Brazil Extends the 90-Day Online Sick Pay Rule

The Brazilian government has renewed the temporary incapacity benefit rule known as Atestmed for another year. Under the joint ordinance from the Ministry of Social Security and INSS, published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette on Monday (21), workers can continue to receive the former sickness benefit for up to 90 days based on medical documents submitted online through Meu INSS, without attending an in-person medical assessment at a social security agency. The extension runs until September 2027.

The 90-day ceiling was first introduced as a temporary increase from 60 days in March and had been due to expire this month. All other rules from the March ordinance remain unchanged. The most important detail is that the 90-day limit is not reset after each claim: it adds together all non-consecutive periods granted through the document-review system. A worker who has already received 30 days via Atestmed can therefore receive at most another 60 days through the same remote route before being sent for an in-person or telemedicine examination.

Atestmed was created in 2023 as a government effort to speed up benefit decisions and reduce queues at INSS. It also covers work-related absences. In those cases, the worker should submit the employer-issued workplace accident communication, known as the CAT, together with the medical documents, although an INSS medical expert can still recognise an occupational origin through the so-called Nexo Técnico Previdenciário even without the CAT.

Why the Cumulative 90-Day Atestmed Cap Matters

The 90-day limit is cumulative, not per illness

Because the cap counts all remote grants, even non-consecutive ones, the practical effect is a hard clock on how long a worker can rely on document-only analysis. The calculation in the ordinance is explicit: if a worker has used 30 remote days in the past, only 60 remain, regardless of whether the new leave is for a different condition. That is a verified rule from the ordinance. In practice, it means chronic or recurring conditions will hit the in-person examination threshold faster than a single long absence, shifting longer or repeated claims back toward agency appointments.

Work-related claims carry extra job protections, not a higher payment

The benefit amount is the same whether the cause is ordinary illness or a work accident. The differences are in employment rights. An employee off work because of a work-related accident or disease cannot be dismissed for 12 months after returning, and the employer must keep depositing FGTS during the leave, neither of which applies to ordinary sickness benefit. The accident-related benefit also does not require the usual 12 months of INSS contributions. Diego Cherulli of the Brazilian Institute of Social Security Law, IBDP, notes the contrast: an employee gains a series of guarantees after a work accident, while an individual contributor gains nothing extra. That distinction is central for self-employed and informal workers using the same system.

Policy whiplash is the main uncertainty

The Atestmed limit has changed several times in less than a year: it was set at 30 days, then raised to 60 days in December, then to 90 days in March, and now the 90-day version has been extended to September 2027. The one-year extension provides short-term stability, but the repeated adjustments show the remote medical-assessment policy is still being tuned. Workers and employers should treat the September 2027 expiry as a real date for possible further changes rather than a permanent design.

How to Keep an Atestmed Claim Out of the In-Person Queue

For workers relying on the benefit, the specific rules create clear checks:

  • Verify the medical certificate before uploading. It must contain the patient's full name, date of issue, ICD code or written diagnosis, the doctor's CRM signature and stamp, and the estimated rest period. Illegible, incomplete or altered documents can send the claim to an in-person examination.
  • Add up your remote-grant history, not just the current claim. Because the 90-day cap is cumulative across non-consecutive periods, someone who has already used 30 Atestmed days has only 60 left before the in-person or telemedicine requirement applies.
  • Submit the CAT for work-related leave. If the absence is linked to an accident or occupational disease, attaching the employer's workplace accident communication together with the medical documents can unlock 12 months of job protection and continued FGTS deposits after return, and removes the 12-month contribution waiting period.
  • Individual contributors should weigh expectations. A work-accident classification does not bring employment stability or FGTS for self-employed workers, and the benefit amount remains the same; the main advantage is the absence of the 12-month contribution requirement.
  • Plan for the cliff at 90 cumulative days. Once the total remote-grant period exceeds 90 days, INSS may require an in-person or telemedicine assessment, so longer or repeated absences should not assume uninterrupted remote processing.