Registering Property in Costa Rica

This topic examines the steps, time, and cost involved in registering property in Costa Rica.

Export to Excel | Local partners | Methodology

   View all indicator data and topic details for this economy.

Change Selection

Standardized property

Property Value: CRC 168,878,348
City: San José

Registration Requirements Summary:


  Procedure Time to complete: Cost to complete:
*1 Obtain a literal certification from the National Registry (on line) 1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2 and 3) CRC 320 (stamps)
*2 Obtain a cadastral plan from the Cadastre 1 day (simultaneous with procedures 1 and 3) CRC 620
*3 Obtain a tax clearance certificate from the Municipality 1 day (simultaneous with procedures 1 and 2) CRC 55
4 A lawyer/notary drafts the sale agreement as a public deed 1-2 days Fees according to a scale is approximately CRC 1,851,283
5 Pay transfer tax and the stamp duties at the Banco de Costa Rica 1 day All fees approximately CRC 3,894,847
6 File the public deed registration at the National Property Registry 15 days Already paid in Procedure 5
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Registration Requirement Details

Procedure 1.
Obtain a literal certification from the National Registry (on line)
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with procedures 2 and 3)
Cost to complete:
CRC 320 (stamps)
Name of Agency:
National Registry
Comment:
The seller obtains a literal certification (printed sheet with the information of the property recorded at the Registry's database) from the National Registry, where it is issued in the same day.
Information of property can be obtained online. A notary public can access with a designated password and get this information by simply login into the National Registry's website (www.registronacional.go.cr), putting the property's information and getting a print screen with the above indicated information (nature of property, location, area, cadastre number, owner, liens, mortgages, easements, limitations, boundaries, etc).
It is also possible to do searches in computers available in the National Registry.
Procedure 2.
Obtain a cadastral plan from the Cadastre
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with procedures 1 and 3)
Cost to complete:
CRC 620
Name of Agency:
Cadastre
Comment:
The seller obtains a cadastral plan from the cadastre.
If a cadastral plan of the property does not exist or has problems, then a Topographer engineer must prepare a new one. This will take another 22 days and will cost about CRC 120,000. According to the Cadastral Law (Ley de Catastro), it is mandatory to have a cadastral plan for most registrations regarding a property, including property transfers. The cadastral plan will have to be prepared in many cases due to errors, but it is not legally required and most people do not do it.
Procedure 3.
Obtain a tax clearance certificate from the Municipality
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with procedures 1 and 2)
Cost to complete:
CRC 55
Name of Agency:
Municipality
Comment:
The seller shall provide the buyer a certificate attesting that the property is current with payment of all the Municipal taxes and charges (including property tax, and charges for municipal services).
Procedure 4.
A lawyer/notary drafts the sale agreement as a public deed
Time to complete:
1-2 days
Cost to complete:
Fees according to the following scale:
<
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Notary fees are established by Executive Decree 32493 of March 9th 2005. A lawyer/notary prepares the sale agreement in the form of a public deed based on the information obtained in step 1 and provided by the parties. In accordance with the Notary Code, the lawyer/notary is legally obliged to study the property and in case the parties are corporations, study the Articles of Incorporation and verify that the person signing the transfer deed has the legal authority to represent the company.
In Costa Rica notary publics are lawyers.
Parties must provide photocopies of their ID (“cédula” for Costa Rican citizens or passport for foreigners)
Corporations must provide a certificate of incorporation.
Procedure 5.
Pay transfer tax and the stamp duties at the Banco de Costa Rica
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
1.5% of property price (transfer tax) + 0.5% of property price (National Property Register Stamp) + 0.2% of property price (Municipal Stamp) + 0.1% of property price (Agrarian Stamp) + 10,000 CRC (Costa Rican Bar Association fee) + CRC 625 (Fiscal Stamp T
Name of Agency:
Banco de Costa Rica
Comment:
Transfer tax and stamp duties must be paid at the Banco de Costa Rica, a state-owned bank that will transfer the money to the tax authorities—either online or in person. In order to pay online, one must have a bank account and internet access to the Bank’s secure web page. The notary certifies on the affidavit that the payment was made and the registrant must check that on the bank’s database. It has become a common practice for up-to-date law firms and notaries to pay the transfer tax and stamp duties online.
The transfer tax and stamp duties are calculated on the basis of the highest of the stated purchase price and the property value appearing on the National Property Registry. Price is updated when the property is sold or mortgaged.
For a land transfer there are various types of stamps that must be paid. Payment is calculated as follows:
• National Property Register Stamp: 0.5% of the property value
• Municipal Stamp: 0.2% of property value
• Fiscal Stamp Tax: CRC 625
• Agrarian Stamp: 0.1% of property value
• Costa Rican Bar Association: 10,000 CRC for deeds over 10 million CRC (Executive Act No. 34442)
• National Archive: CRC 20
Procedure 6.
File the public deed registration at the National Property Registry
Time to complete:
15 days
Cost to complete:
Already paid in Procedure 5
Name of Agency:
National Property Registry
Comment:
The lawyer/notary files before the National Property Registry an affidavit of the public deed (known as a “testimonio”), with proof of payment of the transfer tax and other applicable stamp taxes.
Once filed, the affidavit of the transfer deed is assigned for review by a Registrar of the National Property. If the document complies with all requirements, it is recorded and the buyer shall be the formal owner of the property thereafter. If the document contains problems it is returned to notary for correction and re-filing. Internal regulations obligate Registry Officials to review a deed within 8 days, but the timeframe can be extended based on problems with the original deed.

Property value Fees
0 – 10 million CRC