ABSTRACT Objective To carry out the preliminary stages of the cross-cultural adaptation of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) to Brazilian Portuguese language and examine its reliability. Methods The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the FAD were developed according to the methods internationally recommended. The resulting product was applied to 80 individuals who completed the questionnaire on two different occasions, seven days apart. Internal consistency was obtained through Cronbach’s alpha, and reliability was estimated by using the Bland and Altman method. Results The internal consistency obtained was very good (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.910). The mean differences of FAD dimensions found in the Bland and Altman test were the following: -0.21 (Problem Solving); -0.32 (Communication); -0.17 (Roles); 0.2 (Affective Responsiveness); -0.27 (Affective Involvement); -0.08 (Behavior Control); -0.02 (General Functioning). Conclusion The processes of translation and cross-cultural adaptation were successful. Assessment of the structural validity and external construct validity is recommended for the improvement of the Brazilian version.