Buildingpermits

What the lot already decides

A municipality cannot issue a permit for a lot without an approved survey plan or without access to a public road, or for a project that does not fit the zoning in use, setbacks or coverage ¹.

Fewer than half of Costa Rica's cantons have a plan regulador for their whole territory: 44 of 84 have one, and 22 of those cover only part of the canton. In Guanacaste, Abangares, Bagaces, Carrillo, Hojancha, La Cruz and Nandayure have none, and Liberia, Cañas, Nicoya, Santa Cruz and Tilarán have partial plans from the 1980s ²¹. Where there is no plan, the national construction rules apply ².

• Near water, the forestry law protects a 100 m radius around permanent springs, a strip of 15 m in the countryside and 10 m in town along rivers on flat land, 50 m on broken ground (an average slope over 40%), and 50 m around lakes ^4,5.
• Within 200 m of the high-tide line, the maritime zone law applies (see the coast, below) ²⁵.
• Inside a condominium or a tourism pole such as Papagayo, there is a second set of rules and approvals: see our guide to gated communities and the Papagayo page.

The steps for a single-family house

1. (01)

   Land use certificate

   From the municipality. It states, at least, the permitted use, setbacks, coverage, density, height, frontage and minimum lot area, and it lasts as long as the plan regulador does not change ^1,2.

2. (02)

   Alignments

   From MOPT if the lot faces a national road (up to 3 months), from the municipality for a cantonal road, and from INVU for rivers and springs (15 working days, valid 24 months) ^3,4,5,13.

3. (03)

   Water availability

   From AyA, the local ASADA or a well concession. Every building needs it. AyA issues it free within 15 working days, valid 12 months and extendable to 24 ^2,6.

4. (04)

   Electricity

   Not a national requirement, but some municipalities ask for it: Carrillo asks for a letter from Coopeguanacaste or ICE ⁷.

5. (05)

   SETENA, only when it applies

   Over 1,000 m², or 500 to 1,000 m² on a fragile site. The environmental licence must come before the permit ⁸. See below.

6. (06)

   Drawings and contract in the CFIA platform

   The design contract is registered in the CFIA's APC platform, and the CFIA charges about 0.27% of its own valuation of the work. The CFIA stamp lasts one year ^10,11.

7. (07)

   Review in the APC

   For a house, the Ministry of Health approves on the professional's sworn declaration, and the Fire Department does not review it, though the house must still meet the fire rules ¹².

8. (08)

   Municipal licence

   The municipality charges a construction tax of up to 1% of the value of the work, and the licence needs the work-risk insurance policy first ^1,13,14.

9. (09)

   Digital site logbook

   Opened by the director of works, with its QR code visible on site, and closed within 30 days of finishing ¹⁵.

10. (10)

    When the work ends

    Notify the municipality: occupying before giving notice is an infraction. There is no national occupancy certificate; some municipalities run a final inspection ¹³.

What changes for a hotel, a shop or a restaurant

In the APC, the Ministry of Health and the Fire Department review every building other than a house: 15 working days for the first review and 5 for corrections, or 7 and 3 for simple shops and offices ¹². For buildings of 300 m² or less, Health accepts a sworn declaration instead of its review, except for treatment plants, wastewater systems, radiation shielding and boilers ¹².

The Fire Department has no size threshold for non-residential buildings, and reviews apartment buildings from 4 units up. Its regulation adopts the NFPA codes, NFPA 101 (2021) among them ^12,18.

Buildings open to the public must meet the accessibility law: at least one accessible entrance, doors of 0.90 m, corridors of 1.20 m, ramps of 8 to 12% depending on their length, accessible toilets and 5% of parking, never fewer than two spaces. Without it, the permit is not processed ^19,20.

1. (01)

   Health operating permit

   After construction, the Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento. For most risk groups it is issued on submission, and it lasts 5 years ¹⁶.

2. (02)

   Municipal business licence

   The patente: the municipality has 30 calendar days to decide, and it cannot be granted without the land use certificate ^1,17.

When SETENA's environmental review applies

Since 20 August 2023, the threshold is the same for houses, hotels, shops and residential buildings ^8,9:

Earthworks follow the same thresholds in cubic metres ⁸. Fragile sites include the maritime zone, forest, rivers and springs with their protection strips, aquifer recharge areas, high-hazard areas, protected areas, heritage sites and indigenous territories ⁸.

The 500 m² rule many people still quote came from the previous regulation, Decreto 31849, which was repealed in 2023 ^8,9. The new thresholds are being challenged before the Constitutional Court, and the Procuraduría has said the change lacks technical support, so they could change ^22,23.

After a D1, the route depends on the project's environmental impact score: a sworn declaration of environmental commitments, an environmental management plan or a full impact study. Fees run from US$60 for a D1-C to US$1,500 for a full study, and the licence lasts 5 years before works start ⁸.

In Guanacaste, where several coastal aquifers are under pressure, SENARA's matrix limits density and paved area on highly vulnerable land; how binding it is has been argued in the courts ²⁴.

The national rules where there is no local plan

Building near the beach

The maritime zone is the 200 m strip from the ordinary high-tide line. The first 50 m are the public zone, which cannot be occupied under any title; building there illegally can bring demolition without compensation and prison ²⁵.

In the remaining 150 m, the restricted zone, only municipalities grant concessions, with the ICT's approval in tourist areas, for 5 to 20 years and against a yearly fee. A permanent building needs a registered concession that fits an approved coastal plan; a mere use permit allows only works that are easy to remove ^25,26.

Concessions cannot go to foreigners with less than 5 years of residence, or to companies more than half owned by foreigners ^25,26. Coastal plans are still scarce: in a 2026 survey, only 6 of the 13 coastal cantons that answered had one for some of their beaches, and a 2025 law gave municipalities without plans 8 more years ^27,28.

How long each step takes

In practice the municipality makes the difference. In the CFIA's 2025 ranking, approving a permit in the APC took on average about 1 day in Escazú, 10 in Liberia and Santa Cruz, 12 in Santa Ana, 19 in Garabito, 26 in Carrillo and 35 in Quepos; Liberia approved 61% of files on the first submission, Santa Cruz 35% and Escazú 16% ²⁹.

The most common reasons for sending a file back, in a Contraloría audit, were setbacks, windows on boundary walls, room sizes and ventilation, and missing documents such as the land use certificate ³⁰.