NF-e Brazil Guide: Nota Fiscal, NFS-e and the CBS/IBS Reform

Quick answer: NF-e is Brazil's mandatory electronic invoice (nota fiscal) for goods: an XML file signed with a digital certificate and authorised by the state tax authority before the goods move. Services use the NFS-e, now moving to a national standard, and from 2026 invoices are gaining new CBS and IBS fields as Brazil's VAT reform begins.

Brazil has one of the oldest and most complex e-invoicing systems in the world. A business may need several different notas fiscais depending on whether it sells goods or services, to companies or consumers, and in which state or city. On top of that, the consumption tax reform is changing invoice layouts in 2026 and 2027. This guide explains NF-e, NFC-e and NFS-e as of 2026, the national NFS-e rollout and what the CBS and IBS reform means for invoicing. If you need a commercial invoice for a client outside Brazil, our invoice generator creates one in minutes.

Note: This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Brazilian rules vary by state and municipality and are changing quickly under the reform, so confirm details with a Brazilian accountant (contador).

The main types of nota fiscal

Brazil uses a clearance model: the tax authority authorises each document before it is valid. For how that compares with network models, see Peppol vs the clearance model. The main documents are:

Document	Used for	Authorised by	Printed version
NF-e (model 55)	Sales and movements of goods, mostly B2B	State tax authority (SEFAZ)	DANFE
NFC-e (model 65)	Retail sales of goods to consumers	State tax authority (SEFAZ)	DANFE NFC-e with QR code
NFS-e	Services	Municipality, now via the national standard	DANFSe
CT-e	Freight transport services	State tax authority	DACTE

Goods are mainly taxed by states (ICMS) and federal taxes, while services are mainly taxed by municipalities (ISS). That split is why goods and services have different notas, and it is exactly what the reform is designed to simplify.

How NF-e works

An NF-e is a structured XML document, not a PDF. The process is:

1. Register with the state. The company must have a CNPJ and a state registration (inscrição estadual) and be enabled to issue NF-e in its state.
2. Get an e-CNPJ certificate. NF-e are signed with an ICP-Brasil digital certificate, usually an A1 file or A3 token.
3. Set up issuing software. Use an ERP, a specialist NF-e provider or, in some states, a free issuer. The software validates the layout and tax codes.
4. Create the NF-e. Enter the buyer's CNPJ or CPF, the products with their NCM codes, the CFOP operation code, quantities, prices and the tax fields (ICMS, IPI, PIS, Cofins and now CBS and IBS).
5. Transmit to SEFAZ. SEFAZ checks the schema, the issuer and the data, then returns an authorisation protocol or a rejection code.
6. Print the DANFE and ship. The DANFE, with the 44-digit access key and barcode, travels with the goods.
7. Send the XML to the buyer. The buyer must keep the XML; many buyers will not pay without it.

An authorised NF-e can generally be cancelled within 24 hours if the goods have not moved. Minor errors that do not change values or parties can be fixed with an electronic correction letter (CC-e); anything else needs a complementary or return note. Our general guide to correcting invoices covers the principle.

NFC-e for retailers

Shops and restaurants selling to consumers usually issue the NFC-e (model 65) instead of the NF-e. It is authorised by SEFAZ in the same way but is designed for the till: the customer gets a simplified receipt with a QR code that links to the authorised document, and the buyer can be identified by CPF if the customer asks. Many states run consumer programmes that reward shoppers for asking for their CPF on the receipt. The NFC-e has replaced older fiscal printers in most states.

Storing the XML

Both the issuer and the buyer must keep the authorised XML files for the statutory period, usually at least five years, along with cancellation and correction events. The DANFE PDF alone is not enough. Most ERPs archive XMLs automatically, but small businesses using free issuers should download and back them up regularly.

NFS-e and the national standard

For services, each of Brazil's thousands of municipalities historically ran its own NFS-e system and layout, which made life hard for firms working across cities. The national NFS-e standard fixes this with a single layout, a national issuer (Emissor Nacional) and a shared data environment.

• Municipalities: Complementary Law 214/2025 requires municipalities and the Federal District to issue or share NFS-e in the national standard from 1 January 2026.
• MEI micro-entrepreneurs: must use the national issuer for services provided to companies. The Receita Federal's NFS-e issuing service page describes it as mandatory for MEI operations with legal entities.
• Simples Nacional companies: Resolution CGSN 191/2026 makes the national NFS-e issuer mandatory for micro and small companies in Simples Nacional that provide services, from 1 November 2026, replacing an earlier 1 September date.
• Other companies: issue through their municipality's system or the national issuer, depending on how the city has integrated; the data ends up in the national environment either way.

Issuing on the national web issuer takes a few steps: log in with a gov.br account or digital certificate, choose simplified or full issue, enter the client's CPF or CNPJ, describe the service, enter the value and confirm. The national NFS-e portal publishes the technical notes, including the layout changes for CBS and IBS.

The CBS and IBS reform: what changes on invoices

Constitutional Amendment 132 of 2023 and Complementary Law 214/2025 replace five consumption taxes with a dual VAT:

• CBS (federal) replaces PIS and Cofins.
• IBS (states and municipalities) replaces ICMS and ISS.
• A selective tax applies to specific harmful goods.

