The Discreet Investor
Company formation
Costa Rica
Pura vida for your balance sheet: a stable Latin American democracy with territorial taxation, shareholders kept off the public record, and your offshore company live in one week — local bank account within reach.
Transparent pricing
Cost of a Costa Rica company
Three ways in — from a free sanity check to a custom structure with local officers and nominees arranged.
Free consultation
A confidential call with an expert on your Costa Rica project — cost, process, requirements, and whether it fits at all.
- +Initial consultation with a professional
- –Due diligence procedure
- –Incorporation in Costa Rica
- –Company contact person
- –Fully remote process
- –Registered legal address, 1 year
- –Accounting requirements, 1 year
- –Local shareholder, 1 year
- –Local director, 1 year
- –Full corporate document set, certified & translated
- –Corporate card opening assistance
Basic package
Your Costa Rica project off the ground: incorporation, address and the full corporate document set, run entirely remotely.
- +Initial consultation with a professional
- +Due diligence procedure
- +Incorporation in Costa Rica
- +Company contact person
- +Fully remote process
- +Registered legal address, 1 year
- +Full corporate document set, certified & translated
- –Accounting requirements, 1 year
- –Local shareholder, 1 year
- –Local director, 1 year
- –Corporate card opening assistance
Custom package
Full turnkey formation with support in every aspect — local director and shareholder for the year, accounting carried, nominees available.
- +Initial consultation with a professional
- +Due diligence procedure
- +Incorporation in Costa Rica
- +Company contact person
- +Fully remote process
- +Registered legal address, 1 year
- +Accounting requirements, 1 year
- +Local shareholder, 1 year
- +Local director, 1 year
- +Full corporate document set, certified & translated
- +Corporate card opening assistance
In a hurry? Shelf companies available
Time is the scarcest asset in business. A shelf company — an already-registered Costa Rica entity transferred into your name — is the fast track: skip the queue and start operating in days.
Incorporation in Costa Rica
Getting started
Taxation — strictly territorial +
Costa Rica draws one line and respects it: tax applies only to income generated inside the country. Offshore and onshore companies are treated identically — whatever you earn beyond the border simply isn't taxed. Sell goods or services to the local population and domestic rates of 5–30% apply; keep your clients abroad and the rate conversation is over before it starts. The treaty network is thin — but a territorial system rarely needs one.
Speed — one business week +
Choose the entity type — LLC, corporation (SA) or a branch of a foreign company — pick a unique name (the National Registry confirms availability), and several business days later you're registered, with tax identification number issued and the bank file ready to open. Speed here isn't vanity: it's what gets your account opened, your assets protected and your structure compliant without months of limbo.
Reputation — the respectable offshore +
A stable democracy in a privileged spot between the American markets, with a largely bilingual, well-educated population and a government that actively courts foreign investment. Costa Rica gives you offshore economics wrapped in a flag banks and counterparties respect — the reason it consistently outranks cheaper flags on due-diligence forms.
Accounting — an annual return, little else +
No compulsory accounting or financial reporting for offshore companies, and no statutory audit. The one standing obligation is the annual tax return — which our package files for you, so the deadline never becomes your problem. We'd still counsel an internal auditor's eye on the books: discipline is cheap, surprises aren't.
Apostille — member since 2011 +
Costa Rica joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 14 December 2011, so your remote-incorporation documents legalise with a single stamp — quick, cheap, recognised worldwide. One more friction the jurisdiction removed before you arrived.
Step by step
Full process: incorporation in Costa Rica
Project planning 1 day
Structure chosen, name checked for uniqueness against the National Registry, documents prepared and notarised, tax identification number sorted — and any activity-specific permits flagged before they can become filing-day surprises.
Incorporation of the company 1 week
We run the registration end to end and keep you updated as it moves — any issue that surfaces is ours to resolve, not yours to chase. At the finish you receive the complete set of legal documents, certified, notarised and translated into English.
Opening the bank account 4 weeks
The step that turns paper into business. Local bank or international bank operating in the jurisdiction — we pick the target, marshal the documents and negotiate through our banking network, in Costa Rica and worldwide, until you hold live account details.
The fine print, in plain terms
Costa Rica formation in detail
Share capital: a dollar
Capital requirements are a formality: 1 USD paid in, with the standard authorised capital at 2,500 CRC — roughly 4 USD. Shareholders of the LLC are liable only up to unpaid capital. Nobody's money sits frozen for the registrar's sake.
Documents
Articles of incorporation — name, purpose, business location — translated into Spanish and notarised, plus passport copies of all founders and directors, and a power of attorney where someone acts on the company's behalf. We draft, translate and shepherd all of it.
Remote incorporation
No flight required: the formation runs on a notarised power of attorney, apostilled where your country requires it. You save the airfare and the week; we handle the paper. The process stays transparent at every step.
