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Requesting public information in Brazil

Brazil's Access to Information Law (Lei de Acesso à Informação, Law 12,527 of 2011) gives anyone the right to request information from public bodies at all levels. Federal executive requests go through Fala.BR, run by the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), which also hears appeals. The federal Transparency Portal publishes spending, salaries and transfers without a request.

What it publishes

• The Fala.BR platform for requests and appeals to federal bodies.
• Statistics on requests and responses.
• The Transparency Portal with federal spending, contracts and public servants' pay.

Key datasets

• Fala.BR
  Make and track requests to federal bodies.
  Updated: Continuous
• Access to Information Law
  Full text of Law 12,527/2011.
  Updated: As amended
• Transparency Portal
  Federal spending, transfers, contracts and salaries.
  Updated: Daily to monthly

APIs and downloads

• Transparency Portal
  Downloads and an API for federal spending data.

When it publishes

Bodies must answer within 20 days, extendable by 10 days with justification; appeals within the body must be filed within 10 days, and for the federal executive can then go to the CGU.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Check whether information was refused as classified, personal or under another legal secrecy rule, and the stated basis.
2. States and municipalities have their own platforms for requests.

Common mistakes

• Sending a state or municipal request through the federal platform.

Do I need to give a reason?

No. The law says requesters do not have to justify their request.

Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.