CGI.br - FAQ

FAQ

Domain Registry

Who is eligible for registering a domain?
Any person that is legally established in Brazil as a legal entity (institution) or as an individual (liberal professional or natural person) with a contact location within the national territory.

Foreign companies represented by a person or institution legally established in Brazil and appointed by power of attorney, in accordance with the regulations described in: “Procedures for the registration of foreigners”.

Am I allowed to register any name or do I have to register my company's registered name or trademark?
Any name may be registered provided that the result of the Search is “Domain available for registry”. Please note: Do not forget to read the conditions set forth in the Registro.br domain registry Agreement (in Portuguese)

Which documents do I need in order to register a domain?

Businesses:
.AM.BR – Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ) and a permit from ANATEL for AM radio broadcasts;
.COOP.BR - Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ) and proof of registry with the Brazilian Cooperatives Organization;
.EDU.BR - Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ) and proof of specific purpose by means of a document from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and some document that proves that the name being registered is not a generic one;
.FM.BR - Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ) and a permit from ANATEL for FM radio broadcasts;
.G12.BR - Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ);
.GOV.BR - Requires a national business registry number (CNPJ) and proof that the entity belongs to the federal government;
.MIL.BR – Requires authorization from the Ministry of Defense;
.ORG.BR - Requires proof of the nature of the non-profit, non-governmental institution and a national business registry number (CNPJ). Should the institution be a consulate or an embassy, there is no need to present a national business registry number (CNPJ) for this First Level Domain. Documents may be requested later by the Registry, if needed.

If I register a name under a category, will another company be able to register the same name under a different category?
Yes.

How will I know if my domain name registry was accepted?
You will be informed by e-mail when the domain name is registered. During the process you may keep track of the status of your request directly from your administration screen. Your request will appear in the Tickets List and after being processed it will appear under Processed Tickets. This list may be accessed directly from the menu on your administration screen.

Security

Why can anyone see my data on the Registro.br website?
The data available on the Registro database is the only public information that proves the existence of the company/ individual who owns a domain name. An external public source is a pre-requisite for the validation of registration claims. Otherwise, the domain registry process would require other types of proof, perhaps even in person. An example of this is the process for opening a bank account. And even in this case banks disclose your registry number along with your ID number in your checkbook.

The registration of Internet domains is an activity based on the order of arrival of a request and on the public registration of information. Hence, data regarding a domain name holder must be made available for consultation.

General Information

How can I obtain updated and reliable statistics about the Internet in Brazil?
Annual statistics on the use of the Internet in Brazil, by households and enterprises, are available at the indicator website from the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. Also, there are statistics available on the number of .br domains in the country, the evolution of the number of hosts in Brazil and their status in relation to the world, as well as statistics on incident and spam notifications forwarded to CERT.br and surveys released periodically by the UN on the use of the Internet worldwide.

Does the CGI.br screen the content made available through the Internet? Who should be contacted when problems related to this subject arise?
No. Due to the distribution of Internet-related services in Brazil, the screening of contents made available through domains is outside the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. In case of problems related to the content made available online, the user or damaged party can get help from the appropriate police and judicial bodies, besides consumer protection agencies.

Registration for foreign companies

In order for a foreign company to register a .BR domain it must appoint a legally established attorney-in-fact in the country, as well as be registered in the Registro.br system. Once it is registered in our system, the company shall receive an identification number, which shall substitute the CNPJ in the domain registry form.

The procedure for registering the foreign entity involves the following steps:

A power of attorney notarized in the company’s country of origin, conferring authority on the attorney-in-fact to perform acts regarding domain registry, domain cancellation, domain ownership transfer and change of the contact person for the entity. An illustrative model for a power of attorney, in Portuguese, is available here;
A statement, duly notarized in the company’s country of origin, declaring the commercial activity of the company, including the following: trade name, full registered address, telephone number, business purpose, activities performed, name and position of the legal representative;
A statement, duly notarized in the company’s country of origin, declaring the company’s commitment to permanently carry out its activities in Brazil, within 12 months from the receipt of the statement. A model for this declaration can be found here;
The Brazilian Consulate at the company's country of origin must certify the power of attorney, the commercial activity statement and the commitment statement.
A sworn translation of the power of attorney, the commercial activity statement and the commitment statement;
A copy of the CNPJ or CPF (individual tax payer registration number) of the attorney-in-fact;
An official letter from the attorney-in-fact establishing the ID of the contact for the foreign entity.

Should the attorney-in-fact not have an entity registered in the system, this registration shall also be made, for which purpose all the information regarding the attorney-in-fact must be sent: CNPJ/CPF, trade name/ name, full address, telephone number and ID of the contact for the entity.

The address to which documents to the Registro.br must be forwarded is:

A/C Hostmaster - Registro .br
Subject: Cadastro de empresa estrangeira
Av. das Nações Unidas, 11541, 7° andar
04578-000 - São Paulo - SP

A few restrictions shall be applied to the registration of foreign companies:

The domain billing contacts registered by the company must be “residents” in Brazil.
The trade name of the foreign company can only be altered administratively by Registro.br.