There is no requirement to travel to Costa Rica in order to follow registration procedures for a company. The following process is followed in order to register:
- A Deed of Registration is drafted and executed before a Notary Public
- A Notice of Registration is published in the Official Gazette
- Once registered the corporation must request the approval of the legal accounting books before the Tax Authorities
- Once the books are authorized the shareholders registry book is updated accordingly and share certificates are issued
The above registration process takes around 2 weeks.
Summary of Requirements for a Costa Rica S.A.
| General Information | |
| Type of Company | Private Corporation S.A. |
| Timescale to incorporate | Approx. 10 working days |
| Corporate Taxation | Nil |
| Double Tax Treaty Access: | No. |
| Directors | |
| Minimum No. Required | 3 required, President, Secretary & Treasurer. May be individual or Corporate |
| Local Director Required | No |
| Publicly accessible information | No |
| Location of Meetings | Anywhere |
| Shareholders | |
| Minimum No. Required | 2, 100% foreign shareholders allowed. May be the same as directors. Can be individual or corporate. |
| Publicly accessible information | No |
| Location of Meetings | Anywhere |
| Company Secretary | |
| Required | Yes |
| Local Secretary Required | No |
| Registered Office / Agent Required | Yes |
| Share Capital | |
| Standard Currency | CR Colones / USD |
| Standard Authorised | 10,000 CR Colones / Approx. USD 30.00 |
| Minimum Paid Up Capital | At least 25% of the issued share capital must be paid up upon incorporation. |
| Accounting & Compliance | |
| Requirements to prepare Accounts | Yes |
| Requirement for Audit | No |
| Local Auditor Required | N/A |
| Requirement to File Accounts | No |
| Requirement to file Annual Return | No |
| Accounting Year End | The fiscal year runs from 1st October until the 30thSeptember however an application may be made to the authorities to adopt a different year end |