Journal · Guides

What will a seller ask you for before a large art purchase?

Above certain value thresholds, art sellers in the UK, EU and Brazil are legally required to identify the buyer and record the transaction — the same anti-money-laundering logic applied to banks. Separately from those rules, Perfeito Studio asks every buyer for full name, ID/CPF or CNPJ, and delivery address to issue the Acquisition Agreement and invoice.

Surface detail of Amber Strata, mixed media on canvas — Alyne Perfeito, Perfeito Studio — Surface detail of Amber Strata — Perfeito Studio. Perfeito Studio.

Why sellers ask for identification at all

The requirement is not particular to art. Since the 1990s, most countries have extended anti-money-laundering (AML) rules beyond banks to any business that moves large sums through a single high-value object — art, jewelry, precious metals, real estate. A painting is a convenient vehicle for moving money because its price is subjective, it crosses borders easily, and until recently the trade was largely unregulated. Regulators responded by treating dealers, galleries and auction houses above a transaction threshold as \"obliged entities\": once a sale crosses that line, the seller has to know who the buyer is, keep that record, and flag anything that looks like it is designed to disguise the origin of the money.

This is the mechanism, not a judgment on any individual buyer. The overwhelming majority of large art purchases are exactly what they look like — a collector buying a piece they want. The paperwork exists because the rule applies to the transaction size, not to the person.

What the rule requires in the UK and the EU

In the United Kingdom, HMRC supervises \"art market participants\" (dealers, galleries, intermediaries) for anti-money-laundering compliance. Current HMRC guidance instructs sellers to verify that the person they are dealing with is genuine — for a remote sale, HMRC specifically suggests a video call to check the buyer's identity documents match the person — and to ask about the reason for the purchase, since a sensible answer is part of establishing that a sale is legitimate. It also lists the situations that call for closer scrutiny: payment in cash or crypto-assets, a request to route the sale through a third party or keep the real buyer anonymous, delivery to an address that is not the buyer's own, or any link to a sanctioned or high-risk jurisdiction. None of this is optional guidance a dealer can skip — a UK art market participant that trades EUR 10,000 or more in a single sale (or a linked series of sales) has to register with HMRC and apply these checks.

The UK rules transpose the European Union's Fifth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/843), which is why the same EUR 10,000 figure appears on both sides of the Channel. Above that line, the seller has to identify the buyer, assess the risk of the transaction, and keep records the way a bank would for a large cash deposit.

What the rule requires in Brazil

In Brazil, Lei nº 9.613/1998 (the anti-money-laundering law) names dealers in art and antiques as one of the categories of business subject to these obligations, and IPHAN — the federal heritage institute, not a financial regulator — is the body that regulates the sector under it. Dealers must register and keep current in the CNART (Cadastro Nacional de Negociantes de Antiguidades e Obras de Arte, the national registry of art and antiques dealers). For transactions of R$ 10.000 or more, the norm requires the dealer to keep a client registry — for an individual, full name, address, ID number and CPF; for a company, corporate name, CNPJ and address — and to report cash transactions at or above that same value to COAF (the federal financial-intelligence unit) within 24 hours, plus any pattern that looks deliberately fragmented or unusual. Records have to be kept for at least five years.

What Perfeito Studio itself asks a buyer for

None of the above is Perfeito Studio describing its own compliance program — it is the general legal backdrop a buyer researching a large art purchase should understand. What the studio asks a buyer for is what it needs to complete two documents every sale includes: the Acquisition Agreement (Termo de Aquisição) and the invoice or official receipt.

The Acquisition Agreement records the buyer's full name, CPF or CNPJ, and address; the agreed price and payment terms; the delivery method and delivery address; and a choice between public or confidential attribution in the work's provenance record. Fiscal documentation — invoice or receipt — is issued on receipt of payment, per the same agreement. That is the complete list: name, tax ID (CPF or CNPJ), address, and how the buyer wants to pay and receive the piece.

This page explains the general legal mechanism behind identity and reporting requirements in the art trade. It is not legal or tax advice; a buyer or seller with a specific situation should consult a qualified lawyer or accountant.

From the studio

The olhar do ateliê

Before Alyne Perfeito was a painter, she trained as an architect, and the acquisition paperwork reflects that habit of mind: a project is not finished when the object is — it is finished when the documentation matches the object exactly. Every piece leaves the studio with the same fixed set, regardless of price: the signed Certificate of Authenticity, the Acquisition Agreement with the buyer's details, the artist's dossier, and the invoice. Nothing about that set changes because a purchase is larger or smaller — the studio asks every buyer for the same name, tax ID and address, because that is what the two signed documents require, not because a bigger canvas invites a bigger form.

Frequently asked

What does Perfeito Studio ask a buyer for when a sale is agreed?

The details needed to complete the two documents that come with every sale: the buyer's full name, CPF or CNPJ, and address, plus the agreed payment method and the delivery address, which go into the Acquisition Agreement; the invoice or official receipt is then issued on payment. The same list applies to every piece in the collection.

At what purchase value do anti-money-laundering rules for art dealers kick in?

In the UK and the EU, the threshold is EUR 10,000 for a single transaction or a series of linked transactions, under UK HMRC supervision and EU Directive (EU) 2018/843 respectively. In Brazil, the equivalent threshold under IPHAN's regulation of Lei nº 9.613/1998 is R$ 10.000, tied to the CNART dealer registry and reporting to COAF. Below these values, the specific reporting and enhanced-verification obligations do not apply, though a seller can still choose to ask questions about any purchase.

Why would a seller ask to do a video call before shipping an artwork?

Current HMRC guidance for art market participants specifically recommends a video call for remote sales, so the seller can confirm that the person completing the purchase matches their identification documents. It is a fraud- and money-laundering-prevention step for higher-value, non-face-to-face transactions, not a sign that a particular buyer is under suspicion.

Is paying in cash or crypto a problem when buying a painting?

It is not prohibited, but UK guidance for art market participants explicitly flags cash and crypto-asset payments as higher risk and a trigger for closer questions, alongside requests to ship to an address that is not the buyer's own or to route the purchase through an unnamed third party. A seller asking follow-up questions in these situations is applying that standard guidance, not making an accusation.

What documents does a buyer receive from Perfeito Studio after a purchase?

Every sale includes the signed original artwork, the Certificate of Authenticity, the signed Acquisition Agreement, the invoice or official receipt, the artist's dossier, and care and installation instructions. The Acquisition Agreement records the same buyer details described above — name, CPF or CNPJ, and address — plus the agreed price, payment terms, and delivery arrangement.

Does buying several pieces from the same artist add up toward a reporting threshold?

The UK, EU and Brazilian frameworks described above all count a \"series of linked transactions\" toward the same threshold, not only a single sale. A buyer acquiring multiple works from one seller over time is the kind of pattern these rules are designed to capture, even if each individual piece falls under the line on its own. This is a general feature of how the thresholds work, not a statement about any specific purchase.

Ask the studio directly before you buy

Alyne can walk you through exactly what the Acquisition Agreement and invoice require for your purchase, in English or Portuguese.

Talk to the studio on WhatsApp Available works