Data

ReceitaWS: CNPJ lookup

Long-running Brazilian CNPJ lookup API at https://receitaws.com.br/v1/cnpj/{cnpj}. Free public tier rate-limited to 3 req/min; paid premium tier with token unlocks higher throughput. Returns razao_social, atividade_principal (CNAE), atividades secundárias, situação, address. Simples Nacional flag is a paid-tier field.

Verified: 2026-04-27 (vendor-docs-2026-04-27)

When to use ReceitaWS: CNPJ lookup

Choose if

You're doing ad-hoc CNPJ lookups (≤3 per minute) and want the simplest possible drop-in API with a long, stable history.

Avoid if

You need bulk enrichment (>3 req/min on free tier hits 429), Simples Nacional flag on free tier (paid-only field), or modern field shapes (BrasilAPI returns richer data).

Risk Flags

  • MEDIUM pricing_unpredictability Free-tier 3 req/min is hard-rate-limited; bursting agents will get 429s. For any bookkeeping workflow with >3 invoices/min, plan to use paid tier OR fall back to BrasilAPI (no rate limit) OR batch with explicit retry-with-backoff.
  • LOW operational Single endpoint, single vendor. No SLA published for free tier.

Cost

Type: Freemium · Free tier: 3 requests per minute — public endpoint, no token required. · Paid starts: Premium tier with token (token-based pricing not publicly listed; contact ReceitaWS).

Hidden costs

  • 3 req/min cap on free tier blocks any bulk enrichment workflow — practical only for ad-hoc lookups.
  • Simples Nacional flag is a paid-tier field — free tier returns it as null.

Install

Default

curl -s "https://receitaws.com.br/v1/cnpj/CNPJ_DIGITS_ONLY"
# Free public tier, 3 req/min cap:
curl -s "https://receitaws.com.br/v1/cnpj/00000000000191"
# Returns:
# {
#   "status": "OK",
#   "nome": "BANCO DO BRASIL SA",
#   "fantasia": "...",
#   "atividade_principal": [{"code": "64.22-1-00", "text": "Bancos múltiplos..."}],
#   "atividades_secundarias": [...],
#   "logradouro": "...", "municipio": "...", "uf": "...",
#   "situacao": "ATIVA",
#   "simples": null   # paid-tier field
# }
#
# Paid premium tier — pass token in Authorization header:
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" "https://receitaws.com.br/v1/cnpj/00000000000191"

Setup docs →

Estimated time to first success: ~1 min

Dependencies

Minimum runtime: Any HTTP client

Composes with: auxiliar-nfs-e, nfs-e-parser, BrasilAPI: CNPJ lookup, CNPJ.ws: free + commercial CNPJ lookup

Distribution

License
Proprietary (vendor-managed)