Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 3. Investing › Selling to the Costa Rican State: Ley General de Contratación Pública, SICOP, 2026 thresholds, guarantees, appeals and debarment

Selling to the Costa Rican State: Ley General de Contratación Pública, SICOP, 2026 thresholds, guarantees, appeals and debarment

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

Since 1 December 2022 almost all public buying runs under Ley 9986 and only through the single digital system (SICOP); any other channel makes the procedure void. The procedure depends on 2026 thresholds set by the Contraloría: a major tender for goods and services above ₡258,239,178 (about US$567,783) in the ordinary regime. Contracts from major and minor tenders need a 5 to 10 percent performance guarantee, major tender awards are appealed to the Contraloría within eight business days, and since 8 October 2026 breaking labor and social security duties is a ground for debarment.

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

Major tender threshold, goods and services, ordinary regime, 2026	258239178 CRCLey 9986 art. 36; Contraloría R DC 00142 2025, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minor tender lower limit, goods and services, ordinary regime, 2026	64559795 CRCLey 9986 art. 36; Contraloría R DC 00142 2025, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Major tender threshold, public works, ordinary regime, 2026	695259109 CRCLey 9986 art. 36; Contraloría R DC 00142 2025, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minor tender lower limit, public works, ordinary regime, 2026	173814832 CRCLey 9986 art. 36; Contraloría R DC 00142 2025, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Performance guarantee range	5 to 10 %Ley 9986 art. 44, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Deadline to appeal a major tender award to the Contraloría	8 business daysLey 9986 art. 97, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum qualified debarment	10 yearsLey 9986 art. 118(b), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Ley General de Contratación Pública in force since	2022-12-01 dateLey 9986, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The law applies to all contracting that uses public funds in whole or part. Private parties that administer public funds or receive free public benefits apply it only above 50 percent of the lower limit of the minor tender threshold (₡32,279,897.28 for goods and services and ₡86,907,415.76 for works in 2026). Non State public entities mostly self funded and public companies majority owned by private parties are outside it. The Constitutional Chamber held it unconstitutional as applied to ICE.Ley 9986, art. 1, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. All procurement must go through the single digital system; using any other means makes the procedure absolutely void, except force majeure accepted by the Dirección de Contratación Pública. Contracts that must be notarised are signed outside it but recorded in it.Ley 9986, art. 16, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. The Dirección de Contratación Pública keeps an official electronic register of suppliers and subcontractors in the system, holding the sworn statement on prohibitions, experience, record and sanctions of everyone who wants to contract with the State.Ley 9986, art. 18, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. The procedure (major, minor or reduced tender) follows thresholds updated each December by the Contraloría using the development unit value, in force for the following calendar year. Ordinary regime 2026: goods and services, major tender from ₡258,239,178, minor from ₡64,559,795, reduced below that; works, major from ₡695,259,109, minor from ₡173,814,832. Differentiated regime (public companies and public financial institutions): goods and services ₡309,887,014 and ₡77,471,753; works ₡1,112,414,922 and ₡278,103,730. Contracts of inestimable value always go to major tender.
Example: A ministry buying ₡300,000,000 of IT services must run a major tender. / About US$659,601 of services, above the US$567,783 major tender line.Ley 9986 art. 36 and 55; Contraloría Resolución R DC 00142 2025 (10 Dec 2025), art. 36 and 55, 2025-12-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Contraloría resolution R DC 00142 2025 of 10 December 2025 set the thresholds in force from 1 January to 31 December 2026.

