Practice Area

A Brazilian company you can actually run from anywhere.

Foreigners can own 100% of a Brazilian company. The structure work — resident representation, capital registration, the right tax regime — is what separates a company that works from a CNPJ that becomes a liability.

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Brazil allows full foreign ownership of companies in almost every sector, and the workhorse vehicle — the sociedade limitada (LTDA) — is flexible, cheap to maintain, and familiar to every Brazilian bank and counterparty. A non-resident can be the sole owner. What a non-resident cannot be is the company's day-to-day legal administrator without local arrangements: foreign partners need registration with the central bank system, a resident representative for service of process, and an administrator who can lawfully act in Brazil.

This is where structure matters. Done right, you own the company fully, a trusted local administrator (or your own resident status) runs the formal side, and the capital you invest is registered so that profits and eventual sale proceeds can leave Brazil through the documented channel. Done wrong, you end up with a CNPJ you can't bank, can't change, and can't close — and closing a broken Brazilian company is far more painful than forming one correctly.

Beyond formation we handle the operating layer: tax regime election (Simples Nacional vs. presumed vs. real profit — the difference is real money), municipal licenses, employment compliance when you hire, and commercial contracts with the clauses Brazilian courts actually enforce.

What We Handle

Inside this practice area.

01 LTDA formation with foreign partners Articles, board registration, CNPJ, central-bank (RDE-IED) registration of foreign capital.
02 Resident representation The legally required local representation for non-resident owners, structured so you keep control.
03 Tax regime election Simples / presumido / real analysis for your revenue model before the registrations lock you in.
04 Licenses & registrations Municipal operating licenses, sector registrations, import/export (RADAR) habilitation.
05 Contracts & employment Service agreements, distribution deals, and CLT employment compliance when you build a team.
06 Restructuring & closure Partner changes, capital increases, and clean dissolution when a venture ends.
Process

How a typical engagement runs.

1

Structure design

Ownership, administration, capital, and tax regime decided on paper before anything is filed.

Week 1
2

Formation filings

Articles at the board of trade, CNPJ, central-bank registration of your investment.

2-5 weeks
3

Operational registrations

Municipal license, tax enrollments, bank account opening support.

2-6 weeks, varies by city
4

Ongoing counsel

Contracts, compliance calendar, and the changes every living company eventually needs.

As needed
Common Questions

Company & Business questions we hear most.

Can I own 100% of a Brazilian company without living in Brazil?
Yes, in nearly all sectors. You'll need registration as a foreign investor, a resident representative for legal purposes, and an administrator who can act in Brazil — all standard structure work. A handful of sectors (media, some aviation and rural land holdings) carry foreign-ownership limits; we flag those upfront.
How long does formation take?
A straightforward LTDA with foreign partners typically runs four to eight weeks end-to-end, with the foreign-partner documentation (apostilled, translated powers of attorney) usually the long pole. Banking can add time; Brazilian banks are demanding with foreign-owned companies, and we prepare the file they expect.
Do I need a company at all, or can I work as an individual?
Depends what you're doing. Some activities work fine as an individual or through the simplified MEI regime (though MEI is citizens/residents-only territory with low revenue caps); for anything with real revenue, clients, or hiring, an LTDA is usually the answer. This is a 15-minute analysis we do before quoting formation.

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