Updated April 2026 · 4 min read

Do you need a CPF to use iFood in Brazil?

Yes, iFood requires a CPF. Here is why you need one and how to start ordering food delivery in Brazil.

No CPF, no iFood

iFood is Brazil's largest food delivery app with over 300,000 restaurants. When you see Brazilians casually ordering lunch to their desk, a late-night acai bowl, or a full churrasco dinner for a party, they are using iFood. It is deeply embedded in daily life.

But the app requires a CPF to create an account. No CPF, no orders. You cannot even browse the full menu selection without being logged in.

What life without iFood looks like

Without iFood, you are limited to restaurants that have their own delivery service (rare) or physically going out to eat. In a country where a full meal delivered to your door costs R$20-35, not having access to iFood is a genuine downgrade in quality of life.

Rappi, another popular delivery app, also requires a CPF. The pattern is universal: Brazil's digital infrastructure runs on CPF verification.

How to get your CPF for iFood

The CPF process is a one-time visit to a government office. Once you have your number, you can create your iFood account in about two minutes. Download the app, enter your CPF, choose a payment method, and you are ordering.

Most foreigners who get their CPF open iFood and Nubank within the first hour. It is one of those moments where Brazil goes from tourist-mode to actually-living-here mode.