How to Buy Land in Costa Rica as a Foreigner: The 2026 Guide

Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the region where a foreigner can hold fee-simple title — the same full ownership a citizen has — with no residency requirement. You do not need a local partner, and you do not need to live here. What you do need is to understand how titled property actually works, because the difference between a good purchase and a bad one is almost never the land itself. It is the paperwork behind it.

Titled land vs. everything else

Every legitimate property in Costa Rica is recorded in the Registro Nacional, the national registry. A titled lot has a folio number you (or your lawyer) can look up: who owns it, what liens exist, what easements cross it. If a seller cannot produce a folio number, you are not looking at a purchase — you are looking at a story.

The plano catastrado

Alongside the title sits the plano catastrado — the registered survey map that defines exactly where your boundaries are. Before signing anything, your lawyer checks that the plano matches the title and that both match what you walked on the ground.

Buying through a Costa Rican company — the structure most buyers use

In practice, most foreign buyers on this coast do not hold the land in their personal name. Instead, a Costa Rican corporation (an S.A. or S.R.L.) is formed for the buyer, and the corporation takes title to the lot. You own 100% of the company; the company owns the land. At Aldea del Sol this is how purchases are structured — the company is set up for you as part of the closing.

Why buyers prefer it: liability separation, simpler estate planning (shares can be willed or transferred without re-registering land), cleaner banking and utilities in the company’s name, and an easier future resale. The corporate items you will see on the closing statement — shareholder minutes authorizing the acquisition, shareholder registration, and the D-140 tax registration — are exactly this structure being put in place.

The process, step by step

1. Offer and reservation. Usually a signed offer with a modest refundable deposit into escrow.
2. Due diligence. Your lawyer verifies title, liens, survey, land-use certificate (uso de suelo) and — critically for this coast — water availability.
3. Transfer. A notary (in Costa Rica, a specially licensed attorney) executes the transfer deed and registers it.
4. Registration. The Registro Nacional records you as owner. This is the moment the land is yours.

What it costs to close

Budget roughly 3–4% of the purchase price on top: transfer tax of 1.5% plus registry stamps of about 0.85%, and notary fees of roughly 1.25% (plus VAT). Get the estimate in writing before you sign.

The one rule that protects you

Use your own independent lawyer — not the seller’s. A good closing attorney on this coast costs a fraction of what a bad purchase does. At Aldea del Sol we hand every buyer the full document file before they commit, and we still tell them the same thing: have your own lawyer read it.