Costa Rica

Ease of Doing Business in

Costa Rica

This page shows summary Doing Business 2012 data for Costa Rica. The first table lists the overall "Ease of Doing Business" rank (out of 183 economies) and the rankings by each topic. The rest of the tables summarize the key indicators for each topic and benchmark against regional and high-income economy (OECD) averages.

Economy Overview

Region Latin America & Caribbean
Income Category Upper middle income
Population 4,639,827
GNI Per Capita (US$) 6,580.00
Doing Business 2012 Rank Doing Business 2011 Rank Change in Rank
121 121 0
Topic Rankings DB 2012 Rank DB 2011 Rank Change in Rank
Starting a Business 122 116 up -6
Dealing with Construction Permits 141 139 up -2
Getting Electricity 43 43 No change
Registering Property 46 52 up 6
Getting Credit 98 96 up -2
Protecting Investors 166 166 No change
Paying Taxes 138 156 up 18
Trading Across Borders 73 73 No change
Enforcing Contracts 129 129 No change
Resolving Insolvency 121 121 No change

Economy Profile

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Starting a Business

Info

The challenges of launching a business are shown below. Included are: the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

DB 2012 Rank 122 DB 2011 Rank 116 Change in Rank down-6
Indicator Costa Rica Latin America & Caribbean OECD

The total number of procedures required to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).

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Procedures (number)
12 9 5

The total number of days required to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.

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Time (days)
60 54 12

Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law.

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Cost (% of income per capita)
11.1 37.3 4.7

The amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita.

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Paid-in Min. Capital (% of income per capita)
0.0 4.3 14.1
No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check the availability of the proposed company name 1 day CRC 50,000
2 A notary public drafts and notarizes public deeds of the incorporation charter for registration before the Mercantile Section of the Public Registry 1 day CRC 100000
3 Send the notice of the constitution of the company for publication in Costa Rica's official newspaper "La Gaceta" and obtain a receipt 1 day CRC 780 per line (assuming 7 lines)+CRC 20 (fiscal stamp)
4 Deposit capital in the bank account 1 day no charge
5 Register the incorporation charter in the mercantile section of the public registry 3-4 weeks see comment
6 File Form D-140 with the before the Tax Department to register the firm as a taxpayer 2 days see total
7 Legalize the company’s books 2 days USD 35
8 Apply for the business license (patente municipale) from the municipality 18 days USD 200
* 9 Apply for sanitary permit 2-3 weeks (simultaneous with previous procedure) USD 30
10 Register the company as an employer with Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS, Social Security Institution) 7 days no charge
11 CCSS conducts an inspection at the company’s facilities 1 day no charge
12 Register for labor risk insurance with the National Insurance Institute (Instituto Nacional de Seguros) 1 day no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

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