This is an independent guide. The Brazilian Federal Police and state Civil Police issue their own certificates; Antecedentes Criminais Brasil is a private service, not a government agency, and can assist with issuance, apostille, and sworn translation.
For Canadian immigration, IRCC asks for the Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais issued by the Brazilian Federal Police (Polícia Federal, PF); Brazilian state certificates are not accepted. With a Brazilian CIE and CPF you request it online; without them, in person at a PF office. A Portuguese certificate needs a certified English or French translation. The IRCC Brazil page lists no apostille.
| Quick answer | |
|---|---|
| What you need | PF Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais (no state certificate) |
| Where to get it | Online at the PF with a CIE and CPF; otherwise in person at the nearest PF office |
| Time | PF validity 90 days. IRCC: for your current country of residence, issued no more than 6 months before you apply |
| Cost | PF certificate: free. Our optional assistance: from R$ 30 |
| Apostille | Not listed in the IRCC Brazil instructions; confirm before ordering (ours: from R$ 95, cartório fee excluded) |
Do you need a Brazilian police certificate for Canada?
IRCC requires a police certificate if you apply for permanent residence, citizenship or International Experience Canada. For Brazil it asks for the PF Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais. Which countries your application must cover depends on how long and when you lived there; see the issue-date rules below.
A former resident of Brazil who is not Brazilian is not exempt because of nationality. What counts is where you lived and when, together with the instructions for your IRCC program. Check your document checklist before ordering anything. The general rules are on the IRCC eligibility page.
Which certificate does Canada accept?
IRCC states that Brazilian state certificates are no longer accepted and that only national certificates issued by the Federal Police are accepted. A state Civil Police certificate is therefore not a substitute, even though a state authority issues it legitimately. A court certificate is a different kind of document and should not be used in place of a police certificate either. For the document itself, see our guide to the federal certificate.
How to get it from Canada or another country
Step 1. Confirm what your application requires
Check your IRCC checklist and the Brazil instruction page, then the residence and issue-date rules below. This avoids obtaining a certificate that does not fit your application.
Step 2. Check your Brazilian ID
IRCC names two documents: the Cédula de Identidade de Estrangeiro (CIE), the Brazilian foreign-national ID, and the Cadastro de Pessoa Física (CPF), the taxpayer number. If you have both, you contact the Federal Police and request the certificate over the internet. If you do not, IRCC says you cannot request it online and should apply in person at your nearest PF office. A passport alone is not mentioned as enough for the online route.
Step 3. Use the official PF service
Eligible applicants start at the PF criminal records page. The certificate is issued online, free of charge. If the system cannot issue it, do not assume that another document will satisfy IRCC.
Step 4. If the online route is closed
IRCC directs these applicants to a PF office. It does not describe a separate consular procedure and does not say that a representative can attend instead. The official guidance consulted does not describe that procedure; confirm the applicable channel with the issuing authority before acting. Ask the PF before you make travel or representation plans.
Step 5. Check the certificate
Compare the details on the document with your application. You can also validate a Brazilian certificate through the issuing authority. Validation shows that the certificate is genuine; it is not IRCC's decision on acceptance.
Step 6. Translate if needed
A certificate not in English or French must come with a copy of the original and a copy in English or French from a certified translator. A Portuguese certificate falls under this rule.
What to prepare
Have at hand your IRCC document checklist, your passport, your CPF and any CIE card, and a note of the months and years you lived in Brazil. With them you can tell in a few minutes whether you are on the online or the in-person route, and which issue-date rule applies to you.
Apostille for Canada
An apostille is a certificate under the Hague Apostille Convention that authenticates the origin of a public document. In Brazil it is issued by authorized notary offices (cartórios); the National Council of Justice (CNJ) publishes a search of authorized cartórios by state and city. The Brazilian foreign ministry advises that documents issued in Brazil for use in Hague Convention countries are apostilled there.
That is general Brazilian guidance, not an IRCC rule. The IRCC instructions we rely on set out a translation rule but do not list an apostille for the Brazilian certificate. Treat an apostille as an extra service to confirm, not as an automatic Canadian requirement. If your case needs it, see our apostille guide.
Translation for Canada
IRCC requires the translation to come from a certified translator and to be provided together with a copy of the original. Our sworn translation can be part of your package, but IRCC's wording is "certified translator". A translation prepared by yourself is not what the instruction describes. Check with IRCC that the translator and format you plan to use meet your application's requirements.
How recent must the certificate be for Canada?
Two separate questions.
Brazilian validity. The PF says the certificate is valid for 90 days. That is the issuer's statement, not IRCC's acceptance rule.
IRCC issue dates.
- Country where you currently live: the certificate must be issued no more than 6 months before the date you submit your application.
- Any other country: the certificate must be issued after the last time you resided there for 6 consecutive months or longer since the age of 18. If you left Brazil and now live in Canada, the date your last qualifying stay in Brazil ended matters.
The rules are published on the IRCC "when to get a police certificate" page. The sources consulted do not set a single acceptance period for every Canadian procedure, so confirm it with the responsible authority. With a 90-day PF validity, check the age on the day you submit.
Mistakes to avoid with Canadian applications
- Ordering a state certificate. IRCC does not accept it.
- Requesting the certificate too early. Compare the issue date with the 6-month or "after your last qualifying stay" rule, and remember the PF's own 90 days.
- Submitting the Portuguese certificate without a copy of the original plus a certified English or French translation.
- Paying for an apostille because the document is "going abroad". The IRCC instructions we rely on do not list one.
- Substituting a court certificate for the police certificate.
- Travelling to Brazil or authorizing someone before the PF has told you which channel applies to you.
Canada checklist
| Item | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Program | IRCC requires a police certificate for your application |
| Issuer | Federal Police only; state certificates are not accepted |
| Document | Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais |
| Online eligibility | CIE and CPF; otherwise in person at a PF office |
| Issue date | Current-residence or former-residence rule |
| Language | English or French translation by a certified translator, with a copy of the original |
| Apostille | Not listed in the IRCC instructions we rely on; confirm separately |
| Submission | Follow the instructions for your own application |
Price in BRL for the Canada certificate
| Service | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Assisted certificate issuance | from R$ 30 |
| Hague apostille assistance (cartório fee excluded) | from R$ 95 |
| Sworn translation | from R$ 110 per page |
The PF certificate is free when requested directly. The prices above are approximate starting prices for private assistance, in Brazilian reais; extra translated pages cost more. We explain the price for your case before payment. Order only the services your application needs. We do not guarantee processing time or acceptance.
Need help with your Brazilian certificate for Canada?
Need help obtaining, apostilling, or translating the Brazilian certificate? Leave your contact; we will review the case and explain the price before payment. Contact us.
See also our guide to Brazilian police clearance from abroad, and the guides for the UK and Ireland. We cannot guarantee issuance, acceptance or an immigration result.
Sources
- IRCC, who needs a police certificate: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/who.html
- IRCC, police certificate for Brazil: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/how/brazil.html
- IRCC, when to get a police certificate: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates/when.html
- IRCC, police certificates: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/medical-police/police-certificates.html
- Brazilian Federal Police, Antecedentes Criminais: https://www.gov.br/pf/pt-br/assuntos/antecedentes-criminais
- CNJ, Hague Apostille: https://www.cnj.jus.br/poder-judiciario/relacoes-internacionais/apostila-da-haia/
- Itamaraty, apostille of documents: https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/assuntos/portal-consular/legalizacao-de-documentos/apostilamento-de-documentos