Serie D (Brazil)

Serie D (Brazil) (Campeonato Brasileiro Série D) - the fourth tier of Brazil’s national professional club pyramid, organised by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Regulations: the format is set season by season and typically combines a group stage with a knockout phase. In the standard model, clubs are allocated to regionalised groups and play a double round-robin inside the group, with 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss, and the best teams progress to the knockouts, which are commonly played over two legs home and away. Group tie-breaks follow the CBF sequence, including wins, overall goal difference and goals scored, head-to-head can apply in a two-team tie, then disciplinary criteria and, if required, a draw. In the knockouts the winner is decided on aggregate, and if aggregate is level the tie goes directly to penalties, with no away-goals rule and no mandatory extra time. Four clubs are promoted to Serie C by winning the quarterfinals and reaching the semifinals. Serie D normally has no direct relegation, while qualification is primarily via state-league and state-cup results and via relegation from Serie C, and from 2026 the CBF has announced an expansion of the competition with updated qualification criteria.