Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Cash and transfer reporting in Costa Rica: declare US$10,000 at the border, bank registers of US$10,000 transfers

Cash and transfer reporting in Costa Rica: declare US$10,000 at the border, bank registers of US$10,000 transfers

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

Anyone entering or leaving Costa Rica with cash or securities of US$10,000 or more, or the equivalent, must declare them on the customs form at the border; failing to declare means immediate forfeiture of the money. Financial institutions register every transaction of US$10,000 or more, including transfers to and from abroad, aggregate multiple same day transactions and keep records for five years. Ley 10961, in force since 19 September 2026, added anti money laundering duties for virtual asset service providers and raised fines for failures to register transactions.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar (buying rate ₡449.44) published for 29 October 2026 (indicators 318 and 317 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Cash and securities declaration at the border	10000 USDLey 7786 art. 35, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Consequence of not declaring cash	Forfeiture of the full amount textLey 7786 art. 35, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Financial institution transaction register threshold	10000 USDLey 7786 art. 20 and 23, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Retention of transaction records	5 yearsLey 7786 art. 22, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Virtual asset service providers AML regime	In force from 19 September 2026 textLey 10961 art. 1, as of 2026-09-19 · in force

The rule

1. On entering or leaving the country every person, national or foreign, must declare cash or securities carried of US$10,000 or more, or the equivalent in another currency, on the official customs form at the migration post. Total or partial failure causes strict liability and immediate loss of the money or securities in favour of the Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas, declared by the Ministerio de Hacienda.
Example: Undeclared cash of ₡6,822,300 at the border: entire amount forfeited. / US$15,000.00 undeclared: entire US$15,000.00 at risk of forfeiture.Ley 7786, art. 35 as amended by Ley 8719, art. 35, 2009-03-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Every financial institution records on the supervisor's form each incoming or outgoing transaction in colones or foreign currency of US$10,000 or more, including transfers from and to abroad, with the identity of the person, the beneficiary, accounts, type, date, amount and origin; multiple transactions by or for one person in a day that together reach US$10,000 count as one. Records are kept for five years.Ley 7786, as amended by Ley 8719, art. 20, 21, 22 and 23, 2009-03-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Ley 10961 added art. 15 quater, making virtual asset service providers subject to customer and beneficial owner due diligence, record keeping, politically exposed person controls, virtual asset transfer controls and enhanced measures for high risk countries, and rewrote art. 81: supervised financial entities that fail to register US$10,000 transactions on time are fined 0.5% to 2% of equity, and entities under art. 15 bis, 15 ter and 15 quater are fined 5% to 50% of the transaction amount, sanctioned by SUGEF or the Dirección Nacional de Notariado.
Example: A designated business that fails to register a ₡4,548,200 transfer: fine ₡227,410 to ₡2,274,100. / US$10,000.00 transfer: fine US$500.00 to US$5,000.00.Ley 10961, art. 1 (Ley 7786 art. 15 quater) and art. 3 (Ley 7786 art. 81), 2026-06-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 10961 of 9 June 2026, published in La Gaceta 113 of 19 June 2026, in force 19 September 2026 (three months after publication), with three months for regulations.

Who	Supervisor	Fine
Supervised financial entities (art. 14)	Competent supervisor	0.5% to 2% of equity
Persons under art. 15 bis, 15 ter and virtual asset service providers (art. 15 quater)	SUGEF or Dirección Nacional de Notariado	5% to 50% of the transaction

Fines for failing to register a US$10,000 or larger transaction (Ley 7786 art. 81 as reformed by Ley 10961).

Worked example

A traveller arriving with US$12,000 in cash declares it on the customs form and keeps it; the same traveller who does not declare loses the full US$12,000 (₡5,457,840) by simple verification.
A company receiving a US$250,000 capital contribution from abroad will have the transfer recorded by its bank in the US$10,000 register and should expect source of funds questions.

Step by step

Ask for the customs declaration form at the migration post whenever carrying US$10,000 or more in cash or securities, counting all currencies together.
Prepare source of funds documents (board resolutions, contracts, bank statements) before large inbound or outbound transfers.
If you operate a virtual asset business, map the Ley 10961 duties and the CONASSIF rules that implement them.

Common traps

Splitting transfers on the same day does not avoid the US$10,000 register; they are aggregated.
The cash threshold covers securities too, not only notes.
Forfeiture at the border is strict liability; no intent is required.

Sources

Related: Costa Rica country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

← Export proceeds in Costa Rica: no surrender requirement, but prove liquidation or entry when the Banco Central asksTaxes in Costa Rica: 30% corporate income tax, 15% on dividends and capital gains, 13% VAT, withholding on payments abroad and municipal taxes →

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