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Forest Code rules for rural land in Brazil: legal reserve of 20 to 80 percent, permanent preservation areas, the CAR registry and regularization

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

Every rural property in Brazil must keep part of its area under native vegetation as a legal reserve, 80 percent in Amazon forest, 35 percent in Amazon cerrado and 20 percent elsewhere, on top of permanent preservation areas along rivers, around springs and on steep slopes. All rural properties must be registered in the CAR, the national electronic environmental registry, which is a condition for new clearing permits, regularization programs and agricultural credit. Reserve deficits are an obligation that passes to the buyer, so they are central to farmland due diligence and pricing.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Legal reserve in Amazon forest areas	80 % of propertyLei nº 12.651/2012 art. 12 I a, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Legal reserve in Amazon cerrado areas	35 % of propertyLei nº 12.651/2012 art. 12 I b, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Legal reserve outside the Legal Amazon	20 % of propertyLei nº 12.651/2012 art. 12 II, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Minimum preservation strip along watercourses under 10 m wide	30 mLei nº 12.651/2012 art. 4 I a, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
CAR environmental registry	Mandatory for all rural properties, indefinite term Lei nº 12.651/2012 art. 29 § 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Legal reserve. Every rural property must keep native vegetation as a legal reserve, as a minimum share of the property: in the Legal Amazon, 80 percent in forest areas, 35 percent in cerrado and 20 percent in general fields; elsewhere in Brazil, 20 percent. When a property is split, the reserve is computed on the area before the split. In forest areas of the Amazon, the reserve may be reduced to 50 percent for recovery where protected areas and Indigenous lands cover more than half of the municipality, or by the state with an approved ecological economic zoning and more than 65 percent of its territory protected.
Cost to do it: The opportunity cost of land that cannot be cleared; on a 1,000 ha Amazon forest farm, 800 ha stay under vegetation.Lei nº 12.651 of 25 May 2012 (Forest Code), Art. 12 caput, items I and II and §§ 1, 4 and 5, 2012-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Permanent preservation areas (APP). In rural and urban zones, APPs include strips along natural watercourses of at least 30 m for rivers under 10 m wide, 50 m for 10 to 50 m, 100 m for 50 to 200 m, 200 m for 200 to 600 m and 500 m above 600 m; 100 m around natural lakes in rural areas (50 m for water bodies up to 20 ha) and 30 m in urban areas; a 50 m radius around springs; slopes above 45 degrees; mangroves; restingas fixing dunes; and plateau edges and hilltops under set criteria.
Cost to do it: No building or farming in APPs except in the cases the law allows.Lei nº 12.651 of 2012, art. 4 as worded by Lei nº 12.727 of 17 October 2012, Art. 4 I to IX, 2012-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. CAR registry. The Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is a national electronic public registry, mandatory for all rural properties and possessions and for an indefinite term, recording owner identification, proof of ownership or possession and a georeferenced plan locating native vegetation, APPs, restricted use areas, consolidated areas and the legal reserve. The CAR does not prove ownership. After the CAR was implemented, new clearing needs a state permit and CAR registration; banks may grant agricultural credit only to owners registered in the CAR; and the producer may present the CAR to establish the area excluded from the ITR base.
Cost to do it: No federal fee; preparing the georeferenced plan has a technical cost.Lei nº 12.651 of 2012, art. 29 as amended by Lei nº 13.887 of 17 October 2019; arts. 12 § 3 and 78-A, Art. 12 § 3; art. 29 caput, §§ 1 to 3 and 5; art. 78-A, 2019-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Regularizing deficits. Owners holding, on 22 July 2008, a legal reserve smaller than required may regularize by restoring it (within up to 20 years, at least one tenth every 2 years, with up to 50 percent exotic species in agroforestry), allowing natural regeneration, or compensating with environmental reserve quotas (CRA), lease of areas under environmental servitude, donation of land inside a public conservation unit or registration of surplus reserve on another property in the same biome. The obligation is real and passes to any successor. Joining a state Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), which requires CAR registration and leads to an enforceable commitment, suspends sanctions for pre July 2008 clearing.
Cost to do it: Restoration or compensation costs; the obligation transfers to the buyer (art. 66 § 1).Lei nº 12.651 of 2012, arts. 59 (as worded by Lei nº 13.887 of 2019 and Lei nº 14.595 of 2023) and 66, Art. 59 §§ 2 to 5; art. 66 caput, §§ 1 to 3, 5 and 6, 2012-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Location	Vegetation	Legal reserve
Legal Amazon	Forest	80%
Legal Amazon	Cerrado	35%
Legal Amazon	General fields	20%
Rest of Brazil	Any	20%

Minimum legal reserve (Lei nº 12.651 art. 12).

Worked example

Cerrado farm due diligence. A buyer looks at a 2,000 ha farm in Goiás (outside the Legal Amazon) with 250 ha of native vegetation. The 20 percent rule requires 400 ha (art. 12 II), a 150 ha deficit that passes to the buyer (art. 66 § 1). Options include buying environmental reserve quotas or registering surplus reserve on another property in the same biome (art. 66 § 5); the cost belongs in the price. The reserve also reduces the ITR taxable area (Lei nº 9.393 art. 10 § 1 II a).

Step by step

1. Pull the farm's CAR and compare it with satellite imagery and the matrícula area.
2. Compute reserve and APP requirements and any deficit.
3. Check PRA status and any commitment terms or environmental fines.
4. Price restoration or compensation, since the obligation transfers (art. 66 § 1).
5. Keep the CAR updated after closing; banks require it for farm credit (art. 78-A).

Common traps

Treating the CAR as title. It does not prove ownership (art. 29 § 2).
Buying a reserve deficit without pricing it. The obligation is real and follows the land (art. 66 § 1).
Clearing without a permit. New clearing needs CAR and a state permit (art. 12 § 3).

Sources

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