The number of residents with a negative name grew 4.3% in one year in the central region of the state of São Paulo. Currently, 30.8% of the adult population has some restriction on their CPF, according to data from October 2026 from Concordo Certo/Equifax Boa Vista.
In absolute numbers, São Carlos and Araraquara lead the list of municipalities with the most people in debt.
In the analysis proportional to the size of the adult population, Trabiju, a city of 1,682 inhabitants, appears at the front, with almost half of the residents having a "dirty name".
Highest absolute numbers of negatives*:
São Carlos: 71,895 people
Araraquara: 71,051 people
Rio Claro: 54,380 people
Leme: 28,296 people
Macaws: 37,327 people
*October 2026
Higher proportions of negative adults*:
Trabiju: 45.2%
Boa Esperança do Sul: 39.6%
Gavião Peixoto: 38.1%
Motuca: 37.5%
Ibaté: 37.0%
*October 2026
Overdue basic bills
The scenario reflects the difficulty of keeping basic bills up to date in the face of a tight budget, affecting everything from retirees to university students.
For retiree Carlos Alberto Bertini, the accumulation of consumption bills and taxes turned the budget into a "snowball". Currently, he estimates that his debts amount to around R$10,000, including late bills for water, electricity and IPTU payments for 2025 and 2026.
"I have two electricity bills of around R$240 each. When I receive them on the fifth working day, I pay one, but another one always remains behind. This is giving me sleepless nights, because the name went to Serasa and SPC and I no longer have credit for anything", he reported.
The attempt to alleviate the bills with a payroll loan ended up worsening the situation. "It was the worst deal of my life. There are 100 installments deducting almost 30% of my salary, which is already low. What's left is not enough", he says.
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Debt among young people
Negativity also affects those who are starting their financial lives. Student Keilha Sibeli Rodrigues entered the statistics after taking out loans to supplement her income from university scholarships. As she studies full time, she was unable to juggle a regular job and avoided asking her family for help.
"I took out a loan, saw that I could pay it off, and then took out others. They were small installments, which didn't exceed R$300 at the time, but it snowballed," he explained.
Today, even though she is more stable with scholarships and freelance work, she still cannot afford a renegotiation to pay off the debt.
How to seek help and renegotiate
Financial institutions lead the ranking of outstanding debts in the capital. Next come commerce, water and electricity services and communication companies.
For consumers whose income is compromised and are unable to pay their debts, the advice is to contact the municipality's Procon to join the Over-Indebtedness Support Program.
According to the director of Procon de São Carlos, Tiago Nonato de Souza, the service seeks to broker viable agreements between citizens and creditors. "The resident must show up with personal documents, proof of residence and debt contracts. They fill out a socioeconomic form, and we forward it to the companies to try to negotiate", he explains.
Before closing any agreement, the director recommends putting all expenses at the tip of your pencil so as not to take on installments that don't fit into your pocket, in addition to only using official channels to avoid scams:
Municipal Procon: face-to-face assistance for cases of over-indebtedness.
Serasa Limpa Name: online platform where consumers can consult offers and propose payment terms.
Consumidor.gov.br: public portal accessible through the Gov.br account to negotiate directly with registered companies.
