Countries › Brazil › Guide › 14. Disputes › Cross border service, evidence and documents in Brazil: Hague Service and Evidence Conventions, apostille, letters rogatory and direct assistance

Cross border service, evidence and documents in Brazil: Hague Service and Evidence Conventions, apostille, letters rogatory and direct assistance

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Brazil joined the Hague Service Convention in 2019 but objected to postal and other informal channels: documents for service in Brazil go through the Ministry of Justice as Central Authority and must be translated into Portuguese. It is also party to the Hague Evidence Convention since 2014, with a declaration on pre trial discovery of documents, and to the Apostille Convention since August 2016, which replaces consular legalization of foreign public documents. Outside treaties, the CPC organizes international cooperation through letters rogatory (with STJ exequatur when a foreign decision must take effect) and direct assistance, on the basis of reciprocity shown through diplomatic channels.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. The real moved sharply in late October (R$5.0377 on 23 October and R$5.5007 on 26 October), so conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Hague Service Convention in force for Brazil	2019-06-01 dateDecreto nº 9.734/2019, as of 2019-03-20 · in force
Postal or direct service into Brazil under the Hague Service Convention	No (objection to arts. 8 and 10) Decreto nº 9.734/2019 art. 1 sole paragraph, as of 2019-03-20 · in force
Portuguese translation required for documents served through the Central Authority	Yes Decreto nº 9.734/2019 art. 2 § 2, as of 2019-03-20 · in force
Hague Evidence Convention in force for Brazil	2014-06-08 dateDecreto nº 9.039/2017, as of 2017-04-27 · in force
Apostille Convention in force for Brazil	2016-08-14 dateDecreto nº 8.660/2016, as of 2016-01-29 · in force
Party to the Apostille Convention	Yes Decreto nº 8.660/2016, as of 2016-08-14 · in force
Default central authority for international legal cooperation	Ministry of Justice CPC art. 26 § 4; Decreto nº 9.734/2019 art. 2 § 1, as of 2015-03-16 · in force

