Originally posted by samye&jesse the law in my country states that the only language judges should speak in cases like that is portuguese.

That still doesn't mean the law requires you to have a judicial translator at hand.

This is what the codigo de processo civil says about it:
Art. 151. O juiz nomeará intérprete toda vez que o repute necessário para:
        I - analisar documento de entendimento duvidoso, redigido em língua estrangeira;
        II - verter em português as declarações das partes e das testemunhas que não conhecerem o idioma nacional;
        III - traduzir a linguagem mímica dos surdos-mudos, que não puderem transmitir a sua vontade por escrito.


The civil code only mentions a translator in case of "escirtúra pública". (art 215 par 4). Of course, as you might know the "escritura pública" comes after the marriage and not before, and the section of marriage does not mention translators. Besides, the "registro" is merely a formal act, performed by the tabelião where parties may be absent.

Just to prove how silly the requirement is, a person that does not speak portuguese, can register a procuração and get married by procuração, no translator needed, just a signature.

In my country (I live here for 16 years), people at cartorios have a tendency to misinform people, and interpret the law any which way they like, saying for example that the visa of the person must be valid, which is bull if you look at some of the jurisprudence of several TRF's. It's just that most don't want to fork over the extra 5K for a lawyer and get a mandado de segurança.

Originally posted by flamingringo Thanks for the info. I am still unclear if I can get married while on holiday? I am from the UK and do not need any visa to visit Brasil for up to 3 months [+3 with extension].

Of course you can.

A couple of points that need to be clear and Sven has correctly pointed out.
you do NOT have to have a valid visa to get married! Contrary to what a lot of cartorios may tell you, they are acting contrary to the law.
OF course you CAN marry in Brasil without speaking Portuguese! You just need to know when to say "Sim" at the right time.
You do not need to translate your passport! I was told I needed it traslated so forked out the money but have NEVER been asked for the translation. When I have offered it no one including Cartorio, PF, DEtran etc have wanted to see it.
I have never registered or been asked to register any of my foreign documents with the Cartorio de titulos! Why would you do this? They are not Brasilian documents? If someone explains this would be good but as I said... I have never needed any of my documents registered. Save your money!!

Something that will save you a lot of time and headache too is to make sure your birth certificate has BOTH your parents names and DOBs. Just telling them the names will usually not be sufficient, it needs to be on an official document. If you get away with it for your marriage you will still have issues later with the PF, Dtran, Ministerio de trabalho etc etc.

@Ferguson to be honest the list of required documents is not really that much. What other country do you not need your passport (ID) Birth certificate and proof that you are not already married? As for knowing that the Brasilian is single and he/she is who they say they are. Its on the documents. The Birth cert is not the only document they need but also there ID card.

Im not trying to get at anyone here just pointing out some inaccuracies in the hope that it will save someone else time, money and frustration.   

Originally posted by deanwatts88 I have never registered or been asked to register any of my foreign documents with the Cartorio de titulos! Why would you do this? They are not Brasilian documents?

When the cartorio explained it to me the said that it "made them Brazilian" or some such nonsense.

First get the official bc "authenticated in the US, then translate, then get the translator's signature recongnized in one cartorio, then go to another cartorio to register the documents.

They were very specific about the requirements, although NO ONE could tell me where the cartorio was to register it.  I had to go to 10in centro before I was directed to the right one.

Originally posted by deanwatts88 Something that will save you a lot of time and headache too is to make sure your birth certificate has BOTH your parents names and DOBs. Just telling them the names will usually not be sufficient, it needs to be on an official document. If you get away with it for your marriage you will still have issues later with the PF, Dtran, Ministerio de trabalho etc etc.

Parents' names and professions go on the wedding cert itself.  Going forward. Wedding cert + comp de endereco in your spouse's name = your comp de enderco. Two birds with one stone going forward.

Parents' names also eventually go on the CIE and Sincre print out, so no need for the BC after registering with the PF.

Originally posted by deanwatts88 @Ferguson to be honest the list of required documents is not really that much. What other country do you not need your passport (ID) Birth certificate and proof that you are not already married?

It is all the damn stamps and running around that make it seem like a lot.

You also need CPF's for both parties, comp de endereco for both parties, ID cards and wedding cert (if a woman) for the testamunhas, comp de endereco for the testamunhas.  What seems like certified copies of EVERYTHING imaginable and registered signatures for everyone.

Originally posted by deanwatts88 As for knowing that the Brasilian is single and he/she is who they say they are. Its on the documents. The Birth cert is not the only document they need but also there ID card

and the CPF and the comp de enderenco AND the registered signature in the cartorio and you have the two testinmunhas.

Originally posted by deanwatts88 Im not trying to get at anyone here just pointing out some inaccuracies in the hope that it will save someone else time, money and frustration.

I think the list is pretty common and you may have just lucked out.

It is always better to be over prepared then under, especially when on a tight timeline visa wise.

The extra 2weeks it can take to get your docs translated and registered can make a huge difference for some people.  The time it will take to send your docs back to the US and have them "authenticated" can make things even worse.

"First get the official bc "authenticated in the US, then translate, then get the translator's signature recongnized in one cartorio, then go to another cartorio to register the documents. "

The Lei de introdução is clear enough, they only need to be translated. My translator always does the recognition of the signature.

Besides that, o "traslado" indeed makes them "brazilian". Registering (I'll have to look this up, but am on the train "trying to get robbed") should probably be done in the Cartório do Registro Civil de Pessoas Naturais da 1a Circunscrição, which, in Rio, if not mistaking, is on Ilha do Governador.

The info dean gave is correct. I got married without registering my birth cert, while being illegal.