Getting Married in Brazil as a Foreigner: Documents, Apostilles and the Civil Registry

The short version

Step	What happens	Rule
1. Prepare documents	Birth certificate, civil status, proof that any prior marriage ended; apostilles and sworn translations	Civil Code art. 1.525; Los Angeles consulate
2. Habilitação	File at the civil registry where one of you lives	Lei 6.015 art. 67
3. Certificate	Issued within up to 5 days if all is in order; valid 90 days	Lei 6.015 art. 67, §1; Civil Code art. 1.532
4. Ceremony	At any civil registry you choose, with at least two witnesses	Lei 6.015 art. 67, §1; Civil Code art. 1.534
5. Registration	The marriage is recorded and the certificate issued	Civil Code arts. 1.536 and 1.543

This is general information as of November 3, 2026, read in the consolidated texts of the laws on that date. Civil registries are supervised by each state's courts, which can add practical requirements, so ask your registry for its own list before you order documents. For residence through marriage, see Brazil Spouse Visa; for the whole move in order, the hub is Moving to Brazil from the US.

Which law applies

Brazil's Lei de Introdução às Normas do Direito Brasileiro, the statute on applying laws, says that when a marriage takes place in Brazil, Brazilian law governs the impediments and the formalities of the ceremony (art. 7, §1). Two foreigners of the same nationality may also marry before their own country's diplomatic or consular authorities (§2).

Marriage in Brazil is a civil act, and the ceremony itself carries no charge (Civil Code, art. 1.512). The eligibility file, the registration and the first certificate are exempt from fees for people who declare, under penalty of law, that they cannot pay (sole paragraph); otherwise the registry charges the fees set by state law, which in Santa Catarina the state court publishes each year.

Step 1: the documents

The Civil Code says the request for habilitação is signed by both of you, in person or by a proxy, and comes with (art. 1.525):

1. a birth certificate or equivalent document;
2. written authorization from parents or guardians, for anyone under age;
3. a declaration by two adult witnesses, relatives or not, that they know you both and know of no impediment;
4. a declaration of the civil status, domicile and current residence of each of you and of your parents, if known;
5. if either of you was married before, the death certificate of the former spouse, the final decision of nullity or annulment, or the registration of the divorce decree.

Getting US documents ready

• Apostille in the US. Brazil applies the Apostille Convention, so a US public document is apostilled by the US authority that issued it, typically the state for a birth certificate, as the Los Angeles consulate explains. Brazilian consulates in the US no longer legalize US documents.
• Sworn translation in Brazil. To have effect in Brazil, a foreign-language document must be translated by a sworn public translator registered with a Junta Comercial, and, where applicable, registered at a Registry of Titles and Documents (same page). The Public Records Law says foreign documents, with their translations, are registered there to have effect before public bodies (art. 129, 6º; art. 148).
• Civil status. The Civil Code asks for a declaration of civil status (art. 1.525, IV). How a registry wants an American's single status shown, and how it accepts a US divorce decree for item 5, are practical questions to put to the registry before you start, because the answers set your document list.

Step 2: the habilitação

You file at the civil registry of the district where one of you lives (Lei 6.015, art. 67). Since a 2022 amendment:

• identification and documents can be submitted electronically, if authorship and integrity can be verified (art. 67, §4-A);
• if the documentation is in order, the registrar gives electronic publicity to the habilitação and issues the certificate within up to 5 days (art. 67, §1);
• if an impediment or a suspensive cause is raised, the file goes to a judge (art. 67, §5).

The Civil Code's own text still describes a public notice posted for 15 days (art. 1.527). The Public Records Law's newer wording is the one quoted above; ask your registry which timeline it applies.

Step 3: the certificate and the 90-day window

The habilitação certificate is valid for 90 days from issue (Civil Code, art. 1.532). Under the amended Public Records Law, you may marry at any civil registry of your choice within that window (art. 67, §1).

Step 4: the ceremony

• When and where. On the day, time and place set by the official who presides (Civil Code, art. 1.533): at the registry, with open doors, before at least two witnesses, or, if you wish and the official agrees, in another public or private building (art. 1.534). In a private building the doors stay open, and four witnesses are needed, as they are if either of you cannot write (§§1 and 2).
• In person or by proxy. You may appear in person or through a special proxy (art. 1.535). Note the immigration consequence: the family reunion visa is not granted to a spouse whose marriage to the sponsor was performed by proxy (Portaria Interministerial 12/2018, art. 2, §4).
• The words. After each of you confirms that you marry voluntarily ("por livre e espontânea vontade"), the official declares you married in the form set out in art. 1.535.

Step 5: the record and the certificate

The marriage is recorded in the registry book right after the ceremony, with your names, your parents, the witnesses, the documents presented and the property regime (art. 1.536). A marriage celebrated in Brazil is proved by the registry certificate (art. 1.543). That certificate is what the immigration and Federal Police files ask for.

The property regime

• Default. Without a valid agreement, your property follows partial community (comunhão parcial) (Civil Code, art. 1.640).
• Choosing another. You may choose any regime the Code provides during the habilitação. Partial community is recorded as a simple statement; any other regime needs a prenuptial agreement by public deed at a notary (same article, sole paragraph). A public deed is written in Portuguese, and if you do not speak it and the notary does not understand your language, a sworn translator acts as interpreter (art. 215, §§3 and 4).
• Mandatory separation. Separation of property is mandatory for anyone over 70, among other cases (art. 1.641).
• Which country's rules? The Lei de Introdução says the regime follows the law of the country where the spouses are domiciled, and if their domiciles differ, the law of their first marital domicile (art. 7, §4). For a couple living abroad who marry on a trip to Brazil, that rule matters.

After the wedding

• Residence. A foreign spouse of a Brazilian, or of an immigrant with residence, can apply for family reunion: Brazil Spouse Visa.
• Your Federal Police record. If you already hold an RNM, marriage is one of the changes you ask the Federal Police to record, with supporting documents (Decreto 9.199, art. 75, I).
• A union you already have. If you already live together as a união estável, it can be converted into marriage at the civil registry where you live, without a judge or a ceremony (Lei 6.015, art. 70-A), as the Constitution asks the law to make easy (art. 226, §3).

Myths checked against the text

• "Foreigners need a judge's permission to marry." The habilitação is handled by the civil registrar; a judge decides only if an impediment is raised.
• "You have to marry where you filed." Under the 2022 amendment, any civil registry you choose, within the 90-day validity.
• "The wedding costs a fee." The ceremony carries no charge; the registry fees are for the file, the record and certificates.
• "A US marriage certificate works as is." In Brazil it needs an apostille and a sworn translation.

Where to go from here

• Residence for the foreign spouse or partner: Brazil Spouse Visa.
• Starting a family in Brazil: Having a Baby in Brazil as a Foreigner.
• Your CPF and Federal Police number: CPF and RNM.
• For apostille and sworn-translation trackers to fill in yourself, the Brazil Digital Nomad Visa Kit covers the same US document steps.