Probate at the registry: skip the inheritance tax first?

Can you do probate at the registry without paying the ITCMD first?

Yes — to draw up the deed. In August 2026, Brazil's National Council of Justice (CNJ) waived the requirement to pay the ITCMD (the inheritance tax) before the notary draws up the extrajudicial probate deed. But the answer has two caveats that change everything: the property's registration on the record still depends on paying the tax, and the tax authorities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have already announced they'll keep charging first. In short: it unlocked the deed, not the transfer of ownership.

The ITCMD — the tax on inheritance and gifts — is a state tax levied on the estate. Until August 2026, without the paid tax slip, the registry wouldn't draw up the probate deed, and the process stalled at the very start. The CNJ decision touches that starting point — but not the finish line.

What did the CNJ decide?

The CNJ, in a unanimous decision of its full court at the 12th Ordinary Session of 2026 (8/18/2026), reported by the national internal-affairs judge, Justice Mauro Campbell Marques, revoked article 15 of CNJ Resolution 35/2007 — the provision stating that "the collection of the applicable taxes must precede the drawing up of the deed" (Request for Measures No. 0008622-24.2025.2.00.0000, at the request of the Brazilian Notarial Association). In place of the prior requirement, the notary now draws up the deed with an express statement from the parties that they are aware of the tax obligation still to be paid and notifies the state tax authority; collection then follows through tax enforcement.

In Justice Campbell's words, "notaries throughout the country should indeed be instructed to no longer refuse to draw up probate deeds based on the absence of a tax clearance certificate." The measure, he said, "balances speed with fiscal responsibility, preventing de-judicialization from becoming a vector of insecurity for the public treasury." It's another step in cutting registry red tape: the same reporting judge had already waived the public deed for fiduciary liens outside the financial system weeks earlier.

What changes in practice for heirs?

Extrajudicial probate was already growing: 3,114,091 probate deeds have been drawn up in the country since 2007, with 261,602 in 2025 alone (an annual record) and a roughly 580% rise in volume since the start of the series, according to CNJ data. Dropping the prior ITCMD requirement removes a cash barrier at the start of the process: the family no longer has to pay the tax (which can reach 8% of the estate's value) just to open the deed, and gains room to organize the division before settling the tax.

The gain is one of sequence, not final cost: the tax is still due, in the same amount. What changes is the order — you declare and organize first, and pay later.

What doesn't change: registering the property still needs the ITCMD

Here's the detail that decides everything for anyone who inherited real estate: the probate deed unlocks, but the transfer of ownership on the record still depends on paying the ITCMD. As industry analysis sums up, the property only passes to the heirs' names at the Property Registry once the tax is paid — the state deadlines run from the date of death and don't depend on the CNJ resolution. The legal basis is article 289 of the Public Records Law and articles 134 and 192 of the National Tax Code, which condition the change of ownership on proof of payment.

Put plainly: you draw up the probate deed earlier, but the property is only truly yours once registration comes through — and registration still waits for the ITCMD. It's the same logic that runs through the property journey: without registration, ownership doesn't transfer.

São Paulo and Rio have already pushed back

The CNJ resolution guides the registries, but it doesn't change the states' tax law — and the largest ones reacted immediately. São Paulo's Finance and Planning Department stated that "the CNJ's new guideline does not remove the parties' tax obligation, nor the notary's responsibility, and does not bind the state taxing entity," keeping the requirement to pay before the deed, under state Law 10.705/2000. Rio de Janeiro took the same line: "these acts do not alter the State's tax legislation nor remove the obligations set out in it" (Law 7.174/2015). In practice, in São Paulo and Rio the effect of the CNJ decision still runs into state collection — a conflict between the Council's rule and the tax authorities' laws that only time (or the courts) will resolve.

Where Conecta comes in

Conecta is the digital concierge and real estate expediter that handles the property's documentation journey end to end — including when it runs through probate. We organize the estate paperwork through to registration on the record, which is what actually transfers the property to the heirs' names and makes it possible to sell or finance it. Because, as the CNJ decision itself makes clear, a faster deed isn't worth much if registration stays stuck — and that's exactly the link Conecta unlocks. It's also worth understanding the difference between deed, registration and the transfer taxes.

Inherited a property and need to sort out the division through to registration? Talk to Conecta.

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