The transition runs from 2026 to 2033. For invoicing, the key dates as of late 2026 are:

Period	What happens
2026	Test year: CBS at 0.9% and IBS at 0.1% shown on documents; new fields added to NF-e and NFS-e layouts
3 August 2026	Reported start of mandatory CBS and IBS fields on NF-e for regular-regime companies, with strict rejection rules deferred
1 November 2026	National NFS-e issuer mandatory for Simples Nacional service companies
31 December 2026	End of the period in which missing CBS and IBS fields do not cause NFS-e rejection, per the NFS-e committee
1 January 2027	CBS and IBS rules for Simples Nacional companies take effect; CBS replaces PIS and Cofins
2029 to 2032	IBS gradually replaces ICMS and ISS
2033	Old system fully replaced

The practical message for 2026 is that your invoicing software must handle the new fields now, even though the test-year amounts are offset for businesses that meet their obligations. Dates for field validation have moved several times during 2026, so treat any single date as subject to change and follow your software provider's notices.

What MEI and Simples Nacional businesses should do before 2027

Small businesses carry much of the change in the coming months. A practical checklist:

1. Create or check your gov.br account and confirm you can log in to the national NFS-e issuer, or that your invoicing software is accredited for the national API.
2. Register your usual services with the correct national service code, so each nota takes seconds to issue.
3. Keep client CPF and CNPJ numbers and addresses up to date in one place.
4. Ask your contador how CBS and IBS will apply to you from 1 January 2027, including whether you will show the new taxes on your notas, since this affects what business clients can credit.
5. Download and archive your issued notas each month.

Worked example: a services nota in the 2026 test year

A São Paulo consultancy taxed in the regular regime invoices a client R$10,000 for a training project. ISS in Brazil is usually included in the price rather than added on top, and the municipal rate here is assumed to be 5% (ISS rates range from 2% to 5% depending on the service and city).

Item	Amount (R$)
Service price (total on the NFS-e)	10,000.00
ISS at 5% (included in price)	500.00
CBS test field at 0.9%	90.00
IBS test field at 0.1%	10.00
Amount charged to client	10,000.00

The arithmetic: 5% of 10,000 is 500; 0.9% of 10,000 is 90; 0.1% of 10,000 is 10. The client still pays 10,000, because ISS is embedded in the price and the 2026 CBS and IBS amounts are informational test values that are offset for compliant businesses. From 2027, CBS replaces PIS and Cofins at its full rate, so the same invoice will look different. Withholdings on services to companies, such as income tax withholding, would reduce the cash received and appear on the nota; see our guide to withholding tax on invoices.

Our invoice generator adds one tax rate on top of the price, so it suits commercial invoices and pro formas for foreign clients rather than Brazilian notas. For a 10,000 export service, for example, you would enter the line with no tax, add any fixed discount, and record a deposit in the amount paid field.

Why the 2026 test year still matters

It is tempting to ignore CBS and IBS until the money is real, but the test year is how the government checks that millions of invoices carry the right data before rates rise in 2027. Businesses that fill the fields correctly now find problems while they are cheap to fix: wrong service codes, missing classification of goods, or ERP settings that cannot handle a new tax line. From 2027, the CBS on your invoices determines how much credit your business customers can take, so invoice accuracy becomes a commercial issue as well as a compliance one. Clients will prefer suppliers whose notas give them clean credits.

What a nota fiscal contains

Each nota is structured data, but the business content is familiar from any tax invoice:

• Issuer CNPJ, name, address and state or municipal registration
• Buyer CNPJ or CPF, name and address
• Number, series, issue date and the 44-digit access key
• Products with NCM codes and CFOP, or services with the national service code
• Quantities, unit prices, discounts and totals
• Tax fields: ICMS, IPI, PIS, Cofins, ISS and, from 2026, CBS and IBS
• Transport details for goods, and the authorisation protocol

Your own numbering must follow the series rules of each document type. For general principles see our invoice numbering guide.

Foreign suppliers and freelancers billing Brazil

A freelancer or company outside Brazil without a CNPJ cannot issue a nota fiscal and does not need to. You send a normal commercial invoice; the Brazilian client handles import taxes, withholding and the foreign exchange contract with its bank. Payment usually arrives by international wire, so expect the client to need your full legal name, address, bank details and a reference that matches the invoice. Banks often ask for a clear invoice that names both parties, describes the service, states the amount and currency and gives payment details. Our guides to foreign currency invoices and commercial invoices help, and the corporate invoice template is a good fit for this kind of bill.

Common mistakes with Brazilian notas

• Using the wrong CFOP or NCM code, the most common cause of SEFAZ rejections
• Letting the digital certificate expire; nothing can be signed until it is renewed
• Treating the DANFE PDF as the invoice and failing to store the XML
• Missing the cancellation window and trying to cancel instead of issuing a return note
• Ignoring the new CBS and IBS fields because 2026 amounts are offset

Brazil in the global e-invoicing landscape

Brazil pioneered tax-authority clearance, and its model influenced systems across Latin America, including Mexico's CFDI (see our CFDI guide). Similar real-time systems now run in Turkey and Egypt (see the Turkey e-invoice and Egypt e-invoicing guides). For the full picture, read our e-invoicing guide.

Get your NF-e and nota fiscal process ready

NF-e, NFC-e and NFS-e are part of daily life for Brazilian businesses, and the reform adds work in 2026: update your software for the CBS and IBS fields, move services onto the national NFS-e standard if you are an MEI or Simples Nacional company, and keep your digital certificate valid. For pro formas, quotes and invoices to clients outside Brazil, use our free invoice generator. Your finished invoice downloads as a PDF, free and with no sign-up.