CAC Certificado de Registro (CR)

The Certificado de Registro (CR), the registration certificate, is the Polícia Federal (Federal Police) record that allows a person to carry out CAC activities (colecionador, atirador desportivo e caçador: collector, sport shooter and hunter): collecting firearms, sport shooting and exceptional hunting. Without a CR you cannot buy firearms for these activities, keep a collection or practice shooting with a firearm at a club. Today the application is made on the Portal PF, costs R$ 100,00 and the CR is valid for 3 years.

What the CR is

The CR is the document that registers you in Sinarm-CAC, the Polícia Federal National Firearms System for collectors, shooters and hunters. It records (apostila) your activities, the storage addresses of your collection and the firearms you own.

Each firearm in the collection also has its own CRAF (Certificado de Registro de Arma de Fogo, the firearm registration certificate), valid for 3 years for CACs. The CR is your license; the CRAF is the document for each firearm.

Having a CR is not a carry permit. Transporting firearms requires a guia de tráfego (transport permit), always with the firearm unloaded.

Who needs it and requirements by activity

• Sport shooter: from age 18, member of a shooting entity. From 14 to 18, only with court authorization, psychological assessment, supervision by a parent or guardian and firearms from the club or the guardian.
• Collector: from age 25. No membership required. Collection firearms cannot be used for shooting, except for maintenance tests.
• Exceptional hunter: from age 25, member of a hunting entity, with an Ibama (federal environmental agency) document proving the need to cull invasive wildlife (such as wild boar).
• Recreational shooting: practicing shooting with a firearm at a club without a CR is prohibited (Decreto 11.615/2023, art. 34, § 6º).
• Buying your own firearm: requires age 25 in any activity. Between 18 and 25, shooters use club firearms or firearms lent by another shooter.

Required documents

The official list (IN DG/PF 311/2025, art. 18) is the same for all three activities, with additions:

• ID with CPF (taxpayer number);
• criminal record certificates from the Federal, State or District, Military and Electoral Courts, for the places you lived in the last 5 years;
• proof of lawful occupation;
• proofs of residence for the last 5 years;
• DSA (Declaração de Segurança do Acervo, the collection security declaration): a safe or secure place with a lock and a commitment to prevent access by minors and legally incapable persons;
• psychological report from a PF accredited psychologist (maximum validity of 1 year);
• technical capacity certified by a PF accredited instructor;
• membership in the entity (shooting or hunting) and, for shooters, the declaration of commitment to regular practice;
• proof of fee payment.

Rules that apply after the CR

Sport shooter levels

Every new shooter starts at level 1 for 12 months. To move up, you must prove the regular practice required for the desired level and stay 12 months at each level (Decreto 11.615/2023, arts. 35 and 36; IN 311/2025, arts. 59 and 71).

A high performance shooter (ranked nationally or called up for the Olympic or Paralympic Games or ISSF/IPSC world championships) may have up to 16 firearms, 8 of restricted use, and 20% more ammunition (Decreto 11.615/2023, arts. 38-A to 38-H, added by Decreto 12.345/2024).

Hunter and collector

• Exceptional hunter: up to 6 firearms, 2 of restricted use, and up to 500 rounds per firearm per year (Decreto 11.615/2023, art. 39).
• Collector: one firearm of each type, make, model, variant, caliber and origin. Automatic firearms and semi automatic long guns of restricted caliber manufactured less than 70 years ago cannot be collected.

Permitted and restricted calibers

In short (Decreto 11.615/2023, arts. 11 and 12): handguns are of permitted use when standard ammunition has up to 407 joules (300 foot pounds) of muzzle energy. Bolt or lever action rifled long guns up to 1,620 joules, repeating shotguns up to 12 gauge and .22 LR semi automatic carbines are also permitted. Above these limits, automatic firearms and all semi automatic shotguns are of restricted use. The caliber by caliber classification is in Portaria Conjunta C Ex/DG-PF nº 2/2023, amended by Portarias Conjuntas nº 3/2024 and nº 4/2025: check the current list before choosing a caliber.

Common mistakes that delay the application

• Certificates only for the current address, not covering the 5 years.
• Psychological report expired (more than 1 year old) on the application date.
• Proof of residence in a third party's name without a declaration linking you to the address.
• Generating the payment slip before reviewing the attachments: after that, you cannot edit.
• A bronze gov.br account, which blocks access.
• Missing the 30 day deadline to answer a request for further information.

After the CR

• Report any change in your details (address, document) within 15 days, through apostilamento (an amendment to the record), or the CR may be suspended.
• The PF requires an annual confirmation of your registration details.
• Shooters: keep the club's records of training sessions and competitions. Without regular practice, the CR is not renewed.
• Request renewal at least 30 days before expiry.

What changed recently

• 1/7/2025: the PF takes over CACs and IN DG/PF 311/2025 comes into force. The CR becomes valid for 3 years.
• July and August 2025: Portaria DG/PF 19.040/2025 releases, state by state, the CR, apostilamento and renewal services in Sinarm-CAC.
• 23/12/2025: IN DG/PF 322/2025 ensures that CRs issued or renewed under Decreto 9.846/2019 keep their original term (generally 10 years).
• 23/7/2026: the Portal PF launches, with CRAF renewal.
• October 2026: CR issuance, renewal, purchase and firearm registration move to the Portal PF for new applications.

Who handles CACs today: Polícia Federal or Exército?

Since 1 July 2025, the Polícia Federal (PF) is the agency that issues the CR, authorizes purchases and transfers, registers collection firearms and issues the transport permit for CACs. The change was set out in Decreto 11.615/2023 and organized by Portaria DG/PF nº 19.040/2025, which released the services in stages between July and August 2025. The detailed rules are in Instrução Normativa DG/PF nº 311/2025, in force since 1 July 2025.

The Exército (Brazilian Army) still has some roles: registering shooting entities, the final review of restricted use firearms (after PF authorization), imports and ammunition reloading. The fees for these services are still those of Lei 10.834/2003 (Taxa de Fiscalização de Produtos Controlados, the controlled products inspection fee).

Which system to use in October 2026

• Portal PF (portal.pf.gov.br, login with a silver or gold gov.br account): CRAF renewal since 23/07/2026; and, for new applications, CR issuance, CR renewal, purchase authorization and firearm registration with CRAF issuance (official pages updated in October 2026).
• Sinarm-CAC (servicos.pf.gov.br, the PF system inherited from the former SisGCorp structure): tracking applications started there, apostilamento and transport permits.
• Email to the PF office for your area: firearm transfer between CACs and change of shooter level, according to the official pages for these services.
• Exército SisGCorp: stopped accepting CAC applications with the 2025 transition. Documents issued by the Exército before then remain valid until they expire.

Notice

This guide is for information only and does not replace the official rules or advice from a professional. Rules change often: check the current version of Lei 10.826/2003, Decreto 11.615/2023 (with the amendments of Decreto 12.345/2024), Instrução Normativa DG/PF nº 311/2025 (amended by IN DG/PF nº 322/2025) and the official Polícia Federal pages before making any application.