Portaria 671 and electronic time tracking in Brazil: a complete guide

If your company records working hours electronically in Brazil, Portaria MTP nº 671/2021 is the rulebook that defines which systems are valid, which files must exist and which documents you need on hand when a labor inspector arrives. For outsourcing companies, with teams spread across dozens of client sites, mastering these details is what separates a controlled operation from a silent labor liability. This article covers Brazilian legislation, so legal terms are kept in Portuguese with a short explanation, and it translates the rules into the daily routine of HR, payroll and operations teams.

What Portaria MTP nº 671/2021 is

Portaria MTP nº 671 of November 8, 2021 is an ordinance from Brazil's then Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTP) that consolidated dozens of labor rules into a single act. The part that matters for time tracking is Section IV of Chapter V (arts. 72 to 101), which regulates the recording of start and end times required by art. 74 of the CLT (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho, Brazil's labor code). That section took effect on February 10, 2022, and the ordinance revoked, among other rules, the former Portarias MTE nº 1.510/2009 and nº 373/2011.

Two practical points:

• Older equipment remains valid. Models certified under Portaria 1.510 may still be manufactured and used (art. 96).
• The rule keeps changing. The time-tracking section has already been adjusted by later acts, such as Portarias MTP nº 1.486/2022 and nº 4.198/2022; always check the consolidated version on gov.br.

Who must track working hours: CLT art. 74

Since Lei nº 13.874/2019, known as the Economic Freedom Act, § 2 of CLT art. 74 requires establishments with more than 20 workers to record start and end times in a manual, mechanical or electronic record, with pre-recording of the rest break allowed. The headcount is per establishment, not company-wide.

Two other rules matter for teams working away from headquarters:

• Work outside the establishment (§ 3): hours must be recorded in a manual, mechanical or electronic record held by the employee.
• Exception-based recording, or ponto por exceção (§ 4): companies may record only deviations from the regular schedule, through a written individual agreement or a collective agreement (convenção or acordo coletivo). Portaria 671 makes clear this is not the same as automatic marking, which is prohibited (art. 74, II).

Even below the legal threshold, recording hours pays off. Súmula 338 do TST, a summary of settled case law from Brazil's Superior Labor Court issued when the CLT threshold was still more than ten workers, states that the unjustified failure to present attendance records creates a rebuttable presumption that the hours claimed by the worker are true (item I), and that time cards showing uniform start and end times are invalid as evidence (item III). In practice, reliable records are your defense.

REP-C, REP-A and REP-P: the three types of time recorder

The ordinance allows three types of electronic time-recording system (art. 75). All of them work together with a Programa de Tratamento de Registro de Ponto, the processing software that organizes clock-ins and produces reports.

REP-C (conventional)

The physical time clock: dedicated equipment whose model needs a certificate of conformity issued under the requirements of INMETRO, Brazil's metrology institute (arts. 76 and 90). It must always stay at the workplace, available to the Auditor-Fiscal do Trabalho (federal labor inspector). A warning for outsourcing companies: a REP-C may only hold employees of the same employer. The exceptions are temporary workers under Lei nº 6.019/1974, on the client's REP-C, and companies of the same economic group (art. 76, § 3). As a rule, your employees should not clock in on the client's time clock.

REP-A (alternative)

A set of equipment and software authorized by a collective bargaining agreement (art. 77). It can only be used while that agreement is in force, since the ordinance prohibits extending its effects after it expires.

REP-P (software-based)

Software running on a dedicated server or in the cloud, with a computer program registration certificate from INPI, Brazil's industrial property office (arts. 78 and 91). Clock-ins arrive through coletores (collectors), which may be equipment, physical devices or software, such as a smartphone app or a tablet installed at the site (art. 75, sole paragraph). The technical requirements are in Annex IX: a clock synchronized with Hora Legal Brasileira, the official Brazilian time disseminated by the Observatório Nacional; offline clock-ins only as an exception, sent as soon as the collector reconnects; and records that cannot be deleted or altered, protected by a SHA-256 hash.

Type	What it is	Key requirement	Where it sits	Best for
REP-C	Dedicated physical device	Model certified under INMETRO requirements	Always at the workplace	Fixed units with concentrated flow
REP-A	Alternative system	Collective agreement in force	As set by the agreement	Companies with their own collective bargaining
REP-P	Software on a server or in the cloud, with collectors	INPI registration and Annex IX requirements	Wherever the worker is, via app or tablet	Distributed teams and client sites

For operations with many sites, REP-P tends to be the most viable path, since it does not require certified equipment at every address. TIRVU+ time tracking, with an iOS and Android app and a tablet at the site, was built to comply with Portaria 671. Features such as geofencing and facial recognition with liveness detection are not required by the rule, but they help ensure that the right person clocked in at the right place.

