In Brazil the three activities of accreditation, legal metrology and scientific metrology all fall within the remit of a single body, INMETRO^*, administered by the Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior. INMETRO was created by law in 1973, in order to support Brazilian enterprises, to increase their productivity and the quality of goods and services.

The fourth activity, national standards, is the responsibility of ABNT^**, which has offices in all the principal Brazilian cities.

*Except for ionising radiation metrology. In 1989 INMETRO designated LNMRI/IRD as the responsible national body for metrology in the field of ionising radiation. LNMRI/IRD is administered by the Ministério da Ciència e Tecnologia..

** ABNT administers electrotechnical standards work through COBEI.