Buying Property in Costa Rica as a Foreigner

The short answer

Foreigners have the same property rights

Article 19 of the Costa Rican Constitution states that foreigners have the same individual and social duties and rights as Costa Ricans, with the exceptions and limitations that the Constitution and the laws establish. Article 45 declares that property is inviolable: nobody may be deprived of it except for a legally proven public interest and with prior compensation under the law.

For a North American buyer that has two practical consequences. First, there is no general requirement to be a resident, to hold a local partner or to buy through a Costa Rican company in order to own titled land. Second, the rules that do limit foreigners are specific and written into particular laws, chief among them the maritime zone law below. When someone tells you a foreigner "cannot" own a type of property, ask which article says so.

The maritime zone: the rule that changes beach purchases

Costa Rica's coastline is governed by Law 6043, the Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre (1977). Its first article declares the maritime zone part of the national patrimony, belonging to the State, inalienable and imprescriptible.

The law also makes it illegal, without legal authorization, to fence, build, cut trees or carry out any development in the maritime zone (art. 12). Municipalities enforce it directly, under the general oversight of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (arts. 2 and 3).

What a concession is, and who can hold one

A concession is a right to use a defined parcel of the restricted zone for a term, not ownership. Under article 48, concessions are granted for no less than five and no more than twenty years, and set an annual fee (canon) that replaces property tax.

Article 47 then limits who may hold one. Concessions are not granted:

• to foreigners who have not resided in the country for at least five years;
• to corporations with bearer shares;
• to companies or entities domiciled abroad;
• to entities formed in Costa Rica by foreigners; or
• to entities whose shares, quotas or capital belong more than 50 percent to foreigners.

The same article bars companies that hold concessions from transferring shares or quotas to foreigners, and declares any transfer made in breach of that rule void. In practice, listings described as "beachfront" or "ocean view" need a first question answered before any other: is this titled land outside the 200 meters, or a concession inside it? The answer changes who can buy it, how it can be held and what you are paying for.

Checking title in the Registro Nacional

Titled real estate in Costa Rica is recorded in the Registro Nacional, through its Registro Inmobiliario. Its official portal, rnpdigital.com, offers online property consultations, the purchase of official certifications and the digital presentation of documents for real estate.

A title study for a purchase normally covers:

• Registered owner. The seller in the contract should match the owner in the register, or have documented authority to sign for that owner.
• Property number and cadastral plan. The recorded plan should match the land being shown, including boundaries and area.
• Encumbrances. Mortgages, liens, judicial annotations, easements and pending entries (anotaciones) that would pass to the buyer or block registration.
• Legal status of the land. Whether any part falls within the maritime zone or another restricted category.

Title should be checked when you negotiate, again before closing, and the deed should be presented for registration promptly after signing so that no new entry can be recorded ahead of it. Your own attorney, not the seller's or the broker's, is the person to run and explain the study.

Notaries close the sale

In Costa Rica a property transfer is executed as a public deed (escritura pública) before a notary public. The notary's role is broader than in the United States.

The Código Notarial (Law 7764) defines the notarial function as a public function exercised privately, through which the notary advises people on the correct legal formation of their will in acts and contracts and certifies the facts that occur before them (art. 1). A notary public is a lawyer specialized in notarial and registry law and legally authorized to practice (art. 2). Only the notary may issue certified copies (testimonios) of the deeds in their protocol (art. 113), and documents to be registered in the Registro Nacional must also meet the Registro's security requirements (art. 73).

The Transfer Tax Law ties the tax to the same act: the taxable event occurs at the date and hour the public deed of transfer is executed (Law 6999, art. 4).

Two practical points follow:

• Certifying the act is not the same as representing you. The notary's function is to advise on the legal formation of the act and certify it. If the notary was chosen by the seller or the developer, consider retaining your own attorney to review the contract, title and deed for you.
• The contract usually comes first. A purchase agreement setting the price, deposit, conditions and closing date is commonly signed before the deed is executed. Read what it says about the deposit and about what happens if a condition is not met.

Transfer tax and closing costs

Law 6999, the Ley del Impuesto sobre Traspasos de Bienes Inmuebles (1985), taxes every transfer of real estate, whether or not the property is registered (art. 1). It looks at the legal substance of the transaction, not the name the parties give it (art. 2).

