{"id":74051,"date":"2026-09-02T11:12:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/?post_type=articles&p=74051"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:12:57","slug":"pregao-public-works-brazil-law-14133","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/a3aengenharia.com\/en-us\/content\/technical-articles\/pregao-public-works-brazil-law-14133\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Preg\u00e3o Be Used for Public Works? What Brazil’s Law 14,133 Allows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No. Under Brazil’s Law 14,133\/2021, the preg\u00e3o competitive-bidding modality does not apply to the procurement of public works.<\/strong> This modality is intended for common goods and services and, in engineering, may be used for a common engineering service<\/strong>. This exception does not turn a public work into a \u201ccommon work\u201d and does not authorize the use of preg\u00e3o merely because the scope appears simple, repetitive, or has specifications commonly available in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The correct decision begins before choosing the procurement modality: the scope must first be technically classified. If the intervention falls within the statutory definition of a public work\u2014that is, it forms an integrated whole that creates a new physical space or substantially alters the original characteristics of real property\u2014preg\u00e3o is excluded. If the scope is not a public work but an engineering service, the Administration must still determine whether it is common, special, or predominantly intellectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This distinction may appear semantic, but it affects the procurement modality, award criterion, qualification requirements, structure of technical documents, and risk of bid challenges. A procurement process can follow a formally organized procedure and still be founded on an inadequate legal and technical premise if the scope is misclassified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The Answer Is in Articles 6 and 29 of Law 14,133<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Law 14,133 expressly distinguishes public works from engineering services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 6, XII, defines a public work as an activity reserved to the architecture and engineering professions that involves intervention in the environment through a coordinated set of actions forming an integrated whole and creating a new physical space or substantially altering the original characteristics of real property<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 6, XXI, in turn defines an engineering service as an activity that does not fall within the definition of a public work and is reserved to engineering, architecture, or specialized technical professionals. Within this category, the law distinguishes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n