The rule

1. International legal cooperation follows the treaties to which Brazil is party and must respect due process in the requesting state, equal treatment of nationals and foreigners, publicity (except legal secrecy), a central authority and spontaneous exchange of information; without a treaty it can proceed on reciprocity shown through diplomatic channels, which is not required to homologate a foreign judgment. The Ministry of Justice is the central authority unless another is designated. Cooperation covers service, evidence and information, recognition and enforcement of decisions, urgent measures and any measure not prohibited by Brazilian law, and acts contrary to the fundamental rules of the Brazilian state are not admitted.Lei nº 13.105 of 16 March 2015 (Civil Procedure Code, CPC), Arts. 26 items I to V and §§ 1 to 4, 27 items I to VI, 2015-03-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Execution of a foreign decision in Brazil is done by letter rogatory or by an action to homologate the foreign judgment; the letter rogatory procedure before the STJ is adversarial, the defence is limited to whether the foreign decision meets the requirements to take effect in Brazil, and its merits may never be reviewed. Documents sent through a central authority or diplomatic channels, including translations, are deemed authentic without sworn translation, authentication or legalization.Lei nº 13.105 of 16 March 2015 (CPC), Arts. 36 §§ 1 and 2, 40, 41, 2015-03-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The Hague Service Convention of 15 November 1965 entered into force for Brazil on 1 June 2019 and was promulgated by Decreto nº 9.734 of 20 March 2019. Brazil objected to the transmission methods of articles 8 and 10, which covers service through diplomatic or consular agents and postal or direct service, designated the Ministry of Justice and Public Security as Central Authority, and requires documents transmitted to it for service to be translated into Portuguese (the request form excepted).
Cost to do it: No Central Authority fee is set in the decree; budget for sworn translation into Portuguese and local counsel.Decreto nº 9.734 of 20 March 2019 (Hague Service Convention), Decreto preamble and arts. 1 sole paragraph and 2 §§ 1 to 3, 2019-03-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. The Hague Evidence Convention of 18 March 1970 entered into force for Brazil on 8 June 2014 and was promulgated by Decreto nº 9.039 of 27 April 2017, with a reservation to article 4 paragraph 2 and to Chapter II (evidence taken by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners) and with declarations under articles 8 and 23; article 23 lets a state refuse letters of request issued for pre trial discovery of documents as known in common law countries.Decreto nº 9.039 of 27 April 2017 (Hague Evidence Convention), Decreto preamble and art. 1; Convention arts. 1, 23 and 33, 2017-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 entered into force for Brazil on 14 August 2016 and was promulgated by Decreto nº 8.660 of 29 January 2016. Public documents from another contracting state (court documents, administrative documents, notarial acts and official certificates on private documents) no longer need diplomatic or consular legalization; the apostille is enough. It does not apply to documents issued by diplomatic or consular agents or to administrative documents directly related to commercial or customs operations.
Cost to do it: Apostille fee in the issuing country; sworn translation in Brazil.Decreto nº 8.660 of 29 January 2016 (Apostille Convention), Decreto preamble and art. 1; Convention arts. 1 and 2, 2016-01-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Among Mercosur members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), the Las Leñas Protocol provides cooperation in civil, commercial, labor and administrative matters through central authorities, including letters rogatory for service and evidence and the recognition of judgments and awards, and no security for costs may be required from nationals or residents of another member.Decreto nº 2.067 of 12 November 1996 (Las Leñas Protocol), Protocol arts. 3, 4, 19 and 20, 1996-11-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. In an STJ homologation case, the claimant may file the other party's consent, which can make service unnecessary and speeds up the case; otherwise the STJ orders service by letter rogatory if the defendant lives abroad (or by letter of order if it lives in Brazil). The claimant must then translate the letter rogatory and its supporting documents through a sworn translator registered with a junta comercial (an ad hoc translator may be appointed for rare languages). There are no Brazilian costs for issuing the letter rogatory, but service abroad may carry a local fee, for which the claimant must name a local person responsible for payment.
Cost to do it: No Brazilian costs for issuing the letter rogatory; sworn translation and any foreign service fee are borne by the claimant.Superior Tribunal de Justiça guidance on homologation of foreign decisions; Lei nº 13.105 of 16 March 2015 (CPC), STJ guidance page; CPC art. 260 (requirements of letters), 2015-03-16 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Treaty	In force for Brazil	Key Brazilian position	Decree
Hague Service Convention (1965)	1 June 2019	Objects to arts. 8 and 10; Portuguese translation required; Ministry of Justice as Central Authority	Decreto nº 9.734/2019
Hague Evidence Convention (1970)	8 June 2014	Reservation to art. 4 § 2 and Chapter II; declarations under arts. 8 and 23	Decreto nº 9.039/2017
Apostille Convention (1961)	14 August 2016	Apostille replaces consular legalization	Decreto nº 8.660/2016
Las Leñas Protocol (Mercosur, 1992)	Promulgated 12 November 1996	Central authorities; no security for costs among members	Decreto nº 2.067/1996
New York Convention (1958)	Promulgated 23 July 2002	Foreign awards homologated by the STJ	Decreto nº 4.311/2002

Treaties for cross border procedure in force for Brazil.

Worked example

A US claimant suing a São Paulo company in Delaware must serve it through Brazil's Central Authority with a Portuguese translation; serving by international courier would breach Brazil's objection to article 10 and later put homologation of the US judgment at risk for lack of regular service (Decreto nº 9.734 arts. 1 and 2; CPC art. 963 II).
An Argentine company needing testimony from a witness in Rio for a Buenos Aires case uses a letter rogatory under the Las Leñas Protocol through the central authorities (Decreto nº 2.067); for its home rules it can consult The Argentine Thread guide.

Step by step

1. Identify the treaty: Hague Service, Hague Evidence, Las Leñas for Mercosur, or bilateral treaties; otherwise reciprocity through diplomatic channels (CPC art. 26).
2. For service in Brazil, send the request to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security as Central Authority with a Portuguese translation (Decreto nº 9.734 art. 2).
3. For evidence, prepare a letter of request narrowly tied to identified documents and witnesses; broad pre trial discovery may be refused (Convention art. 23).
4. Apostille foreign public documents you will file in Brazil and obtain sworn translations (Decreto nº 8.660).
5. Keep proof of each step; it will be checked if you later seek STJ homologation (CPC art. 963).

Common traps

Serving a Brazilian party by mail, courier or agent under the Hague Service Convention: Brazil objected to articles 8 and 10 (Decreto nº 9.734 art. 1).
Sending documents without Portuguese translation to the Central Authority (Decreto nº 9.734 art. 2 § 2).
Using US style document discovery requests in Brazil (Hague Evidence Convention art. 23 declaration).
Legalizing at a Brazilian consulate when an apostille is enough, or apostilling commercial or customs documents, which the Convention does not cover (Decreto nº 8.660, Convention art. 1).

Sources

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