Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Employment contracts in Costa Rica: written contract contents, indefinite term by default, fixed terms of one or five years and the first three months

Employment contracts in Costa Rica: written contract contents, indefinite term by default, fixed terms of one or five years and the first three months

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

Costa Rican employment contracts must be in writing except for farm work, casual work of up to ninety days and very small jobs, and the written contract must list pay, hours, duration and place of work. Fixed term contracts are allowed only when the nature of the work requires it, may not exceed one year (five for specialised technical work) and become indefinite if the work continues. In the first three months of continuous work neither notice nor cesantía is owed, which works in practice as a trial period.

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

Maximum fixed term contract (general)	12 monthsCódigo de Trabajo art. 27, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum fixed term for specialised technical services	5 yearsCódigo de Trabajo art. 27, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Default contract type	indefinite Código de Trabajo art. 26, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Initial period without notice or cesantía	3 monthsCódigo de Trabajo art. 28 and 29, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Contracts may be verbal only for farm and livestock work, casual or temporary work of up to ninety days (with a written record of days and pay every thirty days at the worker's request) and work for a fixed job worth up to ₡250; in all other cases the contract must be written in three copies, one for each party and one that the employer sends to the MTSS employment office within fifteen days of signing, amendment or novation.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 22 and art. 23, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The written contract must state the parties' names, nationality, age, sex, marital status, domicile and identity numbers, the place of residence if work is elsewhere, the duration or that it is indefinite, the working hours, the salary and how, when and where it is paid, the place of work, any other terms, and the place, date and signatures.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 24, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Full proof of a written contract is only the document itself, and the lack of a document is always attributed to the employer; a verbal contract is proved by any means.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 25, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. A contract may be for a fixed term only where the nature of the service requires it; if the term ends and the causes and the work continue, it is treated as indefinite where the work is permanent in nature. A fixed term may not exceed one year to the worker's detriment, or five years for services requiring special technical preparation, and continuing to work with the employer's knowledge extends it tacitly.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 26 and art. 27, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Notice is owed only after three months of continuous work and cesantía only after three months of continuous work, so either party can end an indefinite contract in the first three months without either payment.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, as reformed by Ley 7983, art. 28 and art. 29, 2000-02-16 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Ending a fixed term or project contract early without cause requires paying the other party's proven damages; an employer that does so must also pay one day of salary for each seven days worked, at least three days, or at least twenty two days if the contract was for six months or more.
Example: Employer ends a one year contract after 70 days at ₡20,000 a day: at least ₡440,000 (the 22 day floor, above the ₡200,000 from one day per seven worked) plus proven damages. / About US$967.42 plus damages.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, as reformed by Ley 7983, art. 31, 2000-02-16 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. An intermediary who hires people to work for an employer makes that employer jointly liable for all obligations under the Código de Trabajo and social security law; contractors that do the work with their own capital are employers, not intermediaries.Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, art. 3, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A company hires an engineer on a 24 month fixed term contract for an ordinary permanent role: the term exceeds one year without special technical justification and the work is permanent, so a court can treat the relationship as indefinite with full notice and cesantía rights (art. 26 and 27).

Step by step

Choose indefinite unless the work is genuinely temporary or a defined project.
Draft the written contract with every item in art. 24, in Spanish, and sign three copies.
Send the employer copy to the MTSS employment office within fifteen days, as art. 23 requires.
Register the worker with the CCSS and the INS policy from day one.
Diary the three month mark, after which notice and cesantía start to accrue.

Common traps

Chained fixed term contracts for permanent work become indefinite (art. 26).
Without a written contract the employer bears the burden of proof (art. 25).
Using an intermediary or staffing firm does not remove the client's joint liability (art. 3).

Sources

Ley 2, Código de Trabajo (SCIJ)

← Employing people in Costa Rica: the Código de Trabajo, CCSS and INS registration, the 2026 minimum wage table and the main costs of a hireMinimum wage in Costa Rica: the 2026 decree table from ₡373,092.30 a month, the 1.70% increase for 2027 and the switch to daily minimums →

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