What is an OSCIP?An OSCIP (Organização da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público, or Civil Society Organization of Public Interest) is not a type of company or entity: it is a qualification that Brazil's Ministry of Justice grants to private, non-profit associations and foundations working in areas of public interest, such as social assistance, culture, free education and health care, the environment, volunteering, poverty reduction and the defense of rights.OSCIPs belong to the so-called third sector. "NGO" is a popular term with no legal definition; an OSCIP is an NGO that has met the requirements of Law No. 9,790/1999 and received this qualification. With it, the entity can sign a Termo de Parceria (partnership agreement) with the government and gains credibility when seeking donations and sponsorship.How an entity qualifiesBe a non-profit private legal entity (an association or foundation) that has been in regular operation for at least 3 years.Have in its bylaws at least one of the purposes listed in Art. 3 of the law and the rules required by Art. 4 (a fiscal council, compliance with the principles of legality and transparency, the destination of its assets if it is dissolved, and accountability).Not be among the entities excluded by Art. 2.Submit a written application to the Ministry of Justice, with its bylaws, the minutes of the board election, the balance sheet, the income statement, a declaration of income tax exemption and its CNPJ (national corporate taxpayer) registration. The ministry has 30 days to decide.A non-profit social assistance association was founded in March 2024. In October 2026, can it apply for OSCIP qualification?Answer: No, it must complete 3 years of operation, which happens in March 2027 — since Law 13,019/2014, Art. 1 requires 3 years of regular operation, and in October 2026 the entity has only 2 years and 7 months. Social assistance is in fact the first purpose listed in Art. 3.OSCIP, OS and OSC: don't confuse themOSCIP (Law 9,790/1999): a qualification granted by the Ministry of Justice; partnerships with the government are made through the Termo de Parceria.OS – Organização Social (Social Organization, Law 9,637/1998): a qualification granted by the Executive branch itself to entities that take over activities such as research, teaching, health care and culture; partnerships are made through a management contract. An OS cannot be an OSCIP at the same time.OSC – Organização da Sociedade Civil (Civil Society Organization, Law 13,019/2014, the Regulatory Framework for Civil Society Organizations, or MROSC): a broad term for any non-profit entity. Since 2016, the general rule for partnerships with the government has been the MROSC, using a collaboration agreement, a promotion agreement or a cooperation agreement, chosen through a public call. The OSCIP Termo de Parceria is still governed by Law 9,790.An entity qualified as a Social Organization (OS), with a management contract, also wants OSCIP qualification. What does the law say?Answer: It cannot: Art. 2 of Law 9,790 prohibits qualifying an OS as an OSCIP — social organizations are on the list of entities that cannot be OSCIPs. The two qualifications are alternatives and cannot be combined.A cultural association with no qualification at all wants to partner with the city government on a project. What is the route?Answer: A promotion or collaboration agreement under the MROSC, open to any OSC, usually after a public call — the MROSC (Law 13,019/2014) applies to any civil society organization, qualified or not. The Termo de Parceria and the management contract are instruments specific to OSCIPs and OSs.ExamplesThe Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) and the National Education and Research Network (RNP) are often cited as examples of OSCIPs, but they are actually Social Organizations: both are civil associations qualified as OS that hold management contracts with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. They illustrate the difference between the two qualifications well.Entities qualified as OSCIPs can be looked up in the Ministry of Justice's registry and in the Map of Civil Society Organizations maintained by Ipea (Brazil's Institute for Applied Economic Research). They are usually institutes and associations working in education, social assistance, the environment, microcredit and local development.Advantages of being an OSCIPTermo de Parceria: allows the entity to receive public funds to carry out public-interest projects, with defined targets and accountability.Pay for directors: the law allows paying directors who work in executive management, at market rates for the region, without the entity losing its non-profit status.Deductible donations: companies taxed under the actual-profit regime (lucro real) can deduct donations made to OSCIPs, up to 2% of operating profit and subject to the conditions of the law, which makes it easier to attract sponsorship.Microcredit: the law allows OSCIPs to operate microcredit in partnership with financial institutions.Credibility: the qualification shows donors and partners that the entity meets transparency and governance requirements.An OSCIP ended the year with a surplus of R$ 50,000 and pays its executive director a market salary. What is correct?Answer: It may pay the director and must