Brazil’s federal government has established a phased biometric registration requirement for recipients and applicants of the BPC, the country’s continuous cash transfer program for people with disabilities and elderly individuals with low incomes. The requirement, set through a decree and transition rules published by the federal government, ties benefit access to verified identity records held in official biometric databases.
New applicants who have not yet completed biometric enrollment face deadlines that tighten progressively through 2026. For most new benefit requests, claimants must have a biometric record in one of the accepted databases by April 30, 2026. Those whose claims relate to maternity pay, temporary incapacity, or death pension have until that same date under an extended grace period. BPC recipients already in the system and due for review or maintenance must complete their biometric registration by December 31, 2026.
From May 21, 2026 onward, the only biometric record the INSS will accept for new benefit grants will be one tied to the Carteira de Identidade Nacional, Brazil’s new national identity card. That transition effectively makes the CIN the central credential for the country’s social security system, linking biometric verification to the national identity infrastructure being rolled out across Brazilian states.
Brazil’s National Social Security Institute began requiring biometric verification for new benefit requests from November 21, 2025, under Decree No. 12.561, which implements Article 1 of Law No. 15.077. The stated rationale is anti-fraud: officials say the requirement is intended to ensure benefits reach entitled recipients and to protect citizen data.
Certain populations are exempt while the government develops alternative access pathways. These include people over 80, individuals with mobility limitations related to health conditions, residents of remote communities served by the PREVBarco river outreach program, and migrants, refugees, and stateless persons.
The rollout builds on a broader policy framework the government established in mid-2025, which mandated biometric authentication across social benefit programs. The BPC-specific transition rules, published by the Secretaria de Comunicação Social in February 2026, fill in the implementation timeline and define the accepted data sources for each phase.
Sources: INSS, Secretaria de Comunicação Social
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
