Brazilian Forest Code quick reference — riparian buffers, Legal Reserve, CAR and consolidated areas

0Every number of the Forest Code on one page

If you only take one sheet to the field, take this one

What	Figure	Article
Buffer — watercourse less than 10 m wide	minimum strip of 30 m	Art. 4, I, a
Buffer — watercourse 10 to 50 m	50 m	Art. 4, I, b
Buffer — watercourse 50 to 200 m	100 m	Art. 4, I, c
Buffer — watercourse 200 to 600 m	200 m	Art. 4, I, d
Buffer — watercourse over 600 m	500 m	Art. 4, I, e
Buffer — perennial spring or water eye	50 m radius	Art. 4, IV
Buffer — natural lake or pond in a rural area	100 m (50 m if ≤ 20 ha)	Art. 4, II, a
Legal Reserve — rest of the country	20% of the property	Art. 12, II
Legal Reserve — Legal Amazon (forest / cerrado / grasslands)	80% / 35% / 20%	Art. 12, I
Consolidated area — strip to be restored (by fiscal module)	5 to 20–100 m, according to property size	Art. 61-A
Cap on restoration (property up to 10 modules in 2008)	10% (up to 2 FM) or 20% (2–4 FM)	Art. 61-B
CAR — Rural Environmental Registry	mandatory for every rural property	Art. 29
PRA — enrolment after registering in the CAR	within 1 year of notification	Art. 59, §2

1How the Code organises a rural property

CAR, Legal Reserve, APP and consolidated use

Every rural property faces three cumulative requirements: being registered in the CAR (art. 29), keeping the Legal Reserve at the percentage set for its biome and region (art. 12) and preserving the Permanent Preservation Areas (art. 4). On top of that sits a transition regime for what already existed before 22 July 2008 — the consolidated rural areas.

Vegetation in a Permanent Preservation Area must be kept by the owner, holder or occupier (art. 7), and intervention or clearing is only allowed in the cases of public utility, social interest or low environmental impact set out in the Law (art. 8).

2Permanent Preservation Areas (APP)

Art. 4 — the strips set by law

Situation	Minimum width	Article
Natural watercourse less than 10 m wide	30 m	4, I, a
Watercourse 10 to 50 m	50 m	4, I, b
Watercourse 50 to 200 m	100 m	4, I, c
Watercourse 200 to 600 m	200 m	4, I, d
Watercourse over 600 m	500 m	4, I, e
Natural lake or pond, rural area	100 m (50 m if ≤ 20 ha)	4, II, a
Perennial spring or water eye	50 m radius	4, IV
Vereda (palm swamp)	50 m from the marsh	4, XI
Slope steeper than 45°	the whole area	4, V
Hilltop or ridge (height ≥ 100 m, slope > 25°)	from two thirds of the height up	4, IX
Edge of a plateau or tableland	strip ≥ 100 m	4, VIII
Altitude above 1,800 m	the whole area	4, X

The width of the strip is measured from the edge of the regular riverbed. Mangroves (their full extent) and sandbank vegetation that fixes dunes or stabilises mangroves are also Permanent Preservation Areas (art. 4, VI and VII).

3Legal Reserve

Art. 12 — the share to be kept, by biome and region

Where the property is	Minimum percentage	Article
Legal Amazon — forest area	80%	12, I, a
Legal Amazon — cerrado area	35%	12, I, b
Legal Amazon — general grasslands	20%	12, I, c
Rest of the country	20%	12, II

The location of the Legal Reserve is approved by the state environmental agency after the property is registered in the CAR (art. 14, §1). Permanent Preservation Areas may be counted towards the Legal Reserve percentage, subject to the conditions of art. 15. Conserved surplus may become an Environmental Reserve Quota or an environmental easement (art. 12, §2).

4CAR — the Rural Environmental Registry

Art. 29 — the registry that opens every door

The CAR is a nationwide public electronic registry, mandatory for all rural properties (art. 29). It brings together the property's environmental information — perimeter, Permanent Preservation Areas, Legal Reserve, consolidated areas, remaining vegetation — and is the database used for control, monitoring and action against deforestation.

Without a CAR entry, the location of the Legal Reserve cannot be approved (art. 14) and the property cannot enrol in the PRA (art. 59, §2). It is the first document in any regularisation.

