Quick answer: Costa Rica has a strong central property registry - the Registro Nacional - but no title insurance culture like the US, so the buyer's protection is the due-diligence period: typically 15 to 30 days in which your attorney verifies the title, the land, the money owed and the rules that bind the property. This checklist covers what is commonly reviewed. It is general education, not legal advice - the work itself belongs to a Costa Rican real estate attorney.

This guide explains concepts in plain English for education only. It is not legal advice, and reading it is not a substitute for hiring a Costa Rican real estate attorney. Where this article and your attorney disagree, listen to your attorney.

1. The registry study (estudio registral)

Every titled property has a folio real number in the Registro Nacional. From it, your attorney pulls a certified report (certificación literal) showing:

Anyone can run a first-pass search at the Registro Nacional's portal, but interpreting annotations is attorney work - some are harmless administrative notes, others are deal-stoppers.

2. The survey plan (plano catastrado)

Every folio real links to a registered survey plan. Your attorney and, ideally, a licensed surveyor confirm that the plano matches the registry description, and that both match the physical reality on the ground - fences, area and boundaries. Discrepancies between title area and survey area are a classic Costa Rica problem. I cover this document in depth in Property Title, Survey Plan and Cadastral Map Explained.

3. Municipal taxes and obligations

The municipality where the property sits confirms property taxes (impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles, 0.25% annually of registered value) are current, along with any municipal service charges. Unpaid amounts follow the property, not the seller.

4. Land-use certificate (uso de suelo)

Issued by the municipality, the uso de suelo states what the property may legally be used for and its building parameters - density, height, setbacks - under the local zoning plan (plan regulador) where one exists. If your plan is to build, remodel or run a business, this document tells you whether the plan is legal before you pay for the land.

5. Water

Confirm how the property is served - AyA, an ASADA, municipal system or registered well - and, for land you intend to build on, whether a water availability letter can be obtained, because without one there is no building permit. This deserves its own article: What Is a Water Letter in Costa Rica Real Estate?

6. Road access

Verify the property touches a public road, or that access runs through a properly registered easement (servidumbre) that appears in the registry - not a neighbor's goodwill. Landlocked parcels with informal access are a recurring trap.

7. HOA and condominium documents

For property inside a gated community or condo regime: the bylaws, current fee schedule, financial statements, reserves, meeting minutes and any planned special assessments. Rules on rentals, pets, construction and modifications live here.

8. Construction permits

For built property: confirm the construction was permitted and matches what was approved (municipal permit records, and for newer builds the CFIA-stamped plans). Unpermitted construction can complicate insurance, remodeling and resale.

9. Corporate ownership records

Many properties are held in corporations. If you are buying the shares rather than the asset, due diligence widens dramatically: the corporation's legal books, shareholder registry, tax status and any liabilities all transfer with it. See my guide to how foreigners buy property in Costa Rica for the asset-vs-shares distinction.

10. Concession property

If the property sits in the maritime zone (the first 200 meters from the high-tide line), it is likely concession - not titled - land, with its own rulebook: Titled vs. Concession Beachfront in Costa Rica.

The practical sequence

A typical purchase: signed offer, deposit to a SUGEF-regulated escrow, due-diligence period with the checklist above, then closing before a notary who records the transfer in the Registro Nacional. Costs are covered in my closing costs guide.

Sources & Verification

About this article. Written for SoldByTiago by Tiago Leao, a real estate agent with KRAIN Luxury Real Estate in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Last reviewed: July 18, 2026. This article is general education, not legal, tax, or investment advice. Rules, fees and procedures change - verify everything that matters to your purchase with a Costa Rican attorney and the official sources linked above before acting.

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