How to get a list of Brazilian companies by CNAE, city and size
To list Brazilian companies by industry: (1) translate the industry into CNAE codes, (2) filter Brazil's public CNPJ registry by primary and secondary CNAE, (3) keep only active registrations, (4) narrow by city and company size, and (5) export with the public contact data available. You can do it for free from Receita Federal's open data (it needs data engineering) or in minutes with a tool like 1Lead.
Where the data comes from
Receita Federal (Brazil's federal revenue service) publishes open CNPJ data every month covering every registered company: legal and trade name, primary and secondary CNAE, address, registered phone and email, company size, share capital, opening date, registration status and partners. Every Brazilian company-list tool starts from this dataset.
Step by step
- Translate your ICP into CNAE codes with IBGE's CONCLA search or our segment pages (for example, restaurants).
- Search primary and secondary CNAE: many companies register their real activity as secondary.
- Keep active registrations only (*situação cadastral ativa*).
- Narrow by location: state, city, neighborhood or service radius.
- Set company size: MEI (micro-entrepreneur), ME (annual revenue up to R$360k), EPP (up to R$4.8M) or larger.
- Add signals: opening date (new companies are choosing suppliers), share capital, headquarters or branch.
- Keep companies with contact data (public email or phone).
- Save the segment so new matching companies appear in future searches.
Option 1: Receita Federal open data (free, technical)
The files total tens of gigabytes of CSV split into companies, establishments, partners and CNAE tables. You need to download, load into a database, join the tables, and repeat monthly. Good for teams with a data engineer or for one-off market sizing.
Option 2: lookup and list tools
Brazilian CNPJ lookup sites and B2B data platforms do the processing and add filters. They differ in freshness, filters, enriched contacts, and what happens after export. Compare them in best B2B prospecting tools for Brazil.
Option 3: list and outreach in one place (1Lead)
With 1Lead, you describe your ideal customer, AI suggests CNAE codes and segments, and all filters (primary/secondary CNAE, city, region, neighborhood, size, share capital, opening date, HQ or branch, status, contact availability) are in one search. The list doesn't end in a spreadsheet: companies go into an email and WhatsApp sequence whose follow-ups stop when someone replies, and every opportunity lands in a built-in CRM. The interface is in Portuguese; pricing is available in BRL, USD and EUR.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to use Brazilian CNPJ data for B2B prospecting?
Company registration data is public. When a list includes personal data (names and emails of partners or employees), Brazil's LGPD applies: rely on a legal basis such as legitimate interest, minimize the data you keep, and offer an easy opt-out.
How often is the CNPJ registry updated?
Receita Federal publishes the open data monthly.
Can I get these lists in English?
Official descriptions are in Portuguese. Company names and addresses stay as registered; CNAE descriptions can be translated, as on our CNAE pages.