Provimento 205 is the rule issued by the Federal Council of the OAB (the Brazilian Bar Association) on July 15, 2021, which governs advertising by lawyers in Brazil. It allows legal marketing, paid ads and a social media presence, as long as the advertising is informative, sober and not used to solicit clients. The text has 13 articles and a Single Annex that covers each tool, from Google Ads to chatbots. The most commonly cited prohibitions are mentioning fees or free services, promising results, using real cases and displaying wealth.
This text summarizes what the provimento says, which we read on the OAB’s official website on October 15, 2026. It is not legal advice. How a campaign works on Google in practice is in our guide to Google Ads for law firms.
What Provimento 205 of the OAB says, article by article
The provimento replaced the old Provimento 94/2000. It was published in the OAB Electronic Gazette on July 21, 2021 and took effect 30 days later. The articles on advertising are the first eight. The rest create the committee, give powers to the state sections and cover the effective date.
| Article | What it says, in brief |
|---|---|
| 1º | Allows legal marketing within the Statute, the General Regulation and the Code of Ethics. Information must be objective and truthful, and whoever publishes it is responsible for it. |
| 2º | Defines the concepts, including active advertising, passive advertising and client solicitation. |
| 3º | Advertising must be purely informative, discreet and sober. Lists five prohibited conduct types. |
| 4º | Allows content marketing, paid or not, without commercialization or excessive spending. Covers audience videos, contacts and fraudulent boosting. |
| 5º | Allows paid ads, logos, photos of the office, and taking part in livestreams. Prohibits paying to appear in a ranking or award. |
| 6º | In active advertising, it bans talking about the size and structure of the firm. In any advertising, it bans ostentation, promises of results, and specific cases. |
| 7º | The rules also apply to content that isn’t about law, if it could harm the reputation of the legal profession. |
| 8º | Prohibits promoting legal practice together with another activity, except teaching. Covers coworking. |
| Articles 9 to 13 | They create the Legal Marketing Regulatory Committee, give power to the state sections, incorporate the annex, and revoke Provision 94/2000. |
The full text, with the annex, is on the OAB website. It’s worth opening, because it’s short.
Active and passive advertising, the distinction that decides almost everything
Passive advertising is what reaches only people who looked for information about the lawyer or the topic. Active advertising reaches an undetermined number of people, even if they didn’t look for anything. Both definitions are in items VI and VII of Article 2.
This difference explains why a Google search ad is accepted and an ostentatious video is not. Someone who types “labor lawyer in Recife” asked for the information. Someone watching a random video didn’t.
Article 4 allows both forms in legal content marketing. Article 6 tightens the rules on active advertising, banning any talk about the size, quality, or physical structure of the firm. A photo of the meeting room can appear, under Article 5. What can’t happen is an active ad saying the firm has “the biggest facilities in the city”.
What client solicitation is
Item VIII of Article 2 defines solicitation as the use of marketing that actively seeks to win clients “by inducing them to hire the services or encouraging litigation”. The outcome doesn’t matter. Even if nobody hires, a piece that pushes the reader to file a lawsuit is already the problem.
The five prohibited practices in Article 3
Article 3 is the core of lawyer advertising. It requires a purely informative nature and lists what isn’t allowed.
- Direct or indirect reference to fees, payment terms, free services, discounts, or price cuts as a way to win clients.
- Information that could mislead or harm clients, other lawyers, or society.
- Announcing a specialty without a certified title or recognized specialization.
- Persuasive or self-promotional phrases or expressions, or comparisons.
- Indiscriminate distribution of giveaways, cards, and printed or digital material in public places, in person or online, except at events of legal interest.
The first item rules out the “free consultation” and “pay in 10 installments”. The fourth rules out “the best firm”, “leader in cases won”, and “don’t lose your rights”. The third is the most overlooked. Writing “specialist” without the title is a violation, and “practice in social security law” solves it.
