Digital certificates for issuing invoices in Brazil: A1, A3 or Cloud?

To issue electronic invoices in Brazil, a company signs each document with an ICP-Brasil e-CNPJ digital certificate. It’s what gives the invoice legal validity and lets the system communicate with the Sefaz (state tax authority) or the city hall.

Which certificate?

• NF-e and NFC-e (sale of goods; NFC-e is the consumer receipt version): e-CNPJ, installed in the invoicing software or the point-of-sale system.
• NFS-e (services): in most cities and in the national NFS-e issuer (Emissor Nacional), also the e-CNPJ. Some cities accept another kind of access to issue through their portal, but integration with business software almost always requires the certificate.
• MEI (individual microentrepreneurs) and independent professionals who issue through the portal may also need an e-CPF, depending on the city.

A1, A3 or Cloud: the difference is where the certificate lives

	A1 (file)	A3 (token or smart card)	Cloud
Where it lives	Installed on the computer	On physical media	In the cloud, accessed from your phone
Validity	12 months	12, 24 or 36 months	12, 24 or 36 months
Works on several computers	No, only where it was installed	Yes, if you bring the media	Yes
Best for	Invoicing from one fixed system	Those who need physical media	Those who sign from several places

Rule of thumb: if invoices are issued from software installed on a single computer, or from a server, A1 does the job and costs less. If the person in charge signs from several places, Cloud avoids losing or forgetting the media. A3 is for when a system requires physical media.

Watch out when renewing

An expired certificate stops invoicing. Renew before it expires. While the certificate is still valid, renewal is usually simpler, with no new video call.

Certificate and system under one roof

At Target, the e-CNPJ issued by our Registration Authority comes already installed and configured in the business management system, with no waiting for the media to arrive or scheduling validation somewhere else. If something goes wrong with an invoice, there’s a single point of support.