[2] They cannot be renewed: a new passport must be obtained when the previous one has expired or a minimum validity period is required by the country to be visited.

[3] Brazilian citizens do not need a passport when traveling to most other South American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela).

The term "passport" was first inserted into the Old Republic Constitution of Brazil in 1891, which defined that anyone of any nationality could enter and leave the country during peacetime.

[9] The last machine-readable version of the Brazilian passport, introduced in December 2006, follows the standard established by the Mercosul countries concerning cover color (dark blue for common passports) and the printing of the name Mercosul (Portuguese) or Mercosur (Spanish) on the upper portion of the cover, with the country name below it.

Older passports (the "green" model) were produced either by Casa da Moeda do Brasil, the government's official mint, or by the American Bank Note Company.

[13] In January 2019, president Jair Bolsonaro ordered the return of the coat of arms on the passport cover.

Passports issued before November 2010 do not contain an RFID chip, but do contain about 20 advanced security features,[15] including a security band embedded within the paper pulp, sewing threads and watermarks with a red fluorescence under ultraviolet light, latent images, optically-variable ink, laser perforations and a holographic plastic film protecting the holder's data page.

As of November 2014, passports include the holder's legal guardians/parents' name and minor's travel consent on the data page.

[13][29] As of 2006, passport applications are now made exclusively through the Internet, on the Federal Police Department's Web site.

If the new-model passport is going to be issued (the site will inform if it is available at the chosen city and post), an appointment must be previously scheduled; this is also done on-line.

At the scheduled time (or at any time during the passport issuing post's working hours, for the old model), the applicant goes to the chosen Federal Police post with the required documents (no photograph needed for the new model, since the photo is taken digitally on the spot) and the passport will be ready at most six working days later (usually less).

The applicant's physical presence at the post is required for both applying for and picking up the passport, even if the old-model version will be issued.

Special cases where the applicant is unable to go in person for relevant reasons (such as health issues) must be arranged with the authorities on a case-by-case basis.

[35][36] Other types of Brazilian passports are issued with different colors,[37][38] but all incorporate the new design and security features: Legitimate blank Brazilian passports from the Embassy of Brazil in Prague were used to create fraudulent identification documents for the leaders of North Korea, including Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un in the 1990s.