Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Employing people in Costa Rica: the Código de Trabajo, CCSS and INS registration, the 2026 minimum wage table and the main costs of a hire

Employing people in Costa Rica: the Código de Trabajo, CCSS and INS registration, the 2026 minimum wage table and the main costs of a hire

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

Costa Rican employment is governed by the 1943 Código de Trabajo, which presumes an employment contract whenever someone provides services to another, and by the CCSS and INS social insurance laws. An employer must register with the CCSS within eight business days of starting activity and insure every worker against occupational risks with the INS. Minimum wages are set by decree every year (₡373,092.30 a month for a generic unskilled job in 2026, rising 1.70% on 1 January 2027), and every worker earns an aguinaldo of one month's pay, two weeks of paid vacation and nine paid public holidays.

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. Fines 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

Generic monthly minimum wage, unskilled worker (2026)	373092.30 CRCDecreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(b), as of 2026-01-01 · in force
Generic monthly minimum wage, unskilled worker (2026), USD at ₡454.82	820.31 USDDecreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(b), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum wage increase from 1 January 2027	1.70 %Consejo Nacional de Salarios, 28 October 2026, as of 2027-01-01 · pending
Deadline to start CCSS employer registration	8 business daysLey 17 art. 44(a), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
CRC per USD used for conversions	454.82 CRCBCCR indicator 318, 29 October 2026, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. An individual employment contract exists whenever a person provides services or executes work for another under permanent dependence and direction, for pay of any kind, whatever the contract is called; the contract is presumed between the person providing services and the person receiving them.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 18, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Social insurance is compulsory for every manual and intellectual worker earning a salary, and contributions are calculated on all remuneration paid under any name because of the employment relationship.Ley 17, Ley Constitutiva de la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, art. 3, 1943-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. An employer that does not start CCSS registration (empadronamiento) within eight business days of starting activity is fined 5% of the omitted salaries; leaving workers off the payroll or misreporting salaries is fined five salarios base; an employer in arrears or that failed to insure a worker answers in full to the CCSS for all benefits paid.
Cost to do it: Five salarios base in 2026: ₡2,311,000.
Example: Omitting one worker from the payroll: fine of ₡2,311,000. / About US$5,081.13.Ley 17, Ley Constitutiva de la CCSS, as reformed by Ley 7983, art. 44, 2000-02-16 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Every employer must insure its workers against occupational risks with the Instituto Nacional de Seguros; the duty remains even where workers are directed by an intermediary. An uninsured employer reimburses the INS for all medical, rehabilitation and cash benefits it provides.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, as reformed by Ley 6727, art. 193, art. 201 and art. 231, 1982-03-09 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. For 2026 the generic monthly minimum wage is ₡373,092.30 for an unskilled worker and ₡796,921.00 for a university licenciado; the daily minimum for an unskilled worker is ₡12,436.41. Work not covered by any category may not be paid below the unskilled daily minimum.
Example: ₡373,092.30 a month (unskilled, generic). / About US$820.31 a month.Decreto Ejecutivo 45303-MTSS, art. 1 and art. 2, 2025-11-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. The Consejo Nacional de Salarios unanimously approved on 28 October 2026 a general 1.70% increase of all private sector minimum wages from 1 January 2027 (domestic work still under review); the increase applies once officialised by executive decree.
Example: Unskilled generic monthly minimum: +₡6,342.57, to ₡379,434.87. / About US$834.25 a month.Consejo Nacional de Salarios, MTSS press release COP-MTSS-PRE-022-2026, Ley 832, Ley de Salarios Mínimos, art. 16 to 18 (as cited in Decreto 45303-MTSS), 2026-10-28 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Approved 28 October 2026: 1.70% general increase from 1 January 2027, pending the decree that replaces Decreto 45303-MTSS.

7. Every private employer must pay each worker an annual aguinaldo equal to one month of salary, based on the average ordinary and overtime pay of the twelve months before 1 December, within the first twenty days of December.Ley 2412, Ley de Aguinaldo para la Empresa Privada, art. 1, art. 2 and art. 4, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. No discrimination at work is allowed on grounds including age, ethnicity, sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, marital status, political opinion, national origin, health, disability, union membership or reporting corruption; equal work in equal post, hours and efficiency earns equal pay with no differences for age, sex or nationality.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, as reformed by Ley 10437, art. 404 and art. 167, 2024-01-29 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Obligation	Rule	Page
Register with CCSS within 8 business days	Ley 17 art. 44(a)	labor/social-security-and-occupational-risk
Occupational risk policy with INS	Código de Trabajo art. 193	labor/social-security-and-occupational-risk
Pay at least the decree minimum	Decreto 45303-MTSS	labor/minimum-wage
8 hour day, 48 hour week, overtime at 150%	Código de Trabajo art. 136 and 139	labor/working-hours-and-overtime
Aguinaldo, 2 weeks of vacation, paid holidays	Ley 2412; Código de Trabajo art. 148 and 153	labor/aguinaldo-vacations-and-holidays
Notice and cesantía on dismissal without cause	Código de Trabajo art. 28 and 29	labor/termination-and-severance
Sexual harassment policy and procedure	Ley 7476 art. 5	labor/workplace-harassment-and-safety

Main employer obligations, with the page that covers each

Worked example

A company hiring a university graduate (licenciado) in 2026 at the ₡796,921.00 minimum (US$1,752.17) also owes an aguinaldo of about one month a year and the employer payroll charges described in taxes/payroll-taxes, about 23.83% before the complementary pension and the INS premium.

Step by step

Register the company as an employer with the CCSS before the first payday, and no later than eight business days after starting activity.
Take out the INS occupational risk policy (riesgos del trabajo) before the worker starts.
Classify each job against the occupational profiles of the minimum wage decree and set pay at or above the category minimum.
Sign a written contract with the contents of art. 24 of the Código de Trabajo.
Report payroll monthly to the CCSS and the INS, and withhold the salary tax.
Calendar the aguinaldo payment for 1 to 20 December and the vacation schedule.

Common traps

Calling a worker a contractor does not avoid the presumption of employment in art. 18 of the Código de Trabajo.
Not being up to date with the CCSS blocks filings with the Registro Nacional, public procurement and permits (Ley 17 art. 74).
Minimum wages change every 1 January; from 2027 all minimums will be expressed as daily amounts.

Sources

← Tax audits and disputes in Costa Rica: four year review period, 50% to 100% penalties with voluntary reductions, appeals to the Tribunal Fiscal AdministrativoEmployment contracts in Costa Rica: written contract contents, indefinite term by default, fixed terms of one or five years and the first three months →

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