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Environmental assessment and project permits in Costa Rica: SETENA viability, impact categories, review times and the 1 percent guarantee

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

Any activity that alters the environment or generates waste or hazardous materials needs prior environmental viability from SETENA before it starts. Under the 2023 regulation (Decreto 43898) projects are rated from A (high impact, full environmental impact study) to D (very low), filed through SETENA's digital platform, with technical review targets of 14 to 28 calendar days plus seven to issue the resolution. Viability lasts five years before works start, and SETENA sets an environmental guarantee of up to 1 percent of the investment.

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. Amounts set in salarios base use the 2026 salario base of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial, under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

SETENA approval required before starting activities with environmental impact	yes yes or noLey 7554 art. 17, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum environmental guarantee	1 % of investmentLey 7554 art. 21, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Validity of environmental viability before works start	5 yearsDecreto 43898 art. 44, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
SETENA technical review target for a full environmental impact study	28 calendar daysDecreto 43898 art. 18, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
SETENA technical review target for D1 plus sworn statement	14 calendar daysDecreto 43898 art. 18, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Human activities that alter or destroy elements of the environment or generate waste, toxic or hazardous materials require an environmental impact assessment by the Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental (SETENA); its prior approval is an indispensable requirement to start the activity, works or project. Laws and regulations say which activities need it.Ley 7554 (Ley Orgánica del Ambiente), art. 17, 1995-10-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Assessments are processed before SETENA and prepared by interdisciplinary teams of professionals registered and authorised by SETENA, at the developer's cost. SETENA's reasoned resolutions bind private parties and public bodies; SETENA can stop works that breach them, and the developer, the author of the study and those who approved it are jointly liable for damage.
Cost to do it: Consultant and study costs are borne by the developer.Ley 7554, art. 18, 19 and 20, 1995-10-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. SETENA sets a guarantee of compliance with environmental obligations of up to 1 percent of the investment (or of land value where no infrastructure is built), in two forms: compliance during design and execution, and operation for five to ten years depending on impact and risk to nearby population; it is reviewed yearly.
Cost to do it: Up to 1 percent of the investment.
Example: A ₡2,274,100,000 plant can face an environmental guarantee of up to ₡22,741,000. / Up to US$50,000 on a US$5,000,000 project.Ley 7554, art. 21, 1995-10-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Anyone may be heard by SETENA at any stage; within five business days of receiving an assessment SETENA sends an extract to the municipalities concerned and publicises the list of studies. The file is public, except information protected as industrial property on request.Ley 7554, art. 22 and 23, 1995-10-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Urban real estate developments in urban quadrants that need SETENA assessment must also file an Urban Tree Protection Plan and a Tree Planting Plan.Ley 7554, art. 17 bis added by Ley 10939 (Ley de arbolado urbano, La Gaceta 91, 20 May 2026), art. 17 bis, 2026-04-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 10939 of 30 April 2026, in force 20 May 2026, added art. 17 bis requiring tree protection and planting plans for urban developments subject to SETENA review.

6. Projects are classified by potential environmental impact: A high, B moderate (B1 moderate to high, B2 moderate to low), C low and D very low, using Annex 1, which lists activities by the Costa Rican economic activity classification. Decreto 43898 repealed the 2004 EIA regulation, Decreto 31849.Decreto Ejecutivo 43898 MINAE S MOPT MAG MEIC (Reglamento de evaluación, control y seguimiento ambiental; La Gaceta 67, Alcance 65, 19 Apr 2023; in force 20 Aug 2023), art. 7, 2022-12-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. After the D1 form the environmental significance score sets the route: 700 or more, D1 plus full environmental impact study (EsIA), category A; over 330 and under 700, D1 plus environmental management plan forecast (P PGA), B1; 330 or less, D1 plus sworn statement of environmental commitments (DJCA), B2.Decreto Ejecutivo 43898, art. 19, 2022-12-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. SETENA must complete the technical review in at most 14 calendar days for D1 plus DJCA, 21 for D1 plus P PGA and 28 for D1 plus EsIA, then issue the resolution within seven calendar days. Missing information is requested once, with at least 20 business days to answer, and the request stops the clock.Decreto Ejecutivo 43898, art. 18, 2022-12-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. Environmental viability lasts five years before the project starts; once works begin the project moves to control and follow up through the Digital Environmental Logbook. For projects that need a concession the five years run from the grant of the concession.Decreto Ejecutivo 43898, art. 44 and 45, 2022-12-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Score (SIA)	Instrument	Category	Technical review target	Resolution
700 or more	D1 plus environmental impact study (EsIA)	A	28 calendar days	7 calendar days
Over 330 and under 700	D1 plus environmental management plan forecast (P PGA)	B1	21 calendar days	7 calendar days
330 or less	D1 plus sworn statement of environmental commitments (DJCA)	B2	14 calendar days	7 calendar days

SETENA routes under Decreto 43898

Worked example

A logistics park outside San José scores 520 on the D1, so it follows the B1 route with a P PGA. SETENA should finish technical review in 21 days and resolve in seven more; if SETENA asks for missing data, the clock stops until the developer answers (at least 20 business days allowed). With viability granted in March 2027 the developer must start works by March 2032, and may have to post up to ₡45,482,000 (US$100,000) of guarantee on a ₡4,548,200,000 (US$10,000,000) investment.

Step by step

Classify the activity in Annex 1 of Decreto 43898 and hire SETENA registered consultants.
File the D1 on SETENA's digital platform with digital signature (or a notarised signature or a proxy holding one).
Follow the route set by the score: DJCA, P PGA or EsIA; prepare for public hearings on major projects.
Answer the single information request within the term given.
Post the environmental guarantee and start works within five years; then report through the Digital Environmental Logbook.
Obtain the municipal construction permit and sector permits after viability.

Common traps

Starting works before viability lets SETENA stop the project, and the consultant and developer are jointly liable for damage.
Review clocks stop while information is missing; real timelines are usually longer than the targets.
Viability expires if works do not start within five years.
Urban developments now also need tree protection and planting plans (since 20 May 2026).
The EIA file is public; ask in time for confidentiality of industrial property.

Sources

← Selling to the Costa Rican State: Ley General de Contratación Pública, SICOP, 2026 thresholds, guarantees, appeals and debarmentTourism incentives in Costa Rica: the ICT tourism contract under Ley 6990, what it still exempts and the tenfold misuse fine →

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