2026 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D

On 1 October 2025, CBF announced a format change to the Série D, expanding the competition from 64 teams to 96. Due to this expansion, the 32 teams qualified to the second stage of the 2025 edition were automatically qualified, and as four of those teams were promoted to the 2026 Série C, the confederation added one further spot to four regional federations based on the CBF State Ranking.^[1]

CBF also established four new criteria of qualification:

• Criteria 1: Teams relegated from the 2025 Série C;
• Criteria 2: Teams qualified through the state leagues and state cups;
• Criteria 3: Teams qualified to the second stage of the 2025 Série D;
• Criteria 4: Best-placed teams in the CBF Club Ranking not qualified to any national division.

All of those criteria overlap each other, with criteria 1 being the most important one. If a team qualify to the 2026 Série D through criteria 2 and 3, their spot will be filled by the criteria 4, independent of their state.^[2]

Six teams are promoted instead of the previous four, with the competition beginning in the first stage with 16 groups of six teams each. The four best teams qualify to the second stage in a knockout format, which prevails until the finals. The 32 teams qualified from the second stage are also qualified to the 2027 Série D (excluding the six promoted teams), and the four teams qualified to the semifinals are promoted to the 2027 Série C, with the four teams eliminated in the quarterfinals playing a play-off stage to define the other two teams promoted to the third division.^[1]

The winners of the competition qualify directly to the third stage of the 2027 Copa do Brasil.^[1]