Registry & privacy
The National Registry records the company and its directors. Shareholder details are provided at registration but are not public — and nominee services are legal, properly structured and transparent to the authorities. Privacy by architecture, not by hiding.
Substance & residency
A legal address in Costa Rica that can receive correspondence — which we provide — and that's the substance bill. No obligation to hire locally, no residency requirements at all: directors and shareholders can live anywhere, with non-residents holding the same rights as nationals.
Banking
Rare among offshore flags: a genuine shot at a local account, alongside international banks operating in the jurisdiction. Documents, application, approval — a process measured in weeks, which our banking team carries as part of the engagement.
What our clients build here
Popular business models in Costa Rica
Cryptocurrency companies
Crypto business is legal and thriving here: a unique trading name, articles of association that describe the crypto operations, tax registration — and you're running. The kicker sits in the tax code: cryptocurrencies are treated as intangible assets and not taxed by the Costa Rican authority.
Gambling & gaming
The jurisdiction the industry built itself on: Costa Rica has no dedicated online-gaming licence regime — operators run on an ordinary company registration, with a licence needed only where servers physically sit in the country. Hundreds of online operators call it home for a reason.
Holding companies
Tax planning, probate avoidance, asset protection — the classic trio. Costa Rica holdings often serve as umbrella corporations over licensed entities, forming the legal spine of a FinTech group operating worldwide, with trusts layered in where they genuinely add efficiency.
Online services & e-commerce
One of the country's fastest-growing sectors — and a natural fit for territorial taxation: sell to the world, owe nothing locally; only sales to the Costa Rican population trigger domestic rates. Register, build the storefront, invoice globally.
Asset & wealth management
Investment strategy, risk management and intellectual-property asset protection under a government that takes IP rights seriously. A registered Costa Rica company is the ticket to that protection — and the vehicle for managing what you've built.
Our clients also considered
Alternatives to Costa Rica
British Virgin Islands
- The top offshore jurisdiction
- Tax-free, no reporting
- High confidentiality
Cayman Islands
Estonia
Hong Kong
Panama
MauritiusFAQ
About Costa Rica registration
Is there a minimum share capital to deposit? +
Effectively no: 1 USD is paid in, against a standard authorised capital of 2,500 CRC — about 4 USD. Shareholders of the LLC are liable only up to unpaid capital.
Is Costa Rica considered a tax haven? +
No — Costa Rica came off the EU's tax-haven list in 2019. You get the territorial system's arithmetic without a blacklisted flag on your invoices.
How long does registration take? +
One business week is usually enough for the incorporation itself, with our team alongside for every step — and a shelf company cuts that to about 3 days if the calendar is against you.
Is Costa Rica a good place to start a business? +
One of the strongest offshore picks available: no tax on foreign income, a good level of privacy, and a famously permissive business environment — the jurisdiction of choice for gambling and crypto ventures in particular.
What about gambling — is it legal, do I need a licence? +
Online gambling is legal, and Costa Rica runs no dedicated online-gaming licence regime — operators work under a standard company registration, with a licence required only for servers physically located in the country. Over 300 online gambling companies operate from here; if that's your sector, it's a ten-minute conversation on the free call.
Does Costa Rica tax cryptocurrency? +
No — the tax authority treats cryptocurrencies as virtual, intangible assets outside the scope of taxation. Combined with the territorial system, that makes Costa Rica one of the friendliest flags a crypto venture can fly.
How much does it cost to set up? +
From €2,350 for the turnkey formation, or from €770 for a shelf company. The exact figure depends on local officers, nominees and banking — describe the project and a precise quote comes back within one business day.
Schedule a free consultation
Let's match you with the right expert
Four quick questions, one minute of your time. We'll come back within one business day with a tailored plan and an exact quote.
Tell us about your business
Pick the closest fit
Gambling & gaming
Betting, casino, poker platforms
Crypto / Web3 project
Exchange, wallet, DeFi, tokenized assets
E-commerce & online services
Selling to the world, tax-free locally
Other
Something else — we'll tailor the path
What do you need help with?
Select all that apply
Company formation
New incorporation or a shelf company
Bank account opening
Local, corporate or offshore
Second citizenship or residency
Passports and golden visas
Not sure yet
I'd like expert advice first
Where are you planning to operate?
Select all that apply
Americas
Costa Rica, Panama, the Caribbean…
Europe
Gibraltar, Ireland, Estonia…
Asia / Middle East
Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong…
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Help me choose the jurisdiction
Where should we send your tailored plan?
A specialist replies within one business day
One week. Zero on foreign profit.
A Costa Rica company from €2,350 — or a shelf company from €770 in 3 days. Territorial taxation, shareholders off the public record, local banking within reach. Free consultation, reply within 24 business hours.
Book a free call now