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Atlas v0.1 · Right to information · Right to service

Costa Rica

Republic of Costa Rica · ISO CRI

Costa Rica has a rated national right-to-information law (adopted 2017, scored 71/150 by the RTI Rating, checked 2026-07-05), and a candidate service-rights route exists that we have not confirmed against the official text. Subdivision entries below marked “to confirm” are tasks, not facts.

Your first move, anywhere

Request legal route, responsible officer, fees, timeline, appeal route, and one high-value record: budget, contract, land, hospital stock, service standard, audit, court delay, police complaint, or procurement payment.

Convert the legal right into a citizen test: receipt, tracking number, statutory deadline, written reasons, actual record release, appeal, and proactive publication.

Capture flags to watch: Delay; discretion; opacity; fragmentation; fear; patron dependency; counterfeit transparency

Right to information

Sourced

National lawAccess to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification Official text still to confirm before you rely on it.
RTI Rating score71/150 · rank 101 · Weak legal framework
Where the law is strong and weakRight of access 3/6 · Scope 23/30 · Requesting procedures 19/30 · Exceptions and refusals 2/30 · Appeals 16/30 · Sanctions and protections 4/8 · Promotional measures 4/16

Source: RTI Rating country data · last checked 2026-07-05

Right to service

To confirm

StatusCandidate legal family, needs official verification
Legal familyAdministrative simplification / administrative procedure / service-standard route
Candidate route (to confirm)Verify administrative-procedure law, one-stop/digital-service portals, service standards, silence rules, ombudsman, and sector-specific deadlines.
The usability test to runReceipt + tracking + deadline + written reason + appeal + remedy + claimant protection
NoteDo not count a Public Service Commission as RTS unless it creates enforceable service standards for citizens.

Sources: OECD Administrative Simplification

Help confirm this

Search the official gazette and government sites for: "Costa Rica" "right to service" OR "public service guarantee" OR "citizen charter" OR "service charter" OR "administrative procedure" OR "ombudsman". Found the law? Send it through the route below.

Inside Costa Rica: 7 subdivisions

Where a subdivision shows a cited law, the citation comes from the named source and the official text still needs confirming. Where it shows nothing, the national law may apply and the local rules are unconfirmed.

What to confirm at your local office, whichever subdivision you are in

Records that should already be published: Budget; procurement; contract awards; payment status; public land; service standards; audit reports; subsidies; court/police/hospital/school records.

CodeSubdivisionTypeAccess-law statusSource · checked
CR-AAlajuelaProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-CCartagoProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-GGuanacasteProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-HHerediaProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-LLimónProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-PPuntarenasProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05
CR-SJSan JoséProvinceNo local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information law/regime recognized by RTI Rating; statute name needs verification To confirmsource · 2026-07-05

Right to service, all 7 subdivisions: Candidate legal family, needs official verification (inherited from the national status above).

Improve this page

If you can confirm any entry for Costa Rica against the official text, send the law's title, the official link or scan, the office you dealt with, and the date. Every submission is reviewed before anything changes on this site; nothing publishes automatically. Route: the contact on the About page.

This atlas and the Capture Index never mix

The atlas is the open reference layer: every jurisdiction, graded, with unverified entries shown as tasks. The Capture Index is a separate scored product: verified sources only, with right of reply before publication.