On 7 April 1933, President Getúlio Vargas established the Guards Battalion to protect the government's palaces.

On 6 April 1960, with the transfer of the national capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, the unit changed its name to today's Presidential Guard Battalion.

The most important officer of the Presidential Guard Battalion was the 2nd Lieutenant Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the Duke of Caxias and the Patron of the Army.

It came into existence in 1933 when President Vargas established a music band to complement the reestablished Guards Battalion, having originally 35 musicians.

The Brazilian Army Marching Band and Pipes and Drums, which was formed in 2016 and is the newest musical formation within this service branch, reports both to the battalion HQ as well as to Army Headquarters, wearing an all-white uniform as opposed to the blue of the battalion band.