Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 14. Disputes › Commercial litigation in Costa Rica: courts, the oral ordinary process, interim relief, appeals, cassation and costs

Commercial litigation in Costa Rica: courts, the oral ordinary process, interim relief, appeals, cassation and costs

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Commercial suits follow the oral Código Procesal Civil: a written claim, a 30 business day peremptory term to answer, a preliminary hearing with conciliation and a complementary hearing to take evidence and give judgment. Appeals against judgments must be filed within five days and cassation within fifteen, the latter only in ordinary cases of mayor cuantía. A pre judgment attachment needs a guarantee of 25% of the amount, and the loser pays costs.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Term to answer an ordinary claim	30 business daysLey 9342 art. 102, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Term to appeal a judgment	5 business daysLey 9342 art. 67, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Term to file cassation	15 business daysLey 9342 art. 69, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Guarantee for pre judgment attachment	25 %Ley 9342 art. 86, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Lapse of a claim for inactivity	6 monthsLey 9342 art. 57, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Mayor cuantía threshold, civil matters	3000000 CRCCircular 175-2013, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum lawyer fees, ordinary process	20% to ₡16.5 million, 15% to ₡82.5 million, 10% above textDecreto 41457-JP art. 16, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Loser pays costs	yes, by default textLey 9342 art. 73, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Days in procedural terms are business days; terms run from the business day after all parties are notified; legal terms cannot be extended unless the law allows it, and peremptory terms cannot be shortened or extended even by agreement.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 30, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Claims without a special procedure follow the ordinary process; the defendant has a peremptory term of 30 days to answer and counterclaim; the preliminary hearing covers conciliation, procedural objections, the amount of the case, the issues and admission of evidence; the complementary hearing must be held within 20 days of the preliminary hearing.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 101 and 102, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Service of the claim interrupts limitation until final judgment and puts the defendant in default; the defendant must answer every fact in order, stating whether it admits, denies or does not know it.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 36 and 37, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Summary process applies to eviction and liquid debts not suited to the monitorio, lease claims, possessory claims and delivery of goods under a title.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 103, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. A creditor may ask for a pre judgment attachment (embargo preventivo) to stop the debtor hiding assets, depositing a guarantee of 25% of the amount sought; no guarantee is needed if the claim rests on an executory title; the attachment is lifted if the debtor deposits the amount.
Cost to do it: Guarantee of 25% of the attachment amount: ₡11,370,500 on ₡45,482,000.
Example: ₡45,482,000 attachment: guarantee ₡11,370,500. / US$100,000.00 attachment: guarantee US$25,000.00.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 86, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Appeals are only available against decisions the law lists; the term is three days for written orders and five days for judgments; new evidence on appeal is exceptional.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 67, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Cassation lies against judgments in ordinary cases of mayor cuantía or of inestimable value, on procedural or substantive grounds, and is filed within fifteen days before the court that gave the judgment.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 69, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Corte Plena set the dividing line between menor and mayor cuantía in civil matters, and the cassation threshold, at ₡3,000,000 (Circular 175-2013, in force 26 November 2013); no later civil circular appears in SCIJ.
Example: ₡3,000,000. / US$6,596.02.Circular 175-2013, Corte Suprema de Justicia (Corte Plena session 38-13), single article, 2013-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. A claim lapses (caducidad) if the claimant does not move it forward for more than six months before first instance judgment, except when the delay is attributable to the court or in monitorio and enforcement cases without an effective attachment.Ley 9342, Código Procesal Civil, art. 57, 2016-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

10. The loser pays costs; lawyer fees are set by the official tariff, which fixes minimums of 20% of the amount up to ₡16,500,000, 15% from there to ₡82,500,000 and 10% above for ordinary, summary and arbitral proceedings with a determinable value.
Cost to do it: Minimum fee on a ₡45,482,000 claim: ₡7,647,300.
Example: ₡7,647,300 / US$16,813.90Ley 9342 art. 73 and 76; Decreto Ejecutivo 41457-JP art. 16, art. 73, 76; art. 16, 2018-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A distributor sues for US$100,000.00 (₡45,482,000) of unpaid invoices without an executory title and asks for a pre judgment attachment of the buyer's bank accounts: it must deposit ₡11,370,500 (US$25,000.00). The buyer has 30 business days to answer; if the buyer loses, it pays costs, with lawyer fees of at least ₡7,647,300 (US$16,813.90).

Step by step

Gather the contract, invoices and correspondence; documents in another language need an official translation.
Estimate the claim carefully: it fixes the court, the cassation route and the fee base.
Consider a pre judgment attachment with the claim; budget the 25% guarantee unless you hold an executory title.
Prepare witnesses and experts for the preliminary and complementary hearings, where evidence is taken orally.
Calendar the five day appeal and fifteen day cassation terms from notification.

Common traps

Terms are short and peremptory: a late answer or appeal is rejected outright (CPC art. 30.2).
Leaving a case idle for six months before judgment can extinguish the claim (CPC art. 57).
Only listed orders can be appealed; most interlocutory rulings are final (CPC art. 67).
The ₡3,000,000 threshold dates from 2013; confirm with the court that no later Corte Plena agreement changed it before relying on cassation access.

Sources

← Disputes in Costa Rica: courts, arbitration, enforcing foreign judgments and awards, and investment protectionDebt collection in Costa Rica: the monitorio, executory titles, mortgage and pledge foreclosure, attachments and auctions →

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