s standard timeframe for the records to be ready and available to you in a PDF format.
How will the Records Look Like?
We deliver the Property Records in PDF by email in their original format and language (Portuguese) as received from the registration office.
Translation of the records from Portuguese into English, if you need, is charged as an additional service and may require a couple of additional days to complete.
Request and see an actual first page of property records issued in a registration office in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Have us pull and read the records for you
Send an email to [email protected] with the full address of the property for which you need the records.
Beyond the registry
The record shows what’s on the record. When you also need to look behind it — the seller’s background, corporate ownership, or signs of fraud — that is a separate step; see our real estate investigations.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check who legally owns a property in Brazil?
By pulling the property matrícula from the cartório de registro de imóveis, the master record that names the legal owner and the full chain of title.
What is a matrícula?
The unique registry record for a property; it is the authoritative record of ownership and of everything attached to the property.
How do I know a property has no debts or liens?
By reading the certidão de ônus reais and the seller negative certificates, which reveal mortgages, liens, seizures, and lawsuits that could reach the property.
What is the certidão de ônus reais?
A certificate from the registry listing the encumbrances on a property: mortgages, liens, penhoras, and judicial restrictions.
Can you pull the records if I am abroad?
Yes. We retrieve and read the records for clients anywhere; you never need to be in Brazil.
This overview is general information, not legal advice; what a record shows can turn on the specific property and registry. Speak with a qualified Brazilian real estate attorney before acting.
Property Records in Brazil?
We Can Help You
#1 Contact us to get a consultation, or
#2 Schedule a Consultation now.
