Ranking of the 27 Brazilian states by the official average time to open a company in 2026 (feasibility and registration), the gap between an Ltda and an S.A., and what the official clock leaves out when there is a foreign shareholder. Data from the Mapa de Empresas dashboard, updated to September 2026.
LegalBR study based on official data. Updated on 30 October 2026.
Highlights
Average time to open a company by state
| # | State | Feasibility | Registration | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piauí PI | 5.0 h | 0.3 h | 5.3 h | |
| 2 | Sergipe SE | 4.8 h | 0.6 h | 5.4 h | |
| 3 | Espírito Santo ES | 8.4 h | 1.2 h | 9.6 h | |
| 4 | Paraná PR | 8.5 h | 1.8 h | 10.3 h | |
| 5 | Amazonas AM | 10.8 h | 0.7 h | 11.5 h | |
| 6 | Pará PA | 12.4 h | 1.1 h | 13.5 h | |
| 7 | Alagoas AL | 8.3 h | 6.2 h | 14.5 h | |
| 8 | Rio Grande do Sul RS | 13.0 h | 1.9 h | 14.9 h | |
| 9 | Maranhão MA | 14.9 h | 1.6 h | 16.5 h | |
| 10 | Acre AC | 14.2 h | 3.7 h | 17.9 h | |
| 11 | Paraíba PB | 16.6 h | 1.3 h | 17.9 h | |
| 12 | Pernambuco PE | 16.2 h | 1.8 h | 18.0 h | |
| 13 | Tocantins TO | 15.6 h | 2.8 h | 18.4 h | |
| 14 | Goiás GO | 16.8 h | 2.0 h | 18.8 h | |
| 15 | Federal District DF | 16.2 h | 3.0 h | 19.2 h | |
| 16 | Ceará CE | 16.7 h | 2.8 h | 19.5 h | |
| 17 | Minas Gerais MG | 13.4 h | 7.3 h | 20.7 h | |
| 18 | Santa Catarina SC | 19.4 h | 1.6 h | 21.0 h | |
| 19 | Rondônia RO | 16.8 h | 5.0 h | 21.8 h | |
| 20 | Bahia BA | 21.2 h | 1.3 h | 22.5 h | |
| 21 | Amapá AP | 16.6 h | 6.5 h | 23.1 h | |
| 22 | Mato Grosso MT | 19.0 h | 6.9 h | 25.9 h | |
| 23 | Rio Grande do Norte RN | 18.6 h | 8.1 h | 26.7 h | |
| 24 | Rio de Janeiro RJ | 26.9 h | 3.5 h | 30.4 h | |
| 25 | Mato Grosso do Sul MS | 22.7 h | 9.2 h | 31.9 h | |
| 26 | Roraima RR | 17.3 h | 15.4 h | 32.7 h | |
| 27 | São Paulo SP | 5.9 h | 35.0 h | 40.9 h |
Source: Mapa de Empresas, gov.br
Ltda, S.A. and foreign branch
| Type | Feasibility | Registration | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole trader (empresário) | 12.0 h | 10.7 h | 22.7 h |
| Limited liability company (Ltda) | 11.5 h | 15.0 h | 26.5 h |
| Branch of a foreign company | 1.5 h | 26.8 h | 28.2 h |
| Listed corporation (S.A.) | 14.7 h | 45.5 h | 60.2 h |
| Closely held corporation (S.A.) | 9.3 h | 52.9 h | 62.2 h |
| Cooperative | 24.7 h | 43.0 h | 67.7 h |
National average, January to September 2026. Totals add the feasibility and registration averages.
What the numbers show
The gap between states is more than sevenfold.
From January to September 2026, opening a company took on average 5.3 hours in Piauí and 40.9 hours in São Paulo. States with tighter integration between the municipality, the Junta Comercial and the Federal Revenue lead the ranking.
In São Paulo, the bottleneck is registration.
Feasibility in São Paulo is among the fastest in Brazil (5.9 hours), but registration takes 35.0 hours, the longest in the country. Rio de Janeiro is the opposite: 26.9 hours of feasibility and 3.5 hours of registration.
An S.A. takes more than twice as long as an Ltda.
A closely held S.A. took 62.2 hours on average, against 26.5 hours for an Ltda. Registering an S.A. involves review of bylaws, subscription forms and incorporation minutes, which explains much of the gap.
For foreign investors, the official clock starts late.
The official time covers only feasibility and registration. Before that, a foreign group needs a CNPJ for the foreign shareholder, CPFs for officers, a power of attorney for a resident representative and apostilled, translated documents. Afterwards come tax registrations, licences and a bank account. In practice, a subsidiary is typically ready to operate in 15 to 30 days once the documents arrive, unless a specific licence is required.
Source: Average Time to Open a Company dashboard, Mapa de Empresas (Brazilian Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Micro and Small Business, with Serpro data), accessed on 30 October 2026, data up to September 2026.
Time to open = average feasibility time + average registration time, in hours. Totals on this page add the two published averages.
The dashboard states that from December 2025 the figures reflect a new CNPJ issuance flow and are not directly comparable with earlier periods, so we do not compare 2026 with 2025.
The Mapa de Empresas bulletins state that the calculation covers municipalities integrated into Redesim and excludes individual microentrepreneurs (MEI). It does not include time the applicant spends preparing or resubmitting documents between stages.
Feel free to use the data and chart, citing the source with a link:
Source: LegalBR, based on Mapa de Empresas (gov.br) data, 2026.Citation copied.How long does it take to open a company in Brazil in 2026?
From January to September 2026, the national average was 26.4 hours (11.6 h feasibility and 14.8 h registration), and about 22 hours in September. It ranges from 5.3 hours in Piauí to 40.9 hours in São Paulo. These figures cover only the official stages.
Which Brazilian state is fastest for company registration?
Piauí (5.3 h) and Sergipe (5.4 h) lead from January to September 2026, followed by Espírito Santo (9.6 h) and Paraná (10.3 h).
Why is São Paulo slower?
Feasibility in São Paulo is fast (5.9 h), but registration takes 35.0 h on average, the longest in Brazil. The January to September 2026 total was 40.9 hours.
Does a company with a foreign shareholder open as fast?
The official clock measures only feasibility and registration. Before that, the foreign shareholder CNPJ, the resident representative and apostilled, translated documents must be ready. Once the documents arrive, a company is typically ready in 15 to 30 days, unless a specific licence is required.
Open in the right state, without setbacks.
LegalBR prepares the documents, files at the Junta Comercial of any state and handles the CNPJ and registrations, including for foreign-owned companies.