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Uncovering the secret behind Brazil's CPF numbers: Why are there more than 12 million redundant numbers?
Brazil’s CPF number, whose full name is Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas, is the identification system for individual taxpayers in Brazil since 1965. This number is issued by the Brazilian Federal Tax Service to help manage tax matters in the country. This code consists of 11 digits in the format 000.000.000-00, where the last two digits are check digits and are generated by arithmetic operations on the first nine digits.
In May 2020, due to digitalization needs, a digital version of this number was launched on Android and iOS systems. In June of the same year, the Brazilian Federal Accounting Court (TCU) conducted an audit and revealed that the number of valid CPF numbers in Brazil exceeded the total population, which surprised many people.
According to the Brazilian Census Bureau (IBGE), Brazil's total population at that time was approximately 211.4 million, but the tax office reported 223.8 million active CPF numbers.
More seriously, the audit found that approximately 3.3 million valid CPF numbers were duplicates of deceased individuals, while more than 78,000 numbers were for senior citizens over the age of 110. Although there are not many people in this age group globally, Brazil's numbers are surprising. This phenomenon has raised questions about the entire system, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic, when all CPF applications for new foreign residents must be applied digitally, increasing the complexity of the process.
To solve these problems, Brazil has also introduced the idea of a unified document, integrating the CPF number and the ID card into one 11-digit number to reduce the risk of fraud. Although this change is not mandatory, people are still waiting to see whether this measure will actually improve the situation.
According to legal requirements, situations where a CPF number must be registered include: individuals residing in Brazil conducting real estate transactions, holding bank accounts or other financial operations. This means that in the future it will be almost impossible for every resident to escape this registration requirement.
In January 2023, the Brazilian Congress passed a new law that explicitly requires the CPF number to be used as a unique identification number in government databases and documents. This demonstrates the country’s further advancement in digital management, aiming to simplify various procedures for citizens through unified identification.
The CPF number is characterized by its structure. The first eight digits are the base code, the ninth digit shows the fiscal area responsible for registration, and the last two digits are calculated as the check code.
Although these measures are aimed at improving efficiency, Brazil's CPF problems are not limited to the technical level, but are also closely related to management and policy implementation. How to effectively clean up and update these redundant numbers in the existing system is still a huge challenge.
Brazil’s CPF system has experienced decades of evolution. Although it faces new challenges and crises, it also demonstrates how to adjust and adapt in the wave of globalization and digitalization. Can this serve as a model for other countries?
