The new alphanumeric CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer identification number) promises to reduce bureaucracy and costs and expand oversight; understand why.

BRASILIA - The Federal Revenue Service is preparing for the launch of the alphanumeric National Registry of Legal Entities (CNPJ) on July 1, 2026, and defends the change as a modernization of the system for identifying legal entities.

The new CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer identification number) was planned before the tax reform , but its implementation was catalyzed by changes in the national tax system. As a consequence, tax auditors foresee less bureaucracy, reduced burdens for corporate taxpayers, increased oversight, a single environment for integration and interoperability, and greater risk management.

The alphanumeric format will only apply to new registrations, including branches of companies already established under the current model.

In total, 65 million CNPJs (Brazilian taxpayer identification numbers) have already been issued in Brazil, of which approximately 35 million are active. "The country has been growing significantly in recent years, and this has led to more people becoming entrepreneurs. This increase in entrepreneurship generates a greater number of CNPJs issued," explains Rériton Weldert Gomes, General Coordinator of Tax Registries and Benefits at the Federal Revenue Service, to Estadão/Broadcast .

Gomes said that there is a particular situation of exhaustion in the case of banks and churches, which have many branches and congregations. "Based on this, we started a study precisely on how we could adjust this CNPJ number to meet this market need," he argues.

The tax reform establishes the CNPJ (Brazilian taxpayer identification number) as the unique identifier for companies. According to the general coordinator of Registries at the Federal Revenue Service, many companies today only need to have state or municipal registration and are not required to have a CNPJ.

"With the tax reform, the need to issue CNPJ numbers will increase even more. Therefore, we are modernizing the CNPJ and transforming it into an alphanumeric number, so that it can meet this demand for exhausted numbers, which is already happening in the case of branches, so that there are no problems in the business environment."

Combating fraud

The tax authorities believe there will be an improvement in legal certainty due to the integration of federal, state, and municipal systems. Auditor Rériton Gomes pointed out that, in the current business environment, there is asynchronicity between admissions, without a complete overview. "With integration and the generation of a more secure alphanumeric number, with greater feasibility, this issue of combating fraud improves significantly."

Today, the tax authorities can identify a company whose operations are limited to a specific state or municipality, provided the business has a CNPJ (Brazilian tax identification number). If the company only has a state or municipal registration, it is difficult to track it, as it is not part of the federal system.

"With a single number, regardless of whether it's only at the state, municipal, or federal level, everyone can see this environment, everyone can act on this issue of fraud," Gomes continues. "Unifying the data improves the quality of the information. It's a way to put much more risk management into this registration aspect, improving the business environment."

Gomes argues that there will be an expansion of tools to combat fraud. "With the issue of integration and operability, many municipalities or states that don't have much of the registration information they could have, now have it in this integrated environment. This greatly improves the quality of the data we have access to. And we create a much safer environment," he summarizes.

How will it work?

In the new CNPJ (Brazilian National Registry of Legal Entities), the 14-character structure (currently composed only of numbers) will be maintained, but the inclusion of letters is necessary to expand the number of possible combinations and prevent the current model from becoming exhausted, given the continuous growth in the number of companies.

The assignment of letters and numbers will be done randomly by the internal system of the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service. Therefore, there is a possibility that even after July 2026, the system will still generate exclusively numeric CNPJs (Brazilian taxpayer identification numbers).

Existing CNPJ numbers will not be altered; that is, those already registered with the CNPJ will retain their valid number. Both types of CNPJ—numeric and alphanumeric—will coexist.

However, an update will be needed in all companies' systems so that the software can also read the CNPJ number in alphanumeric format and calculate the check digit (DV). Government systems (Revenue Service, State Finance Department, INSS, etc.) will also need to update their systems. Those who do not make the updates will face problems in issuing tax documents and in communicating with suppliers and customers, for example.

The adjustment that needs to be made is not a layout change or a field change, but simply to ensure that the fields understand that where there is a number, there can also be a letter. For some companies, this may be a simple system update. "This solution that was implemented is low-cost and easy to implement," argues Gomes.

The tax authorities will not request any additional fees or make contact by phone or email, "because there is no need for that. It's simply an adjustment to the global system," Gomes summarized. The CNPJ's Pix key will also remain unchanged.

The Undersecretary for Revenue Collection, Registrations and Customer Service of the agency, Gustavo Andrade Manrique, highlighted that the Revenue Service has been making a "cultural shift" regarding registrations. "A legal entity has several registrations. Federal, CNPJ. There are state registrations. There are municipal registrations. And this generates a great deal of bureaucracy for the entrepreneur," he assesses.

Manrique pointed out that the change leads to much greater adherence to international practices and makes life easier for citizens, stimulating the economic environment and the efficiency of public policy. "The CNPJ [Brazilian taxpayer identification number] is being modernized because it's already overwhelmed, with 65 million, and we're increasing its lifespan." The alphanumeric CNPJ will potentially allow for more than 3 trillion issuance possibilities, a multiplication of more than 30 times the current service capacity.

If a company doesn't adapt its systems and continues interacting only with numeric CNPJs (Brazilian company tax IDs), it may not perceive any immediate impact. "But if, by chance, it needs to register a supplier, or issue something that requires the alphanumeric CNPJ identification, it may be prevented from performing that operation at that moment," explains Gomes. In other words, the company will not be able to register a given supplier to make the sale and will feel the need to adjust its system.

The coordinator believes the impact will not be drastic, nor will it prevent the company from operating. "But at some point, it might hinder some transaction or something that might arise when interacting with a new company that has an alphanumeric CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID)."

Check digit

Today, the check digit is calculated using the Modulo 11 mathematical method — the same method used to calculate the check digit for the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF).

"The main difference will be the replacement of numeric and alphanumeric values ​​with the decimal value corresponding to the constant code in the ASCII table [a code that standardizes how computers represent letters and numbers] and subtracting the value 48 from it. Thus, the values ​​will be, for example, A=17, B=18, C=19, and so on," explains the Federal Revenue Service.

The letters will be random, and there will be no intelligent design in the formation of the CNPJ alphanumeric identifier. Therefore, they will not have any connection to the state (UF) where the company is located, its legal nature, or any specific attribute.