Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Latin America |
| ISO 3166-1 | CR / CRI |
| Registry | Registro Nacional |
| Last updated | 2026-05-04 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Costa Rica and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Cédula Jurídica | Registro Nacional / Ministerio de Hacienda |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Cédula Jurídica | Registro Nacional / Ministerio de Hacienda |
Sector regulators
SUGEF · SUGEVAL · SUGESE · SUPEN
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sociedad Anónima | S.A. | Share-capital corporation with transferable shares and mandatory board of directors. The dominant incorporation vehicle for larger businesses. Equivalent to a US C-Corp. |
| Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada | S.R.L. | Quota-based limited-liability company with non-freely transferable quotas; may be managed by a single manager. The preferred vehicle for SMEs and closely-held businesses. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Empresa Individual de Responsabilidad Limitada | E.I.R.L. | Single-natural-person limited-liability enterprise with separate legal personality; the owner’s personal assets are shielded from business debts. Governed by Law No. 9024. Equivalent to a US sole proprietorship or single-member LLC. |
| Persona Física con Actividad Lucrativa | — | Individual operating commercially under their own name with no separate legal entity; no corporate registration required, though a trade name may be optionally registered. Equivalent to a US sole proprietorship. |
| Sociedad en Nombre Colectivo | S.N.C. | General partnership in which all partners bear unlimited joint liability for the entity’s debts. Rarely used in practice due to unlimited personal exposure. Equivalent to a US general partnership. |
| Sociedad en Comandita Simple | S.C.S. | Limited partnership with at least one general partner (unlimited liability) and one or more limited partners (liable only to the extent of their capital contribution). Equivalent to a US limited partnership. |
| Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones | S.C.A. | Share-based limited partnership; limited-partner interests are represented by transferable shares while at least one general partner retains unlimited liability. Equivalent to a US limited partnership. |
| Sociedad Civil | S.C. | Civil-law non-commercial partnership governed by the Código Civil rather than the Código de Comercio; used for professional practices, agricultural ventures, and non-mercantile joint activities. Equivalent to a US general partnership for non-commercial purposes. |
| Cooperativa | — | Member-owned cooperative enterprise governed by the Ley de Asociaciones Cooperativas; profits distributed according to member participation rather than capital. Equivalent to a US cooperative. |
| Sucursal de Sociedad Extranjera | — | Registered branch of a foreign legal entity, established by public deed and registered with the Registro Nacional; the parent company bears full liability. Equivalent to a US branch or representative office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Personería Jurídica |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Escritura Constitutiva + Estatutos |
| Tax Registration | Cédula Jurídica |
| Operating Permit | Patente Municipal |
| Ownership Records | Any one of: Escritura Constitutiva · Libro de Accionistas |
| Governance Records | Personería Jurídica |
| Signing Authority | All required: Personería Jurídica + Acta de Junta Directiva |
| Address | Any one of: Contrato de Arrendamiento · Recibo de Servicios · Estado de Cuenta Bancario |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Personería Jurídica (Registro Nacional) | Legal Registration, Governance Records, Signing Authority |
| Escritura Constitutiva | Constitutive Documents, Ownership Records |
| Estatutos | Constitutive Documents |
| Cédula Jurídica | Tax Registration |
| Patente Municipal | Operating Permit |
| Libro de Accionistas / Cuotistas | Ownership Records |
| Acta de Junta Directiva | Signing Authority |
| Contrato de Arrendamiento | Address |
| Recibo de Servicios (≤90 días) | Address |
| Estado de Cuenta Bancario (≤90 días) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | SUGEF, SUGEVAL, SUGESE, SUPEN — Superintendencia de Pensiones |
Collection notes
- Address: Lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Presidente | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Board president. Key authority figure. |
| Vocal | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board member (non-officer). |
| Representante Legal | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Legal representative. |
Notes
- Single identifier: Cédula Jurídica serves as both the registry number and the corporate tax ID — collect one certificate; both
businessInfo.taxIdandbusinessInfo.businessEntityIdtake the same value. - Resident agent requirement was eliminated by Ley 10,597, effective 2024-12-03.
- Existing companies must register an official email address with Registro Nacional by 2026-06-04.