What the Annex says about each tool
The annex is the most practical part of OAB Provision 205, because it names specific tools. Here are the ones that come up most in a law firm’s day-to-day.
| Tool | What the annex says |
|---|---|
| Google Ads and keyword purchases | Allowed when it answers a search started by the potential client, with words consistent with ethics. Ostentatious ads on video platforms are prohibited. |
| Sponsored posts and boosting on social media | Allowed, as long as it isn’t advertising that offers a legal service. |
| WhatsApp groups | Allowed with specific people from the relationships of the lawyer or the firm. |
| Chatbot | Allowed to make communication easier, without taking away the personal nature of the service. |
| App that answers legal questions | Not allowed indiscriminately, for non-clients. |
| Direct mail | Prohibited for the general public. Only for clients and people who asked for it or authorized it. |
| Livestreams, YouTube, and social media | Allowed, if the content respects the Code of Ethics and the provision. |
| Directories and rankings | Only those that show their methodology or state they are a mere compilation. Paying to be included is prohibited. |
| Content creation and articles | Technical and informative nature, with no concrete results, clients, amounts, or free offers. |
Boosting a post is allowed, offering a service in the boosted post is not
This is the point that raises the most questions on Instagram. A post explaining a retirement deadline can be boosted. A post saying “Had your benefit denied? Talk to our team” is an offer of services, and once boosted it falls outside the annex. The details of what to post are in Instagram for lawyers.
OAB Provision 205 and Google advertising, with numbers
On Google, the rule meets the auction. And the auction for legal services is expensive in some areas. In our CPC survey by industry, the midpoint bid for criminal law was R$20.27, and “criminal lawyer” reached R$34.32. That is the bid Google estimates for the top of the page in October 2026, not what each firm pays.
Expensive clicks create temptation. Someone paying R$30 per click wants an ad that “converts”, and that’s where “free”, “the best”, and promises show up. The provision closes all three doors. What’s left, and works, is the ad that states the practice area, the city, and how you serve clients, as we show in the campaign guide.
In October 2026, we also surveyed the 60 profiles Google Maps shows first in São Paulo, Rio, and Belo Horizonte for “law firm”, and read the website of 54 of them.
| What we measured on the websites | Result |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp link on the site | 74% |
| Google Ads tag installed | 20% |
| Structured data (schema) | 74% |
| No Tag Manager and no GA4 | 30% |
| Average rating of the Google profiles | 4,89 |
WhatsApp on the website is covered by the provision. Paragraph 3 of Article 4 treats contact details, including website, social media, and messaging apps, like email, as long as they are informative. Having the button is allowed. Using the contact list to send mass offers is direct mail, and the annex prohibits it.
The Google Ads tag on only 20% of the sites shows another point. The provision doesn’t mention measurement, but measuring is what lets a firm know whether an informative ad is bringing in contacts without having to resort to pushy copy.
What usually becomes an ethics case
Each item below goes against a specific passage of the provision.
- “Free consultation” or “first assessment at no cost” in an ad or post. That is a free offer, prohibited by Article 3, item I.
- A post celebrating a favorable ruling, even without the client’s name. Article 4, paragraph 2, bans references to rulings and results in videos about the firm’s work, and Article 6 bans specific cases.
- Photo of a car, trip or watch on a professional profile. That is showing off, barred by the sole paragraph of article 6.
- Paying to receive a “lawyer of the year” award. Article 5, paragraph 1, prohibits it.
- Using the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) symbol in the firm’s logo. Article 5, paragraph 2, bars it.
- Promoting the firm together with a partner real estate agency or accounting firm. That falls under article 8.
Frequently asked questions
What does OAB Provision 205 say? That legal marketing is allowed as long as it is informative, sober and does not solicit clients. It prohibits mentioning fees and free services, promising results, using real cases, comparing yourself to other firms and showing off possessions, and it includes an annex with the rules for each tool.
Does OAB Provision 205 allow paid ads? Yes. Articles 4 and 5 allow paid ads in channels not barred by article 40 of the Code of Ethics and Discipline, and the annex allows buying a keyword on Google when it answers a client’s search.
Can a lawyer boost an Instagram post? Yes, if the post does not contain an offer of legal services. Informative content can be boosted.
What is active advertising in law practice? It is promotion that reaches an indeterminate number of people, even if they did not look for the advertiser. For this type, article 6 bars talking about the size, qualities or physical structure of the firm.
Can I advertise my consultation fee? No. Article 3, item I, bars direct or indirect reference to fees, payment terms, free services or discounts as a way to attract clients.
This summary does not replace the official text. If you are unsure about a specific piece, check with your OAB state section, which may have its own guidance from its oversight committee.
Check that your account follows the rules
If the firm already advertises on Google, the free Google Ads audit shows the ads running, the searches that bring clicks and whether contact is being tracked. The overview of the firm’s channels is in the guide to legal marketing for law firms.