Brazil Emergency Numbers: Who to Call and What to Do in 2026

Updated July 2026: this guide uses current Brazilian federal emergency-service listings, U.S. State Department guidance, and civil-police reporting portals for São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Here's the mistake almost every first-time visitor makes: they land in Rio or São Paulo assuming they can dial 911. They can't. Brazil never adopted a single universal emergency number — instead it splits the job across three main lines, and knowing which one to call before something goes wrong is the difference between help in five minutes and a panicked scroll through a search engine while a situation escalates.

Brazil sits at a U.S. Level 2 Travel Advisory (Exercise Increased Caution), and most trips pass without incident (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil, 2026). But when you do need help — a robbery, a medical scare, a fire alarm in a hotel — you want the right three-digit number already in your head. This guide gives you every emergency number that matters, tells you exactly when to use each one, and walks through the calmest possible response if you're robbed.

Key Takeaways

• Brazil has no 911. Dial 190 for police, 192 for an ambulance (SAMU), and 193 for the fire department — all toll-free, 24/7, from any phone including a locked one.
• 911 does not work in Brazil, and 112 is unreliable; don't count on either. Rio alone logged 21,423 phone robberies in 2024, so save the real numbers offline before you land (ISP-RJ, 2024).
• If you're robbed: get indoors first, freeze your cards, call 190 if you're in danger, then file a Boletim de Ocorrência online and open your insurance claim within 24 hours.

What Is the Emergency Number in Brazil?

Brazil's three core emergency numbers are 190 (police), 192 (ambulance), and 193 (fire department) — each toll-free, each answered 24 hours a day, and each reachable from any phone in the country (Governo Federal do Brasil, 2026). Unlike the United States or the UK, Brazil never consolidated emergency response into one universal line, so you choose the number by the type of help you need.

Think of it as a short menu. Dial 190 for the Military Police when there's a crime in progress, an immediate threat, or you need officers on the scene fast. Dial 192 for SAMU, Brazil's public mobile emergency medical service, when someone is injured, unconscious, or having a medical crisis. Dial 193 for the Corpo de Bombeiros — the fire department, which also handles rescues, drownings, and accidents.

All three lines are free even from a phone with no credit, and in most cases they connect even on a locked handset. The real friction isn't the number — it's language. Dispatchers typically speak Portuguese only, which is why having a few emergency phrases ready (or an app that plays them) changes the outcome. For the broader safety picture, start with our Brazil safety guide.

Does 911 or 112 Work in Brazil?

No — 911 does not connect to emergency services in Brazil, and 112 is unreliable, so neither should be part of your plan (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil, 2026). This is one of the most common and dangerous assumptions foreign travelers carry into the country, and it costs precious minutes in exactly the moments you can't spare them.

The confusion is understandable. North American visitors are wired to dial 911, and European travelers know 112 as the EU-wide standard. Some GSM handsets will attempt to reroute a 112 call to a local line, but that behavior is inconsistent across Brazilian carriers and networks — you should never rely on it in a genuine emergency. The only numbers you can trust are Brazil's own.

So overwrite the reflex now. If you'd instinctively dial 911, dial 190. If you'd reach for 112, dial the specific line — 190, 192, or 193. Save all three before you leave the airport, ideally offline, because a stolen or dead phone can't load a website mid-crisis.

The Full List of Brazil Emergency Numbers

Beyond the big three, Brazil runs a set of specialized hotlines worth knowing — especially for road trips, medical situations, or reporting crime after the fact. Every number below is a national, toll-free line (Governo Federal do Brasil, 2026).

A quick way to remember the hierarchy: the 190s are your live emergencies and law enforcement, while 180, 100, and 181 are support and reporting lines you'd use in less time-critical moments. For road trips between cities, 191 (federal highways) is the one most travelers overlook — worth saving if you're driving the coast or heading inland. Our São Paulo safety guide and Rio de Janeiro safety guide cover city-specific patterns in more depth.

What Should You Do If You're Robbed in Brazil?

If you're robbed in Brazil, the first move is not to call anyone — it's to get to a safe indoor location, then work through freezing cards and reporting in a fixed order. Phone snatching is the single most common incident tourists face; Rio recorded 21,423 cell phone robberies in 2024, a 38% jump year over year (ISP-RJ, 2024). Knowing the sequence in advance keeps you calm when it counts.

Here's the playbook, in order:

1. Get inside first. A hotel lobby, an open restaurant, a shop, or a police station. Never chase a thief — most Brazilian street robberies end the moment you stop resisting, and the priority is your safety, not the property.
2. Call 190 if you're in danger or the situation is still active. If it's over and you're safe, skip to reporting.
3. Freeze your cards. Most major issuers support an instant freeze from their mobile app. Do this before you do anything else financial.
4. Remote-wipe a stolen phone using Find My iPhone or Find My Device before the thief powers it off.
5. File a Boletim de Ocorrência (police report). Most Brazilian states offer an online Delegacia Eletrônica — São Paulo at delegaciaeletronica.policiacivil.sp.gov.br, Rio at delegaciaonline.rj.gov.br. The report number is required for nearly every insurance claim.
6. Open your travel-insurance claim within 24 hours, which most policies require. Our travel insurance for Brazil guide covers what a policy should actually reimburse.

Most robberies tourists experience are patterned, low-violence property crimes rather than the violent scenarios headlines suggest. Understanding those patterns ahead of time is half the defense — our common scams in Brazil guide breaks down the eight most frequent ones and the habits that prevent them.

