A Brazilian birth certificate that says nothing about marriage does not prove someone is single. The State Department's Reciprocity Schedule for Brazil warns that "the absence of an annotation on the birth certificate does not always mean" a person's status has not changed.
That one sentence explains why a recent or full-content copy is the safer document, and why the translation has to carry every annotation the cartório added. Brazilian records are living documents, and the translation has to carry all of that history.
This guide covers the cartório system, standard versus inteiro teor certificates, divorce and stable unions, police certificates, Brazilian name order, and Portugal's online certificates.
Do I need a certified translation of my Brazilian birth certificate for USCIS?
Yes. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), any document containing a foreign language must come with a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, plus a certification of competence to translate from Portuguese into English. "Full" includes every averbação, whether typed, stamped or handwritten, front or back.
USCIS does not require notarization or an apostille. You usually file copies, but under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(5) USCIS may request the original at any time.
How do Brazilian civil records work?
Brazilian vital records are kept by civil registry offices, the Cartórios de Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais. Each event is entered in the books of the cartório where it was registered. Later changes, such as a marriage, divorce, recognition of paternity or a name change, are added to that entry as an annotation (averbação).
The State Department lists these documents for Brazil:
| Document | Portuguese title | Issued by | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth certificate | Certidão de Nascimento, or Certidão de Inteiro Teor (full content) | Civil registry cartório | Standard and unabridged versions are both acceptable. Formats vary by state. |
| Marriage certificate | Certidão de Casamento | Civil registry cartório | May note prior marriages, divorces and deaths of former spouses. A religious marriage counts only if registered at a civil registry. |
| Divorce | Sentença de Divórcio, certidão de divórcio, or annotated marriage certificate | Court or notary; registered at the cartório | A divorce registered at the civil registry carries the same legal weight as the court sentence. |
| Death certificate | Certidão de Óbito | Civil registry cartório | An annotated birth or marriage certificate is acceptable as secondary evidence. |
| Stable union | Contrato de União Estável | Civil registry cartório | Must be registered with the civil registry. Treated the same as marriage for US immigration purposes. |
| Police certificate | Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais (federal); state certificates | Polícia Federal; each state's Secretaria de Segurança Pública | Federal certificate available online. Certificates from the state courts are not accepted. |
| Military record | Certificado de Reservista, Certificado de Dispensa de Incorporação and others | Brazilian Army | Enlistment is mandatory for men in the year they turn 18. |
Should I get the standard certidão or the inteiro teor?
Either is acceptable, but the inteiro teor is the one to order when the details matter. A standard certificate summarizes the record on a printed form. An inteiro teor reproduces the full entry, with every annotation, as a transcription or a copy of the book page.
The State Department lists the Certidão de Inteiro Teor as the birth document for certificates issued on or after November 21, 2017, the date Brazil began registering socio-affective parenthood (paternidade ou maternidade socioafetiva). A birth certificate can now list up to four parents, two mothers and two fathers, and the State Department says the inteiro teor is needed to confirm that relationship.
An inteiro teor that copies a handwritten book page from the 1980s is among the harder Brazilian documents to translate well. Every annotation, abbreviation and registry formula is rendered, and illegible words are marked [illegible] rather than guessed.
The national certificate model and the matrícula
Brazil's National Justice Council (CNJ) has standardized civil registry certificates. Provimento No. 182 of 2024 introduced single national models for birth, marriage and death certificates, inteiro teor included, in force from January 1, 2025. Certificates issued on older models remain valid indefinitely, so a 2009 certificate and a 2025 certificate can sit in the same file.
Each certificate carries a matrícula of 32 elements that identifies the cartório, the type of record and its sequence. Translate it digit for digit; it is the fastest way to trace the record.
How do divorce and stable unions show up on Brazilian documents?
A divorce must be granted by a judge or a notary, and the translation has to make clear which you have:
- Judicial divorce, proved with the sentence.
- Extrajudicial divorce by public deed (escritura pública) before a notary, available for consensual divorces under Article 733 of Brazil's Code of Civil Procedure.
- Annotated marriage certificate, which the State Department accepts as an alternate document.
Legal separation "ends the cohabitation, but not the marriage," and remarriage is possible only after the final divorce date. For foreign divorces, the State Department describes recognition by Brazil's Superior Court (homologação de sentença estrangeira). Note one exception in Article 961 of the Code of Civil Procedure: a foreign consensual divorce takes effect in Brazil without that homologation.
A registered stable union (união estável) "is considered to be a Common Law marriage in Brazil and is recognized for immigration purposes," according to the State Department. Translate the registration details in full. Our divorce decree translation guide explains what USCIS expects as proof that a prior marriage ended.
Which Brazilian police certificates do I need for a US immigrant visa?
