E-signature legality in Brazil
Electronic signatures are valid, because Brazilian civil law starts from freedom of form, but only a qualified signature backed by the national certificate infrastructure carries the statutory presumption of authorship.
Binds the parties for an ordinary contract with no prescribed form. The catch is genuine contestability: a party who never agreed to the electronic method can dispute authorship. The practical fix is an express clause where both sides agree to sign electronically and accept the platform's evidence.
The governing law
Medida Provisória 2.200-2/2001, which established ICP-Brasil; Lei 14.063/2020 on signature classes and public-sector interactions; Código Civil (Lei 10.406/2002); Código de Processo Civil (Lei 13.105/2015), as amended by Lei 14.620/2023; Decreto 10.543/2020.
Types of signature recognised
Simple, advanced and qualified. Qualified means an ICP-Brasil digital certificate, and only that tier gets the presumption of truth as to the signatories.
Commonly signed electronically
- Commercial supply and services agreements
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Employment contracts
- Loan and credit instruments used as enforceable titles
- Corporate minutes and resolutions
What you cannot sign electronically in Brazil
This is the part worth reading twice. These documents either cannot be signed electronically at all, or need a higher-assurance form than an ordinary online signature.
- Real property transactions above roughly thirty times the highest minimum wage, which require a public deed
- Acts of transfer and registration of immovables in dealings with public bodies, which require a qualified signature
- Electronic invoices, which require a qualified signature except for individuals and micro-entrepreneurs
- Acts signed by heads of government branches or ministers
- Anything for which a statute expressly prescribes a form
What matters in practice
No special form is needed unless a statute demands one, and signed documents are presumed true as to their signatories. But a method outside the national certificate infrastructure only holds up if the parties accepted it, or if the person it is produced against accepts it.
FileHook produces standard electronic signatures with a tamper-evident audit log and a certificate of completion. We do not offer signer identity verification, qualified signatures, or certificates from a licensed authority. Where the notes above say you need one of those, you need a different tool, and we would rather tell you now.
Sources
This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and the right answer depends on your document and your situation. Check with a qualified lawyer in the relevant country before relying on it for anything that matters.
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