How Do You Call an Ambulance (SAMU) in Brazil?

For any medical emergency, dial 192 for SAMU (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência), Brazil's free public mobile emergency medical service that operates nationwide (Ministério da Saúde, 2026). The ambulance and its crew cost nothing to dispatch, regardless of your nationality or whether you have Brazilian health coverage.

When the operator answers, they'll ask for your location, the nature of the emergency, and the patient's condition — all in Portuguese. If you don't speak the language, state your city and street clearly, say "turista" (tourist), and if possible hand the phone to a Portuguese speaker nearby, such as hotel staff or a passerby. SAMU triages by severity, so calm, specific information gets the right response faster.

Two practical notes. First, private hospitals in major cities (like Albert Einstein or Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo) offer excellent care but expect payment or a valid insurance guarantee up front, so keep your insurer's assistance number saved alongside 192. Second, pharmacies (farmácias) are widespread and pharmacists can advise on minor issues without an appointment — useful for anything that isn't an emergency. Confirm your policy covers Brazil before you fly; our travel insurance for Brazil guide explains what to look for.

Tourist Police and the U.S. Embassy

For crimes against visitors, several Brazilian cities run a dedicated tourist police unit (DEAT — Delegacia Especial de Apoio ao Turismo) with English-speaking officers, and it's often the best first stop after an incident (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil, 2026). Rio's tourist police station in Leblon is the best known, and São Paulo, Salvador, and Foz do Iguaçu operate similar units near major tourist zones.

The tourist police handle exactly the situations foreign visitors face — theft, scams, lost documents — and can issue the police report you'll need for insurance in a setting geared toward non-Portuguese speakers. If your city has one, save its address and number alongside the national lines.

For anything involving your passport or a serious emergency, contact the nearest U.S. consulate or embassy. Enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) before you leave home takes about five minutes and gives the embassy your contact details so they can reach you during a crisis or natural event (step.state.gov, 2026). A lost or stolen passport requires an in-person appointment at the consulate to get an emergency replacement, so file your police report first — you'll need it. Travelers from other countries should look up their own embassy's Brasília or consulate contacts before departure.

How Should You Prepare Before You Land in Brazil?

The best emergency plan is the one you set up before you need it — because a stolen, dead, or out-of-signal phone can't load a website when seconds matter. Preparation is what turns a bad moment into a manageable one, and it takes about ten minutes the night before you fly.

Do these four things now: save 190, 192, and 193 as named offline contacts; screenshot your travel insurer's 24-hour assistance number and policy ID; note your nearest tourist police station for each city on your route; and learn three Portuguese phrases — "Preciso de ajuda" (I need help), "Chame a polícia" (Call the police), and "Preciso de um médico" (I need a doctor).

The Brazil Safe Travel app pulls all of this into one place that works offline: every emergency number pre-loaded, Portuguese emergency phrases you can play out loud so a dispatcher or bystander understands you instantly, and geolocation-based risk zones that warn you before you wander into a higher-risk area. Because it runs without a live connection, it keeps working even when your phone can't reach the internet — which is exactly the scenario where you'd otherwise be stuck. Install it before you land, not after something happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main emergency number in Brazil?

There isn't a single one — Brazil splits emergencies across three lines. Dial 190 for the police, 192 for an ambulance (SAMU), and 193 for the fire department. All three are toll-free, answered 24/7, and reachable from any phone. 911 does not work in Brazil (Governo Federal do Brasil, 2026).

Does 911 work in Brazil?

No. 911 does not connect to emergency services anywhere in Brazil, and 112 is unreliable. Use Brazil's own numbers instead: 190 for police, 192 for medical emergencies, and 193 for fire and rescue. Save all three offline before you arrive, since a website can't help mid-emergency (U.S. Embassy in Brazil, 2026).

What number do I call for an ambulance in Brazil?

Dial 192 for SAMU, Brazil's free nationwide public emergency medical service. The ambulance costs nothing to dispatch regardless of nationality. Operators usually speak only Portuguese, so state your location clearly, say "turista," and if possible hand the phone to a Portuguese speaker (Ministério da Saúde, 2026).

What should I do first if I'm robbed in Brazil?

Get to a safe indoor location before anything else — never chase the thief. Then freeze your cards, remote-wipe a stolen phone, and file a Boletim de Ocorrência (police report) online via your state's Delegacia Eletrônica. You'll need that report number for any insurance claim. Rio logged 21,423 phone robberies in 2024 (ISP-RJ, 2024).

Is there tourist police in Brazil?

Yes. Several cities run a dedicated tourist police unit (DEAT) with English-speaking officers, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, and Foz do Iguaçu. They handle theft, scams, and lost documents, and issue the police reports foreign visitors need for insurance. Save your city's tourist police address before you travel.

The Bottom Line on Emergency Numbers in Brazil

Brazil's emergency system is simple once you drop the 911 reflex: 190 for police, 192 for an ambulance, 193 for fire. Add a handful of specialized lines — 180, 100, 191 — depending on your trip, and you've covered nearly every scenario. None of it helps, though, if you're learning the numbers during the emergency itself.

So do the ten-minute setup before you land: save the three core numbers offline, screenshot your insurance details, note your nearest tourist police station, and learn three Portuguese phrases. Most trips to Brazil never need any of this. But the travelers who handle a bad moment well are always the ones who prepared for it before they left home.

For the full safety picture, start with our Brazil safety guide. For city-level detail, the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo guides map neighborhood risk, and our common scams in Brazil guide covers the patterns most likely to send you reaching for one of these numbers in the first place.