Certificate of Good Conduct in Brazil
A certificate of good conduct is a document informing if the Brazilian citizen has any criminal records. It is issued by Polícia Federal (the Brazilian federal police) at their website or in one of their offices.
What is the certificate of good conduct?
A certificate of good conduct is a document issued by Instituto de Identificação Ricardo Gumbleton Daunt (IIRGD), which is a branch of Secretaria da Segurança Pública (Public Defense) and has the purpose of informing the existence or non-existence of criminal records.
This document is often requested in several different occasions in Brazil and is important for foreigners who want to enter or extend their stay in the country. It is important to reinforce that the non-issuance of the document does not imply the existence of criminal records.
Why do I need a certificate of good conduct?
The certificate of good conduct (or “Atestado de Antecedentes Criminais in Portuguese) is only issued for citizens who are over 18 years old and it does not present the citizen’s personal records, it only provides a “yes” or “no” answer to the existence of criminal records.
This document is valid for 90 days and may be requested in different occasions in Brazil, such as:
For regular Brazilian citizens
- Job interviews
- Public tenders
For foreigners
- Visa extension
- Requests for permanent visa
- Naturalization requests
The certificate of good conduct must be issued by the country of origin of the foreigner. The certificate must be translated into Portuguese and go through the process of authentication in a Brazilian consulate.
Each Brazilian consulate has its own policy and requirements regarding the legalization of foreign documents, so it is important to check this information through the communication channels of the consulate. The document has to be translated into Portuguese by a sworn translator.
In São Paulo state, a sworn translation into Portuguese costs, in average, BRL 45,00 per 1.000 characters. This is the price is established by the Commercial Chamber of each Brazilian state, so it may vary.
Also, be aware that only Brazilian General-Consulates (Consulado Geral do Brasil) can legalize documents. General-Consulates are commonly located in the main cities of each country.
How to issue your certificate of good conduct?
Once the foreigner is already living in Brazil and is considered to be a Brazilian citizen, he/she may need a certificate of good conduct, issued by Instituto de Identificação Ricardo Gumbleton Daunt (IIRGD), which is the Brazilian identification institute.
Brazilian citizens have the option of issuing the document online or at the closest police station or Poupa Tempo offices, but in case of foreigners, it is necessary to go to IIRGD carrying a copy of the RNE. The copy cannot be spotted, crumpled, dirty or contain erasures.
If the issuance of the document is going to be made by an attorney, then he/she must provide the foreigner’s RNE and the power attorney that entitles him/her to issue the certificate of good conduct.
According to Poupa Tempo São Paulo, the document is issued for free and takes 10 business days to be issued.