5. Contracts from major and minor tenders require a performance guarantee of 5 to 10 percent of the award as set in the tender documents, or 5 percent if the documents are silent; it is optional for reduced tenders and for small SME or cooperative contracts. Penalty clauses and fines are capped at 25 percent of the price, and the administration may retain 1 to 5 percent of invoices to cover them.
Cost to do it: Performance guarantee 5 to 10 percent of the award.
Example: A ₡500,000,000 award with no percentage in the documents needs a ₡25,000,000 guarantee. / About US$54,967 on a US$1,099,336 contract.Ley 9986, art. 44 and 46, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Up to 10 percent of the evaluation score must go to SMEs, cooperatives and social economy organisations of the region a contract aims to develop that mainly employ people from that region.Ley 9986 as amended by Ley 10659 (10 Mar 2025, in force 8 Apr 2025), art. 23, 2025-03-10 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Objections to tender documents go to the Contraloría for major tenders within eight business days of publication (Contraloría decides within eight business days after an eight day hearing for the entity) and to the entity for minor tenders within three business days. Appeals against the award, or a declaration that a major tender is void or unsuccessful, go to the Contraloría within eight business days of the final act; the Contraloría decides admissibility within eight business days and the merits within 30 business days after the initial hearing. All filings go through the digital system.Ley 9986, art. 86, 87, 95 and 97, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Reckless objections can be fined 0.5 percent, and reckless appeals 1 percent, of the relevant threshold.
Cost to do it: For an ordinary goods and services tender in 2026, a reckless appeal fine is up to 1 percent of ₡258,239,178, about ₡2,582,392 (US$5,677.83).Ley 9986, art. 93, 2021-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. Sanctions on suppliers are simple debarment from 6 months to 2 years from the entity's tenders, or qualified debarment of 2 to 10 years from all public procurement for the most serious grounds (bribes, false facts, prohibited participation, abandoning a contract, unjust enrichment, delays or safety risks in infrastructure, among others). Since Ley 10971, failing to comply with labor law on wages, aguinaldo and working hours, or not paying the occupational risk policy or CCSS, INA, FODESAF and IMAS contributions, is also a ground and triggers qualified debarment.Ley 9986 art. 118 and 119 as amended by Ley 10971 (La Gaceta 190, 8 Oct 2026), art. 118 and 119(r), 2026-09-16 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Ley 10971 of 16 September 2026, in force 8 October 2026, added art. 119(r) on labor and social security non compliance and renumbered the later grounds to (s) and (t).

Regime	Type	Major tender from	Minor tender from	Reduced tender below
Ordinary	Goods and services	₡258,239,178 (US$567,783.25)	₡64,559,795 (US$141,945.81)	₡64,559,795
Ordinary	Works	₡695,259,109 (US$1,528,646.74)	₡173,814,832 (US$382,161.80)	₡173,814,832
Differentiated	Goods and services	₡309,887,014 (US$681,339.90)	₡77,471,753 (US$170,334.97)	₡77,471,753
Differentiated	Works	₡1,112,414,922 (US$2,445,835.54)	₡278,103,730 (US$611,458.88)	₡278,103,730

Procurement thresholds for 2026 (Contraloría R DC 00142 2025); USD at ₡454.82

Worked example

A foreign software company bids a ₡300,000,000 (US$659,601) major tender of a ministry. It registers in the SICOP supplier register with its sworn statement, files the bid in the system, and if it wins posts a performance guarantee of 5 to 10 percent (₡15,000,000 to ₡30,000,000). A losing bidder has eight business days from the award to appeal to the Contraloría, which then has up to 30 business days after the initial hearing to decide on the merits.

Step by step

Register in the SICOP supplier and subcontractor register and keep the sworn statement on prohibitions current.
Monitor tenders in SICOP; read the documents early to object within the eight business day window for major tenders.
Check the regime of the buyer (ordinary or differentiated) to know which threshold and appeal route applies.
Price the performance guarantee, retentions of 1 to 5 percent and fines of up to 25 percent.
Keep CCSS, INA, FODESAF, IMAS, occupational risk and wage payments current: since October 2026 a lapse is a debarment ground.

Common traps

Anything procured outside SICOP is void.
Thresholds change every 1 January; check the year of the decision to start the tender.
Reckless appeals carry a fine of 1 percent of the threshold.
Labor and social security non compliance now leads to qualified debarment of 2 to 10 years from all public buyers.
ICE purchases are outside the law after the Constitutional Chamber ruling, so follow ICE's own rules.

Sources

← Public works concessions and PPPs in Costa Rica: Ley 7762, private initiatives, the 20 percent equity rule and the 50 year capEnvironmental assessment and project permits in Costa Rica: SETENA viability, impact categories, review times and the 1 percent guarantee →

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