Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly approved a measure in its first debate on Thursday that extends to December 31, 2026, the deadline for commercial companies to register an official email address for legal and administrative notifications, granting a roughly six-month grace period to hundreds of thousands of firms that had yet to comply.
Lawmakers unanimously backed a substitute text to bill 25.094, which reforms the Commercial Code and Law 10.597 to make the registration process free, faster and possible without hiring a notary. The change responds to mounting complaints from business owners over the cost and red tape attached to a requirement that, until now, many had been unable to meet before the original June 4 deadline.
Under the approved text, companies will be able to register or update their notification email through a sworn declaration by their legal representative, submitted as an electronic document with a certified digital signature. That eliminates the need for public deeds and the protocolization of corporate minutes — formalities that, according to legislative reports, cost between ₡70,000 and ₡156,000 per company.
The reform also exempts the procedure from stamps, registry fees, taxes and the publication of edicts, and instructs the National Registry to build an automated, self-service electronic system for filing. Companies already incorporated before the law takes effect will have until December 31 to complete their registration.
The obligation stems from Law 10.597, which established email as the official and mandatory channel for administrative and judicial notifications to commercial entities in Costa Rica. Under that framework, notifications are considered delivered at the moment they are sent, regardless of whether anyone reads them — meaning firms that fail to register a valid address risk missing legal deadlines or having filings rejected.
The requirement reaches virtually every registered company in the country, including the holding corporations that many foreign residents use to own property and vehicles, making the extension and the cost relief relevant well beyond the traditional business sector. Assembly President Yara Jiménez said the bill is scheduled for its second and final debate on Tuesday, June 2. Approval there would send the measure to the executive branch for signing.
