The competition started its new season on September 12, 1971 and ended on December 22, 1971. The championship was organized by the national association CBD .
The competition was divided into two group phases, a semi-final and a final. In the first round, the 23 participants were classified according to their geographical origin, in order to impose lower costs on the financially weaker clubs. Four clubs qualified directly for the second group stage. These were the Mixto EC , Central SC (RJ) , Villa Nova AC and AA Rodoviária .
In the first round, the 19 participants were divided into five regional groups. The groups consisted of three to five clubs. All participants played in their groups in a return match against all participants in a group. The group winners moved into the second round.
Here the four directly qualified and the five group winners of the first round met in four groups of two to three clubs each. In the groups, these back and forth games played against each participant. The best team in each group made it to the semi-finals.
The table only served to determine the placement of the individual teams in the season. At times it was used by the association to determine an eternal ranking list. It is made up of all the games played. In the sorting, reaching the respective final phase has priority over the points scored.