Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Dollar contracts and payments in Costa Rica: valid and enforceable, payable in colones at the reference rate unless an exception applies

Dollar contracts and payments in Costa Rica: valid and enforceable, payable in colones at the reference rate unless an exception applies

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

Contracts and obligations in foreign currency are valid, effective and enforceable in Costa Rica, but by default the debtor may pay in colones at the Banco Central reference rate on the payment date. Ten listed exceptions, including cross border payments, import and export operations, operations funded from abroad, payments for services from foreign providers, bank deposits and loans in foreign currency, must be paid in the agreed currency. Only colón notes and coins issued by the Banco Central are legal tender with unlimited discharging power.

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

Validity of foreign currency contracts	Valid and enforceable; payable in colones at the reference rate unless an art. 49 exception applies textLey 7558 art. 48 and 49, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Legal tender	Colón notes and coins issued by the BCCR textLey 7558 art. 43 and 46, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
BCCR reference selling rate	454.82 CRC per USDROCC art. 9, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Foreign currency deposits at supervised banks	Allowed, repayable in the foreign currency textLey 7558 art. 49(i), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The monetary unit is the colón; legal tender consists of the notes and coins issued by the Banco Central, which have unlimited discharging power for all public and private money obligations.Ley 7558, art. 42, 43 and 46, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Acts, contracts and obligations in foreign currency are valid, effective and enforceable, but may be paid at the debtor's option in colones at the effective commercial value of the currency on the payment date, defined as the average rate computed by the Banco Central for the exchange market.
Example: A US$10,000 debt paid in colones: ₡4,548,200 at the selling reference, ₡4,494,400 at the buying reference. / US$10,000.00 obligation; the two references differ by ₡53,800 (about US$118.29).Ley 7558, art. 48, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Exceptions that may be agreed in foreign currency and must be paid in it: obligations payable from Costa Rica abroad and vice versa; import and export operations; operations in foreign currency with resources from abroad; guarantees of foreign currency loans funded from abroad; pay of diplomats and foreign agencies; payments to persons domiciled abroad for services provided in Costa Rica; obligations to public law entities payable in foreign currency by special law; securities issued by the State, the Banco Central and SUGEF supervised entities; foreign currency deposits at SUGEF supervised entities; and foreign currency loans by supervised entities funded from those sources.Ley 7558, art. 49(a) to (j), 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The Banco Central computes each business day a reference buying rate and a reference selling rate for the US dollar, which are used for all purposes in laws, regulations and general rules and correspond to the effective commercial value of art. 48; each is the volume weighted average of the previous day's buying or selling transactions reported by authorised entities, and is published on the Banco Central website before the end of the business day.Reglamento para las Operaciones Cambiarias de Contado, as amended in session 6215, art. 9, 2024-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Session 6215 of 10 October 2024 set the reference rate as the weighted average of day t-1 transactions over a period fixed by the Junta Directiva.

5. Forward and other future foreign currency transactions are regulated by the Banco Central and supervised by the body it designates.Ley 7558, art. 90, 1995-11-03 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Obligation	Agreed in dollars	Debtor must pay
Local lease or local supply between residents	Yes	Dollars or colones at the reference rate, debtor's choice
Payment to a supplier abroad	Yes	Dollars
Import or export contract	Yes	Dollars
Fee to a foreign service provider for services in Costa Rica	Yes	Dollars
Dollar loan from a foreign lender with funds from abroad	Yes	Dollars
Dollar deposit or dollar loan at a supervised bank	Yes	Dollars

Which currency a debtor must use (Ley 7558 art. 48 and 49).

Worked example

A local office lease at US$5,000 a month between two Costa Rican companies: the tenant may pay ₡2,274,100 at the ₡454.82 selling reference on the payment date, unless the contract falls within an art. 49 exception.
A Costa Rican company owes US$20,000 to a US software vendor for services: the obligation is payable abroad and to a foreign provider, so it must be paid in dollars.

Step by step

Identify whether the contract fits an art. 49 exception; if not, assume the debtor can pay in colones.
Name the rate in the contract (BCCR reference selling or buying rate of the payment date) to avoid disputes.
Open a dollar account so dollar receipts and payments do not require conversion.
For hedging, use forwards regulated by the Banco Central through a supervised bank.

Common traps

A dollar clause between residents does not by itself shift exchange risk to the debtor; the debtor can tender colones.
Art. 48 refers to a single average while ROCC art. 9 publishes a buying and a selling reference; leaving the rate undefined invites a dispute over the spread.

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

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