Open a Company Without an Accountant via gov.br?
You can open only a MEI via gov.br without an accountant. Any ME, EPP or LTDA needs an accountant with a CRC to sign the act. Where the DIY path breaks.
You can open a company without an accountant in Brazil in exactly one case: the MEI, which is registered for free on the Portal do Empreendedor through gov.br. For every other type, ME, EPP, LTDA, SLU or EI, the law requires an accountant with an active CRC to sign the incorporation act, so the self-service path through gov.br and REDESIM stops where the act has to be signed. In practice an online accounting service conducts that step, along with the CNAE, tax regime and CNPJ that come with it.
Can you open a company in Brazil without an accountant?
Only the MEI. It is opened for free on the Portal do Empreendedor via gov.br, pays a fixed monthly amount under the SIMEI and has no legal requirement for an accountant, either to open or to run it.
Why can’t an ME or LTDA be opened alone?
Article 1,179 of the Civil Code requires formal accounting for every company except the MEI, and the incorporation act of an ME, EPP or LTDA must be signed by an accountant with an active CRC registration. Without that signature the Junta Comercial does not register the company.
How far can you get on gov.br by yourself?
You can run the viability check and fill in the DBE through REDESIM, but the Junta Comercial registration and the CNPJ for a non-MEI still need the accountant’s signature. Since the MAT came into force, the tax regime also has to be defined before the CNPJ is issued.
What does the DIY path risk?
The main risk is not the fee, it is a wrong CNAE or tax regime, which tends to cost more in overpaid tax over the years than the fees ever saved. This is the step an accountant is responsible for.
Who signs and files if you use online accounting?
An online accounting service defines the CNAE and the regime, signs the incorporation act with the owner’s digital certificate and files the monthly obligations remotely, often with the opening included in the monthly plan. For the legal side, see whether you legally need an accountant in Brazil.
Does a MEI ever need an accountant?
Not by law; support is optional. It becomes relevant when the MEI passes its revenue limit and migrates to ME, the point at which an accountant or an online accounting service takes over the filings.