CPF, UF, and activating a SIM card

  01/22/24 Does anybody have an explanation why my UF isn’t Bahia? Is MS/01 the default for all foreigners? Or is it an error that I should fix by going to the Federal Police?         -@Kurterino

How strange!  This was new information for me.  For those who want to check their own, you can find the table here, among many other places:

https://gkscanonline.wordpress.com/2020 … -o-estado/

The most bizarre thing is that unless the number is issued in Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, or Minas Gerais, the indicator digit only refers to a region, not an individual state at all.

Mine shows the correct number, probably because I got it by walking into the Receita Federal office in Manaus.

My guess would be that CPFs obtained online -- and maybe through the Post Office and diplomatic missions abroad as well -- probably default to "01", which is the number not just for Mato Grosso do Sul, but much more significantly, for the Federal District as well.  You can try to change it, but I expect that the answer will be that the number is perfectly valid, so there's no reason to issue a new one.

Fun fact:  US Social Security numbers originally included a state identifier (mine does), but that practice was abandoned decades ago for new numbers, on the grounds that it didn't serve any practical purpose.  I'm surprised that the CPF system here is still doing it.

@abthree

Interesting! Mine works for PE as well...

      01/22/24 Does anybody have an explanation why my UF isn’t Bahia? Is MS/01 the default for all foreigners? Or is it an error that I should fix by going to the Federal Police?         -@Kurterino

https://gkscanonline.wordpress.com/2020 … -o-estado/


Mine shows the correct number, probably because I got it by walking into the Receita Federal office in Manaus.

My guess would be that CPFs obtained online -- and maybe through the Post Office and diplomatic missions abroad as well -- probably default to "01", which is the number not just for Mato Grosso do Sul, but much more significantly, for the Federal District as well.  You can try to change it, but I expect that the answer will be that the number is perfectly valid, so there's no reason to issue a new one.

   

    -@abthree

That would be a good explanation/reason, but I obtained mine the same way you did: by walking into a PF building near Salvador/BA.  However mine was obtained only about 12-18 months ago, during/just after the pandemic , so maybe they have changed the rules about that it in the meantime, and every foreigner now gets a 01?

I had issues activating with TIM, even using the correct information. I kept getting a message about erroneous data and had to speak with an agent at TIM to activate. The story didn't end there; seems there was an automatic process rechecking data, deactivating the line after a few days. This happened two times until I spoke with an agent who resolved the issue. It appears the problem was related to my CPF being recently issued. They replaced my name in the system with this text: "DADOS EM ENRIQUECIMENTO" - strange but still works.

@abthree

I checked mine and my wifes CPF. They match up. By the way, Social Security cards use a similar scheme except its the first three digits that indicate the region where issued.

01/25/24   @abthree Social Security cards use a similar scheme except its the first three digits that indicate the region where issued.
   

    -@bepmoht

They used to.  Since 2011, all new numbers have been random, without geographic designators.

Yeah I didn't need to do a selfie for my tim line. Just cpf address and my line worked out of the box