Average time to open a business in Brazil drops

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The average time to open a company in Brazil is one third of what it was in early 2019, dropping to less than 2 days. In 2019, the average time was 5 days and 9 hours, and it is currently 47 hours. The data are contained in the Digital Government platform, linked to the Ministry of Economy.

According to the platform, the reduction is due to simplification measures, digital integration between the 27 state commercial registries and adherence to the Gov.BR platform.

The data show that currently 23 of the 27 commercial registries are using the Gov.BR signature to formalize new businesses. The measure helps to reduce time and costs, as it is no longer necessary to pay for notarization or digital certificates to open or change a company’s registration.

Data from the Ministry of Economy’s “Companies Map” report shows that in the second quarter of this year, 1,420,782 companies were opened in Brazil, up 1.9% compared to the first quarter of 2021 and 26.5% over the second quarter of 2020. The report also shows that 328,000 companies were opened in September this year, with the reduced time.

“The average time to open a company in the country has been gradually reduced in recent months, reflecting the progress achieved by federal, state, and municipal bodies, seeking a simpler and faster process for opening companies. Records in registering new companies reinforce even further Brazilians’ inclination toward entrepreneurship and the creation of new businesses,” the report says.

According to the Ministry, in 3 of the 27 Brazilian states, a company can, on average, be opened in less than 24 hours: Goiás, Espírito Santo, and the Federal District. Of the 3, Goiás showed the shortest average time to open a company in the second quarter this year: 1 day and 2 hours, down 16 hours (38.1%) compared to the first quarter 2021.

It takes longer to open a company in the state of Bahia: 6 days and 1 hour. Despite being at the end of the line, Bahia has reduced the time frame considerably and is now at 2 days and 17 hours, 31.0% less than in the first 4 months of the year.