A federal certificate plus one from each state where you lived more than six months during the last five years. The State Department says federal certificates from the Polícia Federal are available online and acceptable for US immigration. Certificates from the judicial courts (Poder Judiciário) are not acceptable, which surprises applicants who already hold one.
Translate each certificate in full, including any authentication code printed on it. See police certificates for immigrant visas.
How should Brazilian names appear in the translation?
Exactly as the current passport divides them. The State Department notes that Brazilian passports issued before December 2010 printed the entire name on one line without separating surname and given name, and that for visa issuance names must match the format in the current passport.
Brazilian naming has its own logic. Under the Public Registry Law (Law No. 6.015 of 1973, as amended in 2022), parents' surnames are added to the given name "in any order"; by custom the mother's surname usually comes first and the father's last. Under the Civil Code, either spouse may add the other's surname at marriage. Since 2022, adults can also change a given name once at the registry without a court order, and add or remove a spouse's surname, with each change recorded as an averbação.
Practical rules for the translation:
- Copy the passport's division between given names and surnames.
- Keep every particle (da, de, dos, e). "Maria da Silva e Souza" is not "Maria Silva Souza."
- Keep diacritics (ã, ç, é) as on the certificate. Passport machine-readable lines drop them, and that is not a mismatch.
- Translate the averbação that explains a change, because it links the birth name to the current passport name. The name change guide covers this in detail.
How do Portuguese online certificates work for US filings?
Portugal records births, marriages and deaths in an assento held by the Conservatória do Registo Civil. Certificates come on white A4 paper with an embossed seal or online, and an international multilingual model is also available. The State Department notes later changes are recorded as averbamentos, often on the back.
The Portuguese government explains that a permanent certificate (certidão permanente) is viewed online with an access code given when you request it, that its information is always up to date at the moment it is consulted, and that it has the same legal value as paper. For US use:
- Translate the printout you file and include the access code so the officer can verify it.
- Print it close to filing, since the online version can change after you print it.
- The Portuguese criminal record certificate (Certificado de Registo Criminal) is valid for three months from issue, according to the State Department.
Moving the other way? See moving to Portugal on a D7 visa.
Apostille, USCIS and the consulate
USCIS wants a copy and a full certified translation. The NVC and the consulate require translations of documents "not written in English, or in the official language of the country from which you are applying," so Portuguese documents may not need translating for an interview in Brazil or Portugal. Anything filed with USCIS still needs one.
State agencies, courts and universities may want an apostille on the original. Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention on August 14, 2016; under CNJ Resolution No. 228, cartórios issue apostilles through the CNJ's electronic system, each verifiable online. Portugal has been a party since 1969. See certified translation, apostille and USCIS.
Why Portuguese translations get questioned
- Averbações left out because they are handwritten or on the back.
- An old certificate that predates a marriage or divorce, offered as proof of current status.
- Surnames reordered to fit an English pattern.
- A court-issued certificate submitted instead of police certificates.
- Separation treated as divorce.
- An inteiro teor summarized instead of translated line by line.
Checklist for Brazilian and Portuguese documents
Questions people ask
Do I need to translate my Brazilian birth certificate for USCIS?
Yes. USCIS requires a full English translation of every document containing a foreign language, certified by the translator as complete and accurate. The translation must include every annotation on the certificate, not only the printed fields.
Should I submit the standard certificate or the inteiro teor?
The State Department accepts both versions of the Brazilian birth certificate, and lists the inteiro teor for certificates issued on or after November 21, 2017. Order the inteiro teor when the full record matters, such as socio-affective parentage, corrections or a chain of annotations.
My birth certificate shows no marriage. Does that prove I am single?
Not on its own. The State Department warns that the absence of an annotation does not always mean a person's status has not changed. A recent certificate, and divorce or death records for any prior marriage, are safer evidence.
Is a união estável accepted as a marriage for US immigration?
The State Department says a registered stable union is considered a common-law marriage in Brazil and is recognized for immigration purposes. Its registration details must be translated in full.
Which Brazilian police certificates do I need for an immigrant visa?
A federal certificate from the Polícia Federal, plus one from each state where you lived more than six months during the last five years. Certificates issued by the state courts are not acceptable.
Do Brazilian documents need an apostille or a notarized translation for USCIS?
No. USCIS asks for a copy and a translation certified by the translator. State courts, schools and other agencies sometimes require an apostille, which Brazilian cartórios issue electronically.
Can I translate my own Portuguese documents for USCIS?
The regulation does not say who may translate, but the translator must certify competence and accuracy, and a translation by the applicant or a relative invites doubts about impartiality. An independent professional translator is the safer choice.
How much does a Portuguese translation cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations charges $29.95 per page. A typical one-page certidão is delivered within 24 hours as a signed PDF by email, and multi-page inteiro teor copies and court sentences usually take one to three business days.