Enter the data for your tract of land and see: can it be subdivided under Law 6,766/79? What is the APP (Permanent Preservation Area) buffer required by the Forest Code? The tool cross-references the two statutes and returns an immediate answer with the legal basis cited.
Fill in the elevation data and, if there is a watercourse, its width. Calculations run in your browser, nothing is sent to a server.
STJ Theme 1,010 note: in urban areas, the Forest Code regime prevails over the old 15 m buffer of Law 6,766/79, unless there is specific municipal legislation as provided in Law 14,285/2021 (consolidated urban area).
Each result band corresponds to a provision of Law 6,766/79 or Law 12,651/2012 (Forest Code). The table below shows the ruler used by the tool.
| Rule | Where it is |
|---|---|
| Slope less than 30% | Law 6,766 art. 3, no special restriction |
| Slope from 30% to less than 47% | Law 6,766 art. 3, sole paragraph, III · specific requirements |
| Slope equal to or greater than 47% (45°) | Law 6,766 art. 3, sole paragraph, V · subdivision forbidden |
| APP buffer, rivers less than 10 m | Forest Code art. 4, I, "a" · 30 m |
| APP buffer, rivers 10 to 50 m | Forest Code art. 4, I, "b" · 50 m |
| APP buffer, rivers 50 to 200 m | Forest Code art. 4, I, "c" · 100 m |
| APP buffer, rivers 200 to 600 m | Forest Code art. 4, I, "d" · 200 m |
| APP buffer, rivers wider than 600 m | Forest Code art. 4, I, "e" · 500 m |
| Hilltop or hillside steeper than 45° | Full APP · Forest Code art. 4, IV and V |
| Spring, any topographic situation | APP within 50 m radius · Forest Code art. 4, IV |
The calculation here is informative. It serves as a first reading of the land and helps the client understand, in conversation, which legal framework is at play. It does not replace a planialtimetric topographic survey signed by a licensed professional, which is the document required by the city hall and the registry in the subdivision process.
The slope calculated here is local, between two points. Real tracts of land have internal variation and may have flat stretches alongside steep ones. On serra terrain, the 30% and 47% rulers must be applied tract by tract, by homogeneous tract, with adequately spaced contour lines, not by a rough average of the whole.
The APP buffer for watercourses in urban areas may have a distinct regime when the municipality has issued specific legislation under Law 14,285/2021, which allows defining, in consolidated urban areas, buffers different from those of the Forest Code. This requires a current Master Plan and a socio-environmental assessment. For the typical serra terrain in the Rio de Janeiro highlands, the pure Forest Code still applies, unless proven otherwise. In any case, consult the municipal geotechnical chart and the records of DRM-RJ (Rio de Janeiro State Department of Mineral Resources) or SGB (Brazilian Geological Service) before moving forward with the project.