How public procurement works in Brazil
Brazil's federal government, its 26 states, the Federal District and more than 5,500 municipalities buy
goods, services and works through public tenders. Since Law 14,133/2021 — the Public Procurement Law that fully
replaced Law 8,666/1993 at the end of 2023 — every agency must publish its tenders on the
National Public Procurement Portal (PNCP).
That put in one place what used to be scattered across thousands of official gazettes and agency websites.
The new problem is volume: thousands of new procurements are published every business day.
Busca Licitações makes that database searchable. Every tender has a permanent page with the agency,
the full description of what is being bought, the estimated value, the bidding deadline, the list of items with
quantities and unit prices, and the tender documents for download — plus the link to the official publication.
The main procurement methods
- Electronic reverse auction (pregão eletrônico): the most common method, for standard goods and
services. Suppliers submit bids online and then compete in a live bidding phase; the lowest price wins.
- Direct award (dispensa de licitação): simplified purchases allowed by law, such as low-value
buys. Electronic direct awards still publish a notice and accept quotes from any supplier for a few days.
- Competitive bidding (concorrência): used for works, engineering and complex services, and may
weigh technical quality as well as price.
- Auction (leilão): the government sells assets — vehicles, equipment, real estate — to the highest bidder.
What a supplier needs
Bidders generally need a Brazilian tax ID (CNPJ) with a compatible business activity, tax and labor clearance
certificates, financial statements and, often, certificates proving previous experience. Bids, documents and
bidding sessions are in Portuguese and prices are in Brazilian reais (BRL). Foreign companies usually participate
through a Brazilian subsidiary, a local partner or distributor, or — where the tender allows — with equivalent
foreign documents. Our guides explain each step.
Tender notices are published in Portuguese, so descriptions appear as the agency wrote them.
Search with English or Portuguese keywords — common English terms are translated automatically.
New to Brazil? Start with how foreign companies can bid.
Frequently asked questions
What is this site?
Busca Licitações (www.todaslicitacoes.com.br) is a free search engine for Brazilian public tenders. It indexes every procurement published on the PNCP — Brazil's National Public Procurement Portal, where federal, state and municipal agencies must publish their tenders under Law 14,133/2021 — and makes it searchable by keyword, state, city, agency, procurement method, category, value and deadline.
Can I search in English?
Yes. Tender notices are written in Portuguese, so common English terms (for example "laptops", "cleaning supplies" or "road paving") are translated to Portuguese automatically before searching. You can also type Portuguese keywords directly, which gives the most precise results.
Can foreign companies bid?
In principle, yes: Law 14,133/2021 allows companies that do not operate in Brazil to present equivalent documents under federal regulation, and some tenders are international. In practice most tenders are domestic and require documents in Portuguese and a local presence. Read the guide How foreign companies can bid in Brazilian public tenders.
Is it free?
Yes. Searching is free and requires no registration. The site is supported by advertising. A public JSON API is available too.
How often is the data updated?
Several times a day. New PNCP publications are imported automatically, and tenders that are still open have their status and deadlines checked again.
Where do I download the tender documents?
Each tender page lists the documents the agency published — tender notice, terms of reference and annexes — with direct download from the PNCP.
See all frequently asked questions.