Brazil Temporarily Doubles Atestmed Sick-Leave Limit to 60 Days, Orders Verification Upgrades

Overview

• A joint MPS/INSS order published on December 8 temporarily lifts the document-based sick-leave cap from 30 to 60 days for 120 days, through April 2026.
• The 60-day ceiling is cumulative across non‑consecutive periods, and any further requests after that threshold require an in‑person medical examination.
• INSS will fully cover complementary exams requested by medical examiners, either by reimbursing beneficiaries or via agreements with partner clinics, including for concessions, reviews and benefit restorations.
• MPS, INSS and Dataprev have 120 days to deploy technological checks to authenticate medical attestations and to strengthen internal quality controls; examiners may require a face‑to‑face evaluation when documents are insufficient.
• Authorities frame the adjustment as a response to persistent queues for in‑person exams, with reporting citing roughly 1.2 million people waiting and average waits of about two months.