Brazil’s new rural land framework: georeferencing, certification and foreign investment

A recent court ruling in Brazil has reignited an important debate over georeferencing certification requirements for rural properties, with direct implications for foreign companies involved in rural real estate transactions, including acquisitions, subdivisions, land mergers, and other forms of transfer. First and foremost, it is important to understand the distinction between two concepts that are often treated as synonyms but carry different legal meanings: georeferencing and certification. Under Law No. 10,267/2001, rural properties in Brazil must be identified through georeferenced coordinates — essentially, a technical survey that maps the property's boundaries and vertices using geodetic coordinates linked to the Brazilian Geodetic System, forming the property's "polygon." Certification, on the other hand, is a separate and subsequent step carried out exclusively by INCRA (the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform), currently through its Land Management System (SIGEF), in use since November 23, 2013. In this phase, INCRA verifies whether the property's polygon overlaps with other areas already recorded in the national land registry database. In other words, while georeferencing is the technical description itself, certification is the official validation that the property's boundaries do not conflict with neighboring plots.

In October 2025, Decree No. 12,689/2025 extended the deadline for mandatory georeferencing certification in rural property transactions to October 21, 2029, effectively revoking the previous staggered schedule under which larger properties were already subject to the requirement. However, on May 7, 2026, a Federal Court in the State of Maranhão issued a preliminary injunction partially suspending the Decree's effects. The court found the blanket extension disproportionate, as it relieved properties that had long been subject to the certification obligation. The injunction remains in effect to date, meaning that rural properties whose certification deadlines had already expired under the prior regime must still comply with the georeferencing certification requirement for any registry act, including sales, subdivisions, and mergers. The Decree's extended deadline currently applies only to properties under 101 hectares.

Beyond georeferencing compliance, foreign legal entities operating in Brazil should also keep in mind the regulatory framework governing foreign ownership and leasing of rural land under Law No. 5,709/1971 and Decree No. 74,965/1974. These rules apply not only to foreign companies authorized to operate in Brazil but also to Brazilian legal entities with a majority of their capital held by foreigners. Under the applicable legislation, acquisitions or leases of rural land by foreign legal entities may be subject to prior authorization from INCRA and to the approval of a land exploitation project consistent with the company’s corporate purposes, regardless of the size of the property. In addition, the aggregate area of rural land owned or leased by foreign persons within a given municipality may not exceed 25% of the municipality’s total area, while persons of the same nationality may not collectively hold or lease more than 10% of that area. The total rural area owned or leased by the same foreign legal entity in the country must also be considered, as holdings exceeding 100 MEI, whether contiguous or non-contiguous, require authorization from the Brazilian National Congress. Additional restrictions may apply to properties located in border zones or areas deemed essential to national security. The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) has upheld these restrictions as constitutional, reinforcing their applicability to Brazilian entities controlled by foreign capital.

From a practical standpoint, foreign companies involved in rural property transactions in Brazil should assess, at the time of each transaction, the property's georeferencing and certification status, as well as its compliance with the applicable foreign ownership restrictions. The interplay between the ongoing injunction and the evolving regulatory landscape reinforces the need for a careful legal assessment before closing any deal.

If you would like to learn more about this and other developments in the rural real estate sector, please contact our Real Estate team.