Certification · EU → BR
INMETRO certification: whoever holds it holds your market
May 28, 2026 · 6 min read
In short
For most technical products entering Brazil, INMETRO certification is mandatory and must be issued to the manufacturer — not the distributor. Whoever holds the registration controls market access, so keep it in your own name.
Brazilian conformity assessment runs through INMETRO-accredited certification bodies (OCPs). For most technical and electrical products, certification is mandatory before the first unit clears customs. That much European exporters usually know.
What they often miss is who the certificate names. When a local distributor offers to "handle certification", the resulting registration is frequently issued in the distributor's name, not the manufacturer's. The moment the relationship sours — and over a 5–10 year horizon many do — the distributor controls your legal access to the market. Re-certifying under your own entity can cost six to nine months and a re-test of the full product family.
The fix is procedural, not legal-heroic: insist the certificate is issued to the manufacturer or to an entity you control, even when the distributor manages the logistics of testing. Pay for the certification yourself if necessary; it is cheap insurance against losing the asset that actually matters.
Before you sign anything, a 3-minute scan tells us your product class and the certification route it triggers — and whether the distributor-first model even fits your case, or whether a local rep or own entity routes around the risk entirely.
Business intelligence, not legal or tax advice.