10 steps to incorporating in Costa Rica in 2024

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Incorporation of a company in Costa Rica is a straightforward process, which can be completed in an average of three months. Our Client will not have to travel to the country, provided that a Power of Attorney is issued to the Costa Rican incorporation agent who will them complete all procedures on his behalf. The typical procedures are as follow:

  1. Before Healy Consultants starts to incorporate his company in Costa Rica, our Firm requests that our Client i) settles Healy Consultants’ mutually agreed fees for the engagement ii) signs and returns our Client engagement letter and iii) provides us all the required due diligence documents;
  2. Healy Consultants i) assists our Client to choose the optimum corporate structure for his company and then ii) drafts a detailed project plan: this document maps out, week by week, each step to completion of the engagement optimizing transparency and settling Client expectations regarding incorporation timelines in Costa Rica;
  3. Healy Consultants assists our Client to find an appropriate Spanish translation for the proposed name(s) of the company. Our Firm then submits an application to reserve the company name with the Costa Rica Registrer of Companies;
  4. After this, Healy Consultants will courier all the templates of documents that our Client needs to sign, notarize and legalize in his country of residency. Our Client then courier us back the documents required for incorporation of his business in Costa Rica;
  5. Healy Consultants will then proceed to open a corporate bank account for the company and deposit the initial capital. Our Firm also pay on behalf of our Client registration fees and stamp duties applicable for the formation of the company in Costa Rica;
  6. Next Healy Consultants then register the company’s incorporation charter (also known as M&AA) at the mercantile section of the public registry and obtain authorization to legalize the company books. Our Firm then sends the notice of constitution of the company to our Client;
  7. Post-incorporation, Healy Consultants will then register the company as a taxpayer by submitting form D-140 with the Tax Department. Our Client will then supply Healy Consultants with a lease agreement of their office premises. If our Client does not have a business premise, Healy Consultants will provide virtual office services in Costa Rica for the first six months or until our Client finds a business address;
  8. After our Client hires staff in Costa Rica, Healy Consultants i) registers the company for labor risk insurance with the National Insurance Institute and ii) apply for a sanitary permit;
  9. Healy Consultants also register our Client’s company as an employer with Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS – Social Security Institution);
  10. Following engagement completion, Healy Consultants will courier a full company kit to our Client, including original documents, unopened bank correspondence and a Client feedback survey to assess the quality of Healy Consultants’ incorporation services in Costa Rica.

Contact us

For additional information on our company incorporation services in Costa Rica, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi