CNAE codes for course providers, language schools and training in Brazil
The main CNAE code for course providers and language schools in Brazil is 8599-6/04 – Treinamento em desenvolvimento profissional e gerencial (Professional and management training). Language schools use 8593-7/00, IT training 8599-6/03, exam prep 8599-6/05 and other courses 8599-6/99. To prospect this segment, search codes 8599-6/04, 8599-6/03, 8599-6/05, 8599-6/99, 8593-7/00 as both primary and secondary CNAE, keep only active CNPJs, then filter by company size and city.
CNAE codes for course providers and language schools
CNAE (Classificação Nacional de Atividades Econômicas) is Brazil's official activity classification. Every company registered with a CNPJ declares one primary CNAE and any number of secondary ones. These are the CNAE 2.3 subclasses most used by course providers and language schools:
| CNAE | Official description (pt) | English | When it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
8599-6/04 | Treinamento em desenvolvimento profissional e gerencial | Professional and management training | Corporate training |
8599-6/03 | Treinamento em informática | IT training | IT and coding schools |
8599-6/05 | Cursos preparatórios para concursos | Exam preparation courses | Civil service exam prep |
8599-6/99 | Outras atividades de ensino não especificadas anteriormente | Other education activities | Short and online courses |
8593-7/00 | Ensino de idiomas | Language teaching | Language schools |
Search primary and secondary CNAE
Many course providers and language schools register their real activity as a secondary CNAE, because the CNPJ was opened under another primary activity or because they do more than one thing. Course providers often declare several group-8599 codes. Filtering on the primary code alone misses part of the market.
Who sells to course providers and language schools
Schools and course providers buy acquisition, teaching and billing tools, with peaks at the start of each term.
- LMS, enrollment and recurring billing platforms
- Marketing agencies for student acquisition
- Teaching materials, certifications and licenses
- Classroom equipment
- Companies hiring training for their teams
How to build a list of course providers and language schools in Brazil
- Pick the codes: start with
8599-6/04and add8599-6/03,8599-6/05,8599-6/99,8593-7/00depending on what you sell. - Search them as primary and secondary CNAE.
- Keep only active registrations (situação cadastral ativa) to drop unfit, suspended or closed CNPJs.
- Narrow by location (state, city, neighborhood) and company size (MEI, ME, EPP, other). Schools with premises and staff are usually ME or EPP; many independent instructors are MEI.
- Keep companies with contact data (email or phone) and save the filter as a reusable segment.
- Write a segment-specific opener and track replies in a pipeline.
1Lead runs all of these filters in one search over Brazil's public company registry, and its AI suggests adjacent CNAE codes from a plain-language description such as "recurring billing platform for language schools and course providers in Belo Horizonte". The product interface is in Portuguese.
Qualification signals
- Recently opened school: setting up enrollment and billing.
- Branches or franchise: central purchasing.
- Start of term: acquisition season and tool changes.
How to approach this segment
Schools measure everything in students: acquisition, retention and late payments. Tie your offer to one of those numbers.
Example first message (in Portuguese, with translation)
Frequently asked questions
What is the CNAE code for a language school in Brazil?
8593-7/00, language teaching.
Where is the official CNAE table?
IBGE publishes it in the CONCLA online search, with the full hierarchy (section, division, group, class, subclass) and notes on what each code includes and excludes.