AFD, AEJ, timesheet and receipt: the time-tracking documents

Document	Generated by	Purpose
AFD (Arquivo Fonte de Dados, source data file)	The recorder: REP-C, REP-A or REP-P	Raw file with the clock-ins, delivered to inspectors
AEJ (Arquivo Eletrônico de Jornada, electronic working-hours file)	Processing software	Processed working hours, in the official layout
Espelho de Ponto Eletrônico (timesheet report)	Processing software	Report for workers to check their own hours
Comprovante de registro de ponto (clock-in receipt)	REP-C and REP-P	Individual proof of each clock-in

Key points:

• AFD: every type of system must generate it, following specifications published on gov.br (art. 81). For REP-A and REP-P, it must be promptly generated and delivered when the labor inspector requests it.
• Processing is not editing: the processing software may only add information to fill gaps, such as absences and time-bank entries, or flag improper clock-ins (art. 82). The original clock-in stays intact.
• Deadline for inspectors: files and reports from the processing software must be provided within a minimum of two days, at the inspector's discretion (art. 85).
• Signatures: REP-A, REP-P and the processing software use ICP-Brasil certificates (Brazil's public key infrastructure), with the PAdES standard for the REP-P electronic receipt and CAdES for AFD and AEJ files (art. 88).
• Timesheet: workers must be able to access the information through a computerized system, monthly or more often (art. 84).
• Receipt: it includes, among other data, the Número Sequencial de Registro (NSR, a sequential record number), the worker's name and CPF (Brazilian taxpayer ID), the date and time of the clock-in and, for those working externally or on third-party premises, the place where the service is provided (art. 79). In electronic form, it is a signed PDF, accessible after each clock-in, and employees must be able to download receipts for at least the last 48 hours (art. 80).

What the ordinance prohibits

The system must faithfully record clock-ins. Art. 74 of the ordinance prohibits, for example:

• time restrictions on clocking in;
• automatic marking using predetermined times or contractual hours;
• requiring, through the system, prior authorization to record overtime;
• any device that allows changing the data recorded by the employee.

If the inspector proves tampering with times, devices that allow data tampering, or "parametrizações e bloqueios na marcação" (settings and blocks on clocking in), they must seize documents and equipment and copy software and data (art. 98).

What to demand from a REP-P vendor

Before signing, request and check:

• INPI program registration certificate (art. 91), whose number appears on the receipt. It proves authorship of the software; the vendor is the one who declares compliance with the ordinance, in the technical certificate.
• Atestado Técnico e Termo de Responsabilidade (technical certificate and statement of responsibility, art. 89), signed by the vendor's technical lead and legal representative, as a PDF with a qualified PAdES electronic signature. Without it, the company may not use the system; keep it for inspections.
• Electronic receipt compliant with arts. 79 and 80.
• AFD and AEJ export in the current layouts, with a CAdES signature. Ask for test files.
• Synchronization with Hora Legal Brasileira, with a maximum deviation of 30 seconds, and a clock showing hours, minutes and seconds on the collector.
• Clear rules for offline clock-ins, with the date and time of the clock-in stored separately from the date and time the record was saved.
• Audit trail of clock adjustments and changes to employee data, which Annex IX requires to be logged.
• High availability and redundant storage.
• Compliance with the LGPD (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados, Brazil's data protection law), which the ordinance itself requires (art. 101).

Checklist for outsourcing companies with teams at many clients

1. Map establishments and headcount. The art. 74, § 2 obligation applies per establishment; define with your legal team how each contract fits and, when in doubt, record everyone's hours.
2. Don't register your employees on the client's REP-C, except for the exceptions in art. 76, § 3.
3. Standardize collectors per site: a shared tablet or a smartphone app.
4. Make sure the receipt shows the place of service for people working on third-party premises.
5. Formalize exception-based recording, if you use it, through a written individual agreement or a collective agreement.
6. Create an adjustment workflow: missed clock-ins, approved absences and medical certificates are handled as justified processing, never as edits to the original clock-in.
7. Build a compliance file: technical certificate, INPI certificate, AFD and AEJ exports and monthly timesheets.
8. Give the client visibility. The contracting company is subsidiarily liable for labor obligations during the period in which services were provided (Lei nº 6.019/1974, art. 5º-A, § 5). In TIRVU+, the client portal lets the client follow attendance, incidents and reports.

Frequently asked questions

Does Portaria 671 allow clocking in by smartphone?

Yes. The ordinance allows REP-P, software registered with INPI that meets the Annex IX requirements and receives clock-ins through collectors, such as a smartphone app or a tablet at the site (art. 75, sole paragraph). Without the vendor's Atestado Técnico e Termo de Responsabilidade (art. 89), however, the company may not use the system.

Can HR fix a wrong clock-in?

HR can process it, but not edit it. The processing software may only add information to fill gaps, such as absences and time-bank entries, or flag improper clock-ins (art. 82), and the original clock-in stays intact. Missed clock-ins, approved absences and medical certificates are handled as justified processing.

Can outsourced employees clock in on the client's time clock?

As a rule, no, because a REP-C may only hold employees of the same employer. The exceptions are temporary workers under Lei nº 6.019/1974, on the client's REP-C, and companies of the same economic group (art. 76, § 3).

Conclusion

Portaria 671 brought clearer, and more technological, rules to time tracking in Brazil. For outsourcing companies, REP-P makes it possible to record hours at any site, as long as the vendor delivers the required documents and the company keeps a disciplined routine of processing, record-keeping and transparency.

Want to see how TIRVU+ brings time tracking, schedules, sites and the client portal together in a single platform? Talk to the Tirvu team and book a demo, or check our pricing.

Sources

• Portaria MTP nº 671/2021 (consolidated text, gov.br)
• AFD file layout, Arquivo Fonte de Dados (gov.br)
• CLT, art. 74 (Brazilian labor code, Planalto)
• Lei nº 13.874/2019, Economic Freedom Act (Planalto)
• Lei nº 6.019/1974 (Planalto)
• Súmula 338 on time cards with uniform times (TST)

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace specialized legal advice.