Costa Rica

Starting a Business in

Costa Rica

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Sociedad Anónima (S.A.) - Corporation
  • City: San José

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check the availability of the proposed company name

Companies can also be registered by number, in which case the name would not have to be verified. However, companies that plan to commercialize their name must first verify the availability of the company name. Under Executive Decree N.36562J, the fees for reserving a company name are regulated to CRC 50,000.
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

According to the fee structure established by the Costa Rican Bar Association, though the notary public can negotiate fees, the fee for notarizing the articles of association is CRC 100,000 for any corporation. Registered capital is not a factor.
1 day 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

The receipt must simply evidence that the notice of constitution was sent to the official newspaper (La Gaceta), that all publication expenses have been paid, and that publication of the notice is pending.

The payment for the official newspaper publication is CRC 5,480
1 day CRC 780 per line (assuming 7 lines)+CRC 20 (fiscal stamp)
4 Deposit capital in the bank account

As a prerequisite for registering the company, 25% of the capital stock indicated in the incorporation charter (if paid in cash) must be deposited in a national bank. The amount deposited may be withdrawn once the company has been duly recorded. The founders may also opt to sign a promissory note at the notary public and deposit the capital into the bank account later.
1 day no charge
5 Register the incorporation charter in the mercantile section of the public registry

The incorporation charter is registered by the notary public who granted the deed in his protocol book. The approval process takes 3–4 weeks.
Once registered, the Registry issues the company a federal tax number (cédula de persona jurídica), which serves as the corporate tax identification number. The registration fees are partly fixed, partly based on the company capital.

For a company with capital of about CRC 33 million, the fees are as follows:
- Stamp duties: Archivo Nacional, CRC 20; Colegio de Abogados, CRC 5,000; Educación y Cultura, CRC 750 and Fiscal, CRC 625
- Registration fees: Registro Nacional, CRC 29,340; Municipal 0.2% of capital

 3-4 weeks see comment
6 File Form D-140 with the before the Tax Department to register the firm as a taxpayer

Digitalization of the tax registration, if you are a Costa Rican citizen or corporation with a Costa Rica legal representative can register as taxpayer at the internet address https://www.haciendadigital.go.cr/inscriptipopersona.jsp.
2 days see total
7 Legalize the company’s books

A set of three accounting books (diario, mayor, and inventarios y balances) and three corporate books (shareholders record, shareholders assembly minutes, and board of directors meetings minutes) must be filed before the Ministry of Property (Ministerio de Hacienda), Tax Department, for their initial authorization by the Book Legalization Department. Once duly legalized, these books must evidence all company internal affairs (including, but not limited to, stock transfers) and are kept privately by the shareholders.
2 days USD 35
8 Apply for the business license (patente municipale) from the municipality


18 days USD 200
* 9 Apply for sanitary permit

Fees depend of the company risk classification and vary from USD 30 to USD 100.
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)

The National Insurance Institute is the only insurance at the moment that only offers labor insurance. The annual premium for this type of insurance is about 2.17% of reported payroll.
1 day no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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