Overview
- Law No. 15.263/2025, published Nov. 17 in the Diário Oficial, creates a national Plain Language Policy binding on the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary at federal, state, district and municipal levels.
- The statute requires clear, direct and accessible communication, detailing techniques such as short sentences, common vocabulary, direct order, prioritized key information and the use of lists and graphics.
- Article 5 bars nonstandard gender and number flexions in official communication, prohibiting forms like “todes” and “elu” by tying usage to established Portuguese grammar, VOLP and the Orthographic Agreement.
- President Lula vetoed a clause that would have compelled each body to appoint a specific civil servant to oversee implementation, citing constitutional reserve of initiative.
- The law calls for accessibility for people with disabilities and, when communications target indigenous communities, parallel versions in the recipients’ language, while leaving enforcement specifics to future regulation.