Although the law splits the tax equally, purchase agreements often allocate it and the other closing costs differently; read that clause.

Beyond the transfer tax, a closing carries registration fees and fiscal stamps, notary fees, and, if you finance, the costs of registering the mortgage. The investor residency guide budgets the transfer tax and registration together at about 1.5 percent of value plus stamps. Ask your notary for a written estimate of every line before you sign the purchase agreement.

Law 9996 and the transfer tax. Law 9996 allowed new pensionado, rentista and investor residents to opt into a 20 percent reduction of the property transfer tax, among other incentives. That window closed on 14 July 2026, and no extension had been published as of September 2026, so a purchase closing now should be budgeted at the full rate.

Escrow and moving the money

Escrow in a Costa Rican property sale is a matter of contract between the parties. Buyers and sellers often agree to place the deposit and the purchase price with a neutral third party, such as an escrow company or a bank trust arrangement, which releases the funds when the agreed conditions are met, usually the signing and registration of the deed. The protection is only as good as the agreement and the holder, so check who holds the funds, under what written instructions, and what happens to the deposit if a condition fails.

Large transfers from the United States pass through Costa Rican banks' know-your-customer rules, which require them to verify the origin of the funds. Have statements ready showing where the money came from. Our banking guide covers accounts, IBAN numbers and international wires, and the U.S. tax guide covers the FBAR and Form 8938 reporting that can follow a large deposit.

Buying through a company, and what it means for residency

Many foreign buyers hold Costa Rican property through a sociedad anónima or limited liability company for liability or estate reasons. That structure has a direct cost if you plan to use the purchase for residency: the 2023 investor regulation (Decreto 43926) states that real estate registered in the name of a legal entity will not be accepted as proof of investment.

For investor residency, the property must be registered in the Registro Nacional in your own name, with a municipal certificate of value and proof that property taxes are current, and a registered value or purchase price of at least the threshold. Migración's investor checklist, checked on 8 September 2026, publishes $150,000, the figure set by Law 9996. That law's window closed on 14 July 2026 and the older $200,000 article of the Reglamento was repealed, which has left a gap that practitioners read differently. The investor residency guide sets out the three readings.

If residency is part of the reason for the purchase, sequence it: confirm the threshold Migración is applying, decide how title will be held, and only then sign.

Before you sign: a short list

• Is any part of the land within 200 meters of the high-tide line? If so, is it titled land or a concession?
• Does the Registro Nacional show the seller as owner, with a cadastral plan that matches the land?
• What mortgages, liens, easements or annotations are recorded?
• Who is the notary, who represents you, and who pays the 1.5 percent transfer tax and other closing costs?
• Where is the deposit held, and under what written conditions is it released?
• Will title be in your own name or a company's, and does that matter for residency?
• Have you confirmed the tax consequences in both countries?

If you are weighing a purchase as part of a residency plan, the eligibility assessment will tell you which path fits before you commit funds.

Sources and legal basis

1. Constitución Política de la República de Costa Rica, arts. 19 and 45. Official text via the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones.
2. Ley 6043, Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre, 2 March 1977, arts. 1–3, 9–12, 20, 47–48. Text via the Sistema Nacional de Información Territorial.
3. Ley 6999, Ley del Impuesto sobre Traspasos de Bienes Inmuebles, 3 September 1985, arts. 1–2, 4–8, with the rate as amended by Law 7764, art. 181.
4. Código Notarial, Ley 7764, 17 April 1998, arts. 1–2, 73, 113. Official text via the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones.
5. Registro Nacional, RNP Digital: property consultations, certifications and digital presentation of real estate documents.
6. Ley 9996, Ley para la atracción de inversionistas, rentistas y pensionados, arts. 8, 12, La Gaceta 135, 14 July 2021; Reglamento, Decreto 43926-MGP-H-TUR, arts. 5, 7, Alcance 28 to La Gaceta 34, 23 February 2023.
7. Threshold status after July 2026: Costa Rica Immigration Experts (8 September 2026); Mora & Yglesias (25 August 2026).
8. Bank know-your-customer and origin-of-funds rules: Acuerdo CONASSIF 12-21 (formerly SUGEF 12-21), art. 27. Official text.