Residence Declaration Generator

Brazilian residence declaration: a practical guide

The declaração de residência (residence declaration) is a self-issued or third-party-issued written statement used in Brazil whenever a person cannot present a utility bill, lease or property deed in their own name to prove their domicile. It works because of Law 7.115/1983, which establishes that any declaration made under penalty of perjury for an administrative purpose enjoys a presunção de veracidade (legal presumption of truth) and waives the need for notarial signature recognition and witnesses.

In Brazil there is no unified national residence registry. Address proof is therefore documented by a heterogeneous set of papers: utility bills, telephone bills, bank statements, lease contracts, condominium statements — and, when none of those are in the resident's name, the residence declaration fills the gap.

Who can issue it

• The person themselves ("declaração própria"), under the protection of article 2 of Law 7.115/1983. This is the most common scenario — the resident declares their own address under penalty of perjury.
• A third party, normally the owner or main tenant of the property, declaring that the interested person lives at that address. Used by spouses without their name on the bills, adult children, lodgers in informal arrangements (comodato) and short-term residents.

Mandatory content

A well-drafted declaration must contain: full identification of the declarant (name, nationality, marital status, profession, RG, CPF); the complete address (street, number, complement, neighborhood, city, state, ZIP code); the relationship between declarant and property (owner, tenant, spouse, child, free lodger); the express clause "sob as penas da lei, na forma da Lei 7.115/1983" or similar; the date and place; the handwritten signature; and optionally two witness signatures with name, RG and CPF — although the law explicitly waives them.

Where it is accepted

Brazilian institutions widely accept the residence declaration as proof of domicile: banks for account opening (although Bacen Resolution 4.753/2019 still allows the institution to require an additional document); the Detran for issuing or renewing a CNH (driver's license); social programs such as Bolsa Família and Auxílio Brasil; public schools and universities; the Receita Federal for CPF enrollment; SUS for vaccination registries; private health insurance companies; and the Electoral Court for voter address updates. The federal government has also rolled out a digital "Atestado de Residência" inside the gov.br portal since 2021.

Risks of a false declaration

Stating an address one does not actually live at constitutes the crime of falsidade ideológica under article 299 of the Brazilian Criminal Code — punishable with 1 to 5 years of imprisonment plus a fine — and may also configure use of a false document (article 304). Common abuses, such as declaring a fictitious address in another state to dodge traffic fines or to register a vehicle in a low-tax state, have been the subject of repeated convictions by Brazilian courts in the last decade.

Frequently asked questions

Does it count as official proof of address? Yes, by force of Law 7.115/1983 — but each institution may demand additional documents according to its internal compliance policy. Banks in particular often request a recent utility bill alongside the declaration.

Do I need to notarize the signature? Generally no — the same Law 7.115 waives the notarial recognition of the signature. A few public bodies, however, still demand it as an internal procedure; check with the agency where the document will be used.

Can someone else declare for me? Yes. The owner of the property or the main tenant can declare that you live there. They take on the legal responsibility for the statement, so they must be willing to do so and to sign it personally.

How recent must the declaration be? The law does not set an expiration date, but most institutions accept declarations issued within the last 90 days. Some banks request a fresh declaration every renewal cycle.

Is the document generated here legally valid? The template follows Law 7.115/1983. It becomes valid after being printed, dated and signed by hand. The data you type never leaves your browser.