Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 13. Regulation › Consumer protection in Costa Rica: information duties, warranties, online sales and fines

Consumer protection in Costa Rica: information duties, warranties, online sales and fines

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Anyone selling goods or services to consumers in Costa Rica must inform in Spanish, clearly and truthfully, honour what its advertising promises, and give an implied quality warranty. Producers, suppliers and sellers answer jointly for harm without proof of fault. Online and off premises buyers can withdraw within eight days, with refunds due within eight calendar days. The Comisión Nacional del Consumidor fines 1 to 40 salarios base per infringement and can publish the infringer's name.

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. Salario base figures use ₡462,200 for 2026 (Poder Judicial Circular 246-2025 under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Withdrawal period for off premises and online sales	8 business daysLey 7472 art. 40; DE 37899 art. 72, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Refund deadline after withdrawal	8 calendar daysDE 37899 art. 75, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Minimum period to claim under warranty	30 daysLey 7472 art. 43, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum administrative fine per infringement	40 salarios baseLey 7472 art. 57, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Sellers and producers must respect the contract terms; inform clearly and truthfully in Spanish on nature, composition, expiry, origin and cash price on the product and shelf; disclose allergens; and, for credit sales, show the term, annual interest rate on balances, fees and the financing party.Ley 7472, art. 34(a) and (b), 1994-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. All information, advertising or offers to the public, in any medium, bind the producer that issues or uses them and form part of the contract.Ley 7472, art. 34, final paragraphs, 1994-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Producer, supplier and seller answer jointly and regardless of fault for harm caused by the good or service or by inadequate information; only proof of being unrelated to the harm frees them. Supervised financial entities are strictly liable for funds taken from customer accounts by unauthorised third parties.Ley 7472 (as amended by Ley 10889), art. 35, 2026-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 10889 of 23 March 2026 added strict liability of supervised financial entities for unauthorised withdrawals from customer accounts.

4. Advertising must not mislead; comparative advertising is allowed only on essential, objectively provable data; a seller that breaches this must publish a correction at its cost in the same medium.Ley 7472, art. 37, 1994-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Every good or service carries an implied warranty of compliance with mandatory quality and technical standards; durable goods need a written warranty stating scope, duration and how to claim; consumers have at least 30 days from delivery to claim, or from discovery for hidden defects.Ley 7472, art. 43, 1994-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. In sales made outside the seller's premises the consumer may rescind within eight days without liability; the regulation applies this to online sales, measured as eight business days, exercised through the same channel used to buy.Ley 7472 art. 40; DE 37899-MEIC (as amended by DE 40703), Ley 7472 art. 40; DE 37899 art. 72 and 75, 2017-10-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. After a valid withdrawal the seller must refund all amounts within eight calendar days, through the same payment method in online sales.DE 37899-MEIC, Reglamento a la Ley 7472, art. 75, 2013-07-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. A dedicated chapter of the regulation governs online commerce; breaching it counts as an infringement of the seller duties in Ley 7472 art. 34.DE 37899-MEIC (chapter added by DE 40703), art. 181 and 182, 2017-10-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Every special offer must show the previous price and the new price or the benefit.Ley 7472, art. 41, 1994-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Abusive general conditions in adhesion contracts are absolutely void; general conditions bind only if the adherent knew or could have known them with ordinary diligence.Ley 7472, art. 42, 1998-12-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. The Comisión Nacional del Consumidor fines 1 to 10 salarios base for breaches of art. 34(d), (e), (f), (j), (n), (o) and art. 38, and 10 to 40 salarios base for breaches of art. 34(a), (b), (c), (g), (h), (i), (k), (l), (m); the maximum applies when the breach harms health, safety or the environment.
Cost to do it: 1 to 40 salarios base per infringement.
Example: ₡462,200 to ₡18,488,000 in 2026. / About US$1,016.23 to US$40,649.05.Ley 7472 (as amended by Ley 10360), art. 57, 2023-04-12 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. The salario base used for fines in laws that refer to Ley 7337 is the monthly base salary of the Oficinista 1 post in the national budget; the Poder Judicial set it at ₡462,200 for 2026.
Cost to do it: ₡462,200 per salario base in 2026.
Example: One salario base: ₡462,200. / About US$1,016.23.Ley 7337; Poder Judicial Circular 246-2025, Ley 7337 art. 2; Circular 246-2025, 2025-12-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

13. Fines are graded on health, safety and environmental risk, market position, damage, recidivism and remediation; the Commission may publish the sanction and the infringer's name at the infringer's cost.Ley 7472 (as amended by Ley 10360), art. 59 and 60, 2023-04-12 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

An online retailer advertises a laptop at ₡450,000 but charges ₡495,000 at checkout. The advertised price binds it. If the Comisión Nacional del Consumidor finds a breach of art. 34(a) and (b), the fine is 10 to 40 salarios base: ₡4,622,000 to ₡18,488,000 in 2026 (about US$10,162.26 to US$40,649.05).
A customer cancels a web purchase on the fifth business day by the same online channel. The retailer must refund all amounts by the same payment method within eight calendar days.

Step by step

Review labels, shelf prices and web listings for Spanish, cash price, origin and allergens.
Write warranty terms for durable goods and give them with the invoice.
Build an online withdrawal and refund flow that meets the eight day rules.
Audit adhesion contracts for abusive clauses under art. 42.
Keep evidence for comparative and promotional claims.

Common traps

Advertising terms bind even if the contract says otherwise, unless the contract is more favourable to the consumer.
Fault is irrelevant: the whole chain answers to the consumer.
Online withdrawal must be accepted through the same channel used to buy.
A sanction can be published with the company's name.

Sources

← Competition law in Costa Rica: cartels, abuse of dominance, fines and leniencyPersonal data protection in Costa Rica: Ley 8968, PRODHAB, consent and breach notice →

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