5Consolidated areas and the art. 61-A step scale

The transition regime for what already existed in 2008

Within Permanent Preservation Areas, farming, forestry, livestock, ecotourism and rural tourism may continue in rural areas consolidated up to 22 July 2008 (art. 61-A). In exchange, a marginal strip must be restored — and the width of that strip depends on the size of the property in fiscal modules, not on the width of the river.

Along watercourses (art. 61-A, §§ 1 to 4)

Size of the property	Strip to be restored
up to 1 fiscal module	5 m
over 1 and up to 2 fiscal modules	8 m
over 2 and up to 4 fiscal modules	15 m
over 4 fiscal modules	20 to 100 m, as set by the PRA

Consolidated springs, lakes and veredas

Perennial spring or water eye: restoration of a minimum 15 m radius (§5);
Natural lake or pond: 5 m (up to 1 FM), 8 m (1–2 FM), 15 m (2–4 FM), 30 m (over 4 FM) (§6);
Vereda: 30 m (up to 4 FM) or 50 m (over 4 FM) (§7).

The cap in art. 61-B

For properties that had up to 10 fiscal modules on 22/07/2008, the restoration required, adding up all the Permanent Preservation Areas of the property, does not exceed 10% of the total area (properties of up to 2 fiscal modules) or 20% of the area (over 2 and up to 4 fiscal modules).

6PRA — the Environmental Regularisation Programme

Arts. 59 and 60 — the path for those who are not compliant

The PRA is the programme that brings holdings and properties into line with the Code (art. 59). Registration in the CAR is a mandatory condition for enrolling, and enrolment must be requested within 1 year of notification by the competent agency, which first validates the registry and identifies the liabilities (art. 59, §2). Enrolment produces a commitment agreement, which is an out-of-court enforceable instrument (art. 59, §3).

What enrolment protects

While the agreement is being complied with, no penalties may be issued for offences prior to 22/07/2008 in Permanent Preservation Areas, Legal Reserve and restricted-use areas (art. 59, §4 and §5);
Financing for the activity cannot be denied because of an irregularity that is being regularised (art. 59, §8);
Signing the agreement suspends criminal liability for the environmental offences in arts. 38, 39 and 48 of Law 9,605/1998, which is extinguished once regularisation is completed (art. 60).

7Ready answers

What to say, with the article at hand

When they ask	The answer
“How wide is the protected strip along my river?”	It depends on the width of the watercourse: less than 10 m → 30 m; 10 to 50 m → 50 m; 50 to 200 m → 100 m; 200 to 600 m → 200 m; over 600 m → 500 m (art. 4, I). Perennial spring: 50 m radius (art. 4, IV).
“How much Legal Reserve do I have to keep?”	20% in most of the country (art. 12, II). In the Legal Amazon, 80% in forest areas, 35% in cerrado and 20% in general grasslands (art. 12, I).
“I have had crops by the river for decades. Do I have to restore all of it?”	If the area was consolidated by 22/07/2008, the art. 61-A step scale applies: the strip to be restored runs from 5 m to 20–100 m depending on the size of the property in fiscal modules — not on the width of the river. And there is a cap (art. 61-B) of 10% or 20% of the area for properties of up to 10 modules.
“What is a fiscal module and why does it matter?”	It is the land unit defined for each municipality, from 5 to 110 ha. The art. 61-A step scale and several limits in the Code are measured in it; your municipality's figure appears on the CAR receipt.
“Do I need a CAR entry?”	Yes. The CAR is mandatory for all rural properties (art. 29) and is a condition for enrolling in the PRA (art. 59) and for approving the location of the Legal Reserve (art. 14).
“I am not compliant. What does the PRA change?”	Once you register in the CAR, enrol in the PRA (within 1 year of notification) and sign the commitment agreement, penalties for offences prior to 22/07/2008 in Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserve are suspended, financing cannot be denied on that ground (art. 59) and criminal liability for the environmental offences is suspended (art. 60).
“Does the CAR take care of the EUDR?”	Not on its own. The CAR and its polygon are the basis for geolocation and for deforestation checks, but the EUDR has its own cut-off (deforestation after 31/12/2020) and requires due diligence — different dates and different requirements from the Code.

The Brazilian Forest Code in quick reference