CNPJAPI

Company list by CNAE

Need a list of companies in a line of business? With CNPJAPI you build the segment by CNAE (Brazil's business activity classification) and export the list as Excel or CSV, from Receita Federal's official data. It is a self-service feature in the portal, not an API endpoint.

Feature overview: Segmented company lists.

Step by step

  1. Go to the portal at https://app.cnpjapi.com.br and open Segmentation (/busca/segmentacao). The feature is on the Advanced and Business plans.
  2. In the primary CNAE filter, select one or more activities (search is paginated; you can pick several).
  3. Refine with other filters as needed: state and city, company size, registration status (for example, active only), Simples/MEI or contact availability (companies with e-mail/phone).
  4. Hit Segment and check the preview: how many companies the segment has and how they are distributed. Adjust the filters until the cut is the size and quality you want.
  5. Click Export, choose XLSX or CSV and the scope (everything or up to N rows). The portal shows the file's rows and the charge (allowance + credits) before generating.
  6. Download it under Exports (/busca/exportacoes) once ready (file available for 7 days).

What the list contains

One row per company with the fields from the official record: CNPJ, legal name, trade name, status, CNAE, legal nature, company size, full address, phone and e-mail (when present in the record) and the Simples/MEI flag. Details in Segmented company lists.

Tips

  • Combine CNAE with location (state/city) for regional cuts, very common in territory-based sales.
  • Filter by registration status (active only) so you do not carry closed companies in the list.
  • Only need those with contact? Use the e-mail/phone filters - remembering the contact is the one in the official record, and may be missing or outdated.
  • Charged per row: the preview is not charged; only the export is. Calibrate the segment before exporting.

Don't confuse it with CNPJ lookup

Here you start from a criterion (the CNAE) to get the list. If what you need is, from a CNPJ, to get that company's data (including its CNAE), that is the CNPJ lookup, which has a REST API and per-language guides.

Responsible use

The company registry is public, but how you use the list is your responsibility: when using contacts, comply with the LGPD and communication rules. See the responsible-use note in Segmented company lists.