Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 1. Start here › Costa Rica business and legal glossary: Spanish terms explained in English

Costa Rica business and legal glossary: Spanish terms explained in English

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

Costa Rican laws, forms and agency websites use Spanish terms and acronyms that English guides often mistranslate. This glossary gives each term a plain English meaning and the law or decree that defines it, so you can check the source. Amounts are those in force on 29 October 2026.

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 by reference to the salario base use the 2026 value of ₡462,200 (Circular 246-2025 of the Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Salario base 2026	462200 CRCCircular 246-2025, as of 2026-01-01 · in force
How S.A. and S.R.L. are identified	Cédula jurídica number Ley 10729, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Beneficial ownership threshold	15 %Decreto 44390-H art. 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Aguinaldo	One month of average salary Ley 2412 art. 1 and 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Cédula jurídica: the identification number the Registro Nacional assigns automatically to an S.A. or S.R.L. on registration; it replaces the corporate name and must be preceded or followed by the company type.Ley 10729 (Código de Comercio art. 18(6), 76, 77 and 103), Art. 1, 2025-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Salario base: the monthly amount, set yearly by the judiciary under Ley 7337, that serves as the unit for fines, registry fees and the tax on legal entities; ₡462,200 in 2026.
Example: ₡462,200 / US$1,016.23Circular 246-2025; Ley 7337 art. 2, Sole provision, 2025-12-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Apoderado generalísimo: the holder of the widest power of attorney; a foreign company's branch must appoint and keep one in Costa Rica for the branch's business.Ley 3284, Código de Comercio, Art. 226, 1964-04-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Impuesto a las personas jurídicas: the flat yearly tax every company, E.I.R.L. and branch pays in January, from 15 to 50 percent of a salario base.
Cost to do it: ₡69,330 to ₡231,100 (US$152.43 to US$508.11) in 2026.Ley 9428, Art. 3 and art. 4, 2017-03-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Beneficiario final and RTBF: the natural person who owns 15 percent or more (participación sustantiva) or otherwise controls an entity, reported to the Registro de Transparencia y Beneficiarios Finales kept by the Banco Central.Decreto 44390-H; Ley 9416, Decreto 44390-H art. 2, 2024-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Aguinaldo: the yearly thirteenth month bonus equal to one month's average salary over the 12 months before 1 December, paid in the first 20 days of December.Ley 2412, Art. 1, art. 2 and art. 4, 1959-10-23 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Pagos parciales: income tax prepayments, 75 percent of the base split in three equal instalments due at the end of March, June and September.Ley 7092, Art. 22, 1988-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Remesas al exterior: payments of Costa Rican source income to non domiciled persons (dividends, interest, royalties, services) taxed by final withholding under Title IV of the income tax law.Ley 7092, Art. 59 and art. 60, 1988-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. Licencia municipal (patente): the licence from the canton's municipality required for any profit making activity, obtained by paying the licence tax.Ley 7794, Código Municipal, Art. 88, 1998-04-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

10. Riesgos del trabajo: compulsory occupational risk insurance that employers take out with the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS).Ley 2, Código de Trabajo, Art. 193, 1943-08-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

11. La Gaceta: the official gazette, in which company formations and amendments are published in extract before registration and in which laws are published.Ley 3284, Código de Comercio, Art. 19, 1964-04-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

12. Zona franca: the free zone regime granting tax and customs benefits to approved companies; manufacturing companies in strategic sectors or outside the GAM (Gran Área Metropolitana) pay reduced income tax rates.Ley 7210, Ley de Régimen de Zonas Francas, Art. 21 bis and art. 21 ter, 1990-11-23 official text · verified 2026-10-29

13. CONASSIF: the national council that directs the financial superintendencies SUGEF (banks and financial entities), SUGEVAL (securities) and SUPEN (pensions).Ley 7732, Art. 169 and art. 171, 1997-12-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

14. SETENA: the national environmental technical secretariat that must approve an environmental impact assessment before projects that alter the environment start.Ley 7554, Art. 17 and art. 83, 1995-10-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Term	Plain English meaning	Legal basis
Aguinaldo	Thirteenth month bonus paid by 20 December	Ley 2412 art. 1 to 4
Apoderado generalísimo	Holder of an unlimited general power of attorney; required for a foreign company's branch	Código de Comercio art. 226
Beneficiario final	Natural person with 15% or more, or control	Decreto 44390-H art. 2
CCSS	Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, the social security institution	Ley 17 art. 1
Cédula jurídica	Registry number identifying an S.A. or S.R.L.	Ley 10729
CONASSIF	Council directing SUGEF, SUGEVAL and SUPEN	Ley 7732 art. 169
COPROCOM	Competition authority	Ley 9736 art. 1 and 2
Escritura pública	Public deed executed before a notary, required to form a company	Código de Comercio art. 19 and 105
Impuesto a las personas jurídicas	Flat yearly tax on registered entities	Ley 9428 art. 3
INS	Instituto Nacional de Seguros, occupational risk insurer	Código de Trabajo art. 193
La Gaceta	Official gazette	Código de Comercio art. 19
Licencia municipal (patente)	Municipal licence to operate	Código Municipal art. 88
Pagos parciales	Income tax prepayments in March, June and September	Ley 7092 art. 22
PRODHAB	Personal data protection agency	Ley 8968 art. 15
PROCOMER	Foreign trade promotion entity	Ley 7638 art. 7
Registro Nacional	National registry of companies, property, movables and IP	Ley 5695 art. 2
Remesas al exterior	Payments abroad subject to final withholding	Ley 7092 art. 59 and 60
Riesgos del trabajo	Occupational risk insurance	Código de Trabajo art. 193
RTBF	Beneficial ownership register at the Banco Central	Res. MH-DGT-RES-0020-2024
Salario base	Monthly unit for fines and fees, ₡462,200 in 2026	Circular 246-2025
SETENA	Environmental impact authority	Ley 7554 art. 83
Sociedad anónima (S.A.)	Stock company, at least two founders	Código de Comercio art. 104
UIF	Financial intelligence unit of the ICD	Ley 7786 art. 123
Zona franca	Free zone regime	Ley 7210

Glossary (alphabetical)

Worked example

A notice that a fine is "tres salarios base" means 3 × ₡462,200 = ₡1,386,600 in 2026 (about US$3,048.68 at ₡454.82), the minimum beneficial ownership fine under CNPT art. 84 bis; the same notice in January 2027 will use the 2027 salario base.

Step by step

1. When reading a Costa Rican document, look up the acronym in the table, then open the cited law in SCIJ.
2. Convert any amount expressed in salarios base with the current year's circular.

Common traps

"Salario base" is not the minimum wage; the 2026 unskilled monthly minimum is ₡373,092.30 (Decreto 45303-MTSS art. 1(b)).
"Patente" in daily usage usually means the municipal licence, not a patent of invention.

Sources

← Who regulates what in Costa Rica: a map of agencies for investorsCosta Rica macro at a glance: the Banco Central, the 3 percent inflation target, rates, growth and the fiscal anchor →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.