Building permits in Costa Rica, filed for you

(At a glance)

Time: About 3 months, plus SETENA, a condominium or the ICT when they apply
Fee: Included in our design; for drawings made elsewhere, agreed by scope
Paid to the institutions: Up to 1% municipal tax, 0.265% CFIA and about 1.3% INS policy
You sign: The CFIA contract and the requests

(Who it is for)

Projects we design: the permits are part of the work
Drawings made abroad that need a Costa Rican architect to adapt them, sign them and file them

(How it runs)

(01)
Before the drawings
About 1.5 months, alongside the design

Land use certificate, water availability, alignments for roads, rivers or power lines, and the condominium committee's approval if there is one.

You receive
- Land use certificate
- Water availability letter ¹
- Alignments
(02)
Environment
When it applies

SETENA's environmental viability, by form D1-C or D1 depending on the area and the site ².

You receive
- Environmental viability
(03)
CFIA and institutions
About 1.5 months

We register the contract with the CFIA and file the drawings in the APC, where the institutions review them; for a house, Health approves on the professional's sworn declaration ³. We answer each observation.

You receive
- Drawings approved in the APC
(04)
Licence
A few weeks

The municipality issues the licence once the construction tax and the INS work-risk policy are paid, and we open the digital site logbook.

You receive
- Municipal building licence
- Site logbook opened

(Fees)

When we design the project, filing it is part of the work. What the institutions charge is paid by the owner: the municipal construction tax, up to 1% of the value of the works; the CFIA charges, 0.265% ⁴; and the INS work-risk policy, about 1.3% ⁵. For drawings made elsewhere we agree a fee by scope once we have seen them.

(Not included)

What the institutions charge, paid by the owner
Redrawing a foreign design to Costa Rican codes, quoted separately

(Questions)

I have plans from an architect abroad. Can you permit them?

Yes. Drawings filed in Costa Rica need a CFIA member responsible for them, so we review the design against Costa Rican codes, adapt what needs adapting and sign. A foreign architect can also join the CFIA as a temporary member, working with a local member and with local liability insurance ⁶.

What does a permit cost on top of the design?

About 2.6% of the value of the works: up to 1% for the municipality, 0.265% for the CFIA and about 1.3% for the INS policy ^5,4. SETENA charges its own fee when it applies.

How long does the APC take?

It depends on the municipality more than on the CFIA. In 2025 the CFIA measured averages of about 10 days to approve in Liberia and Santa Cruz, 19 in Garabito, 26 in Carrillo and 35 in Quepos ⁷, before observations and corrections.

Who is responsible for the project before the CFIA?

The professionals registered in the APC: the architect for the design, the engineers for their parts, and a professional responsible for the works once they start ⁸.