CNPJ vs EIN: How to Verify a Brazilian Company (for US Teams)

Introduction

If you are used to the EIN, the closest Brazilian equivalent is the CNPJ (Brazil's company taxpayer ID). Both are federal tax numbers for businesses, and both show up on invoices, contracts and bank accounts. The big difference for a verification team is what you can do with the number: in Brazil, a CNPJ opens a public registration record with the company's status, address, activity and partners. That makes verifying a Brazilian company more direct than verifying a US one by its EIN.

This guide compares the two numbers for US compliance, finance and product teams, and shows how to check a Brazilian company before you pay it, sell to it or onboard it.

What the EIN is

The IRS describes the Employer Identification Number as a federal tax ID for businesses, tax-exempt organizations and other entities. It is one of the taxpayer identification numbers the IRS uses, and it has 9 digits, usually written as XX-XXXXXXX.

The EIN identifies the entity to the IRS. It is not a public company register: the company's legal existence and standing are recorded by the state where it was formed, so US teams usually confirm a business through state records and other sources, not through the EIN itself.

What the CNPJ is

The CNPJ (Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica) is the national registry of legal entities run by the Receita Federal (Brazil's federal tax authority). Every company, branch and nonprofit has one.

A CNPJ has 14 characters, written as 00.000.000/0000-00: an 8-character root that identifies the company, 4 characters for the establishment (0001 is usually the head office) and 2 check digits. Since July 2026, new registrations can receive an alphanumeric CNPJ, with letters in the first 12 positions and numeric check digits. Existing numbers do not change.

CNPJ vs EIN side by side

These numbers play a similar role but are not equivalent. The table shows where they differ:

Two consequences for US teams:

1. You can check status and ownership from the number. A CNPJ lookup tells you whether the company is active and who its partners and officers are, which covers a large part of KYB in one call.
2. Branches matter. A supplier may invoice from a branch CNPJ that differs from the head office number. Match on the 8-character root to group them.

What a CNPJ record tells you

The Receita Federal publishes CNPJ registration data as open data. A CNPJ lookup returns, among other fields:

• Legal name and trade name (razao_social and nome_fantasia).
• Registration status (situacao_cadastral) and the date of that status. Ativa is active. Suspensa, Inapta, Baixada and Nula mean suspended, unfit, closed and void.
• Opening date and whether the record is the head office or a branch.
• Main and secondary CNAE codes, Brazil's activity classification.
• Legal nature, company size, share capital and the Simples Nacional and MEI options (small business tax regimes).
• Address and registered contact details.
• QSA, the list of partners and officers, with role, entry date and age range.

That is enough to answer the first KYB questions: does the company exist, is it active, does its activity match what it told you, and who is behind it.

How to verify a Brazilian company

One-off checks

For a single company, the Receita Federal has a public CNPJ lookup page in Portuguese, with a captcha. It works for an occasional check, not for onboarding flows.

Automated checks with an API

The CPFHub.io CNPJ Lookup is a GET request with the same x-api-key used for CPF lookups:

curl --max-time 10 \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  https://api.cpfhub.io/cnpj/11222333000181

A trimmed example of the response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "cnpj": "11222333000181",
    "razao_social": "EMPRESA EXEMPLO LTDA",
    "nome_fantasia": "EXEMPLO",
    "situacao_cadastral": "Ativa",
    "matriz_filial": "Matriz",
    "cnae_principal": "6201501",
    "uf": "SP",
    "QSA": [
      { "nome_socio": "FULANO DE TAL", "qualificacao_socio": "Sócio-Administrador" }
    ]
  }
}

Field names are in Portuguese because they mirror the Receita Federal dataset. Things to know:

• It accepts numeric and alphanumeric CNPJs, with or without punctuation.
• A CNPJ that is not found returns 404 and does not use a credit.
• The data comes from the public CNPJ dataset and is refreshed monthly, so it reflects the latest published release.
• The CPF of an individual partner always comes back masked.

For supplier lists or portfolio reviews, the bulk CNPJ lookup takes up to 10,000 CNPJs per request. Full field reference in the CNPJ documentation.

Verify the people too

A CNPJ record lists the partners, but a partner's name in the QSA does not prove that the person signing up is that partner. For small companies and sole traders, verify the CPF (Brazil's individual taxpayer ID) of the account owner with a CPF lookup as well. The difference between the two numbers is covered in CPF vs CNPJ.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CNPJ the Brazilian EIN?

It is the closest equivalent, since both are federal tax numbers for businesses. They are not identical: the CNPJ has check digits, a separate number for each branch, and a public registration record with status and partners.

Can I look up a Brazilian company's status for free?

Yes, one at a time, on the Receita Federal's public CNPJ page with a captcha. For automated checks inside onboarding or payment flows, use an API.

What does "Inapta" mean on a CNPJ?

It is a registration status that usually means the company stopped filing required tax returns. Treat any status other than Ativa as a reason for review before paying or onboarding the company.

Does a Brazilian company need a CNPJ to invoice a US client?

Brazilian companies operate under their CNPJ, and it appears on their invoices and contracts. Tax treatment of cross-border services is a question for an accountant in each country.

Read also

• CPF vs CNPJ: Brazil's Individual and Company Tax IDs Explained
• What Is a Brazilian CPF? A Guide for Foreign Companies
• Brazil KYC Requirements in 2026: What Foreign Companies Need to Know
• KYC for Crypto Exchanges in Brazil: The Banco Central VASP Rules

Conclusion

The CNPJ plays the role of an EIN in Brazil, with one big advantage for verification: the number leads to a public record of the company's status, activity and partners. Look up the CNPJ before you pay or onboard a Brazilian company, check that the status is active, and verify the CPF of the person behind small businesses.

Test the CNPJ Lookup with 50 free credits and no credit card at cpfhub.io.