⚠️ Important notice
This is not a government website. Certificado Digital Global is a Registration Authority accredited to the Certisign network, a brand of Kindness in Business Consulting Ltd (UK Company No. 10386293), serving clients from London. Issuance depends on identity validation, documentation and ICP-Brasil rules. Do not send CPF, passport or sensitive documents via WhatsApp or the initial form.
O que é
An e-CNPJ is not issued to the company in the abstract: it is tied to one specific CPF, the legal representative's, and that person answers for everything signed with it. People living abroad get stuck exactly here —…
Para quem
Check against the QSA and the articles · e-CNPJ issued to a director living abroad
Como resolve
Video validation in PT and EN · RA accredited to AC Certisign, London-based
Limite
Não é site do governo. Emissão sujeita a validação de identidade, documentação e normas da ICP-Brasil.
What “legal representative” means for the e-CNPJ
Who is the legal representative for digital certificate purposes?
The individual who answers for the company before third parties under its articles or bylaws — the director, the managing partner, the elected officer. That is the CPF the RA ties to the CNPJ at issuance. Owning shares is not enough: what counts is registered management authority.
Where does the RA check this?
In the QSA (the partners and directors table) of the company's CNPJ record at the Federal Revenue, and in the articles of association or the latest amendment filed with the commercial registry. Both must tell the same story: if the articles changed but the Revenue record has not caught up, issuance waits for the update.
Are partner and director the same thing?
No. A partner holds capital; a director has the power to act for the company. One person can be both (managing partner), only one of them, or neither. The e-CNPJ follows management authority, not capital share.
The situations that raise the most doubts
Minority partner who manages
Can hold it. With 5% or 95% of the capital, if the QSA and the articles name you as director, the certificate is issued in your name.
Majority partner who does not manage
Cannot, until listed as director. The route is an amendment to the articles granting management powers, filed and reflected in the CNPJ record.
Non-partner director
Can hold it. Hired officers and directors without shares appear in the QSA with that role and obtain the e-CNPJ in the usual way.
Attorney-in-fact, including the accountant
Never holds an e-CNPJ, however broad the power of attorney. What they can do with their own e-CPF plus a mandate is covered in attorney-in-fact and digital certificate abroad.
attorney-in-fact and digital certificate abroadA minority partner's case from abroad
If your case resembles this one, send a photo of the CNPJ card or just the company name and we check your role in the QSA before anything is scheduled. Check whether I can hold the e-CNPJ
Real case
Illustrative scenario. A Brazilian public-policy consultant lives in Brussels and owns 30% of a physiotherapy clinic in Curitiba, where the other partner, with 70%, runs daily operations. The articles name both as directors. The accountant asks for an e-CNPJ to file returns and she volunteers, but freezes on a doubt: “being a minority partner living abroad, can I be the holder?”. The answer sat in the QSA itself: she is listed as managing partner, and that is what the RA verifies. Validation took place by video call late one afternoon in Brussels, Brazilian passport in hand; her A1 e-CNPJ was installed on her laptop and the accountant received an electronic power of attorney on e-CAC — not the certificate. — A typical situation for partners abroad who share management with someone in Brazil
When the representative leaves the company
The e-CNPJ does not follow the role
It was issued to one person's CPF. When that person leaves management, their certificate remains technically valid until revoked — and anything signed with it is presumed to be their act under Provisional Measure 2.200-2/2001.
File the amendment
The departure and the new director's appointment go through the commercial registry, and the CNPJ record at the Revenue must show the new QSA.
Revoke the old certificate
The departing holder (or the company, through the CA's channel) requests revocation, which is published on the CRL and queryable via OCSP. That is how their liability is closed.
Issue for the incoming director
The new director, in Brazil or in any country, completes their own video validation and receives an e-CNPJ in their name. Changing directors from abroad is detailed in e-CNPJ for a company with a partner abroad.
Before you decide
“My time zone is far from Brazil's”
Validation is booked at a time that works for you; our London base suits Europe, Africa and the Middle East well, and the Americas and Asia are served through agreed windows.
“My RG has expired”
A valid Brazilian passport or driving licence will do. The RA needs a valid Brazilian photo ID in the same name that appears in the QSA.
“Who else will have access to the e-CNPJ?”
Nobody but you. You set the password and the RA never knows it; the accountant gets powers through an electronic power of attorney, not through your key.
“Is it better to issue it on a trip to Brazil?”
Only if the trip was already happening. Validating from where you live avoids travel, days away from work and dependence on an in-person appointment calendar.
Transparent pricing
This reference figure covers the legal representative's identity validation and issuance of the company's certificate. Checking your role in the QSA before scheduling carries no charge.
The final price depends on A1 or A3 and the validity period chosen; please confirm on WhatsApp.
Ask for the e-CNPJ price