apply the surplus to its purposes — the law allows paying executive directors at market rates, but prohibits distributing surpluses; they must be applied to the social purpose.A company under Simples Nacional donates R$ 10,000 to an OSCIP and wants to deduct the donation from its taxes. What happens?Answer: It cannot deduct it: the deduction applies to companies taxed under the actual-profit regime — the 2% of operating profit limit exists, but only for companies under lucro real. Under Simples, tax is calculated on revenue, and there is no way to deduct the donation.Disadvantages of being an OSCIPNo distribution of surplus: an OSCIP may have its own revenue (selling products, providing services), but any surplus must be applied to its purposes; nothing can be distributed to members, directors or donors.Dependence on outside funding: many entities depend on public partnerships and donations to keep their activities running.More oversight: it requires a fiscal council, accountability, publication of reports and an independent audit when it receives Termo de Parceria funds above the limit set by regulation. The qualification can be lost if the rules are broken.Minimum period: a newly created entity needs 3 years of operation before applying for the qualification.What Law No. 9,790/1999 saysLaw No. 9,790, of March 23, 1999, created the qualification. The main provisions, in their current wording:Art. 1 Non-profit private legal entities that have been constituted and in regular operation for at least 3 (three) years may qualify as Civil Society Organizations of Public Interest, provided that their social objectives and bylaws meet the requirements established by this Law. (Wording given by Law No. 13,019/2014.)§ 1 A non-profit private legal entity is one that does not distribute among its partners or members, council members, directors, employees or donors any operating surpluses, gross or net, dividends, bonuses, shares or portions of its assets earned through its activities, and that applies them in full to achieving its social purpose.Art. 2 The following, among others, cannot be qualified as OSCIPs, even if they engage in the activities of Art. 3:commercial companies;unions and class or professional associations;religious institutions or those devoted to spreading creeds, worship and devotional practices;political parties and their foundations;mutual-benefit entities serving a restricted circle of members;health plan operators, and private hospitals and schools that are not free of charge, and the entities that maintain them;social organizations (OS) and cooperatives;public foundations and entities created by public bodies;credit organizations linked to the national financial system.Art. 3 The qualification is only granted to entities whose social objectives include at least one of the following purposes, observing the principle of universal access to services:promotion of social assistance;promotion of culture, and defense and conservation of historical and artistic heritage;free promotion of education and health care, in a complementary role;promotion of food and nutritional security;defense, preservation and conservation of the environment and promotion of sustainable development;promotion of volunteering;promotion of economic and social development and poverty reduction;non-profit experimentation with new socio-productive models and alternative systems of production, trade, employment and credit;promotion of rights, building of new rights and free supplementary legal assistance;promotion of ethics, peace, citizenship, human rights, democracy and other universal values;studies and research, development of alternative technologies and production and dissemination of technical and scientific knowledge related to these activities;studies and research on technologies for the mobility of people;microcredit and microfinance activities, added to the law in 2026.Geographic data on OSCIPsThe charts below show how OSCIPs are distributed across Brazil, when they were founded, which areas they work in, how much they received in federal transfers and how much they pay their employees. The tables compare OSCIPs (7,046 entities) with Social Organizations, or OSs (1,114), and come from a survey with data up to 2018: the federal transfers cover 2010 to 2018, and the salary ranges use the 2018 minimum wage of R$ 954.00. The images do not state their source, and today's figures may be different; for up-to-date data, see the Map of Civil Society Organizations (Mapa das Organizações da Sociedade Civil) kept by Ipea, the Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research.OSCIPs by state and regionYear of foundation and number of OSCIPs createdAreas of activity by number of OSCIPsFederal transfers to OSCIPsNumber of employees by salary range in OSCIPsConclusionThe OSCIP is a qualification that gives non-profit associations and foundations access to the Termo de Parceria with the government and more credibility with donors. In return, the entity accepts strict governance and accountability rules and cannot distribute surpluses. Before seeking the qualification, it is worth comparing it with the alternatives: the MROSC, today the most common route for partnerships with the government, applies to any OSC, qualified or not.
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