What you need to import a used vehicle to Costa Rica

Importing a used car to Costa Rica goes through the Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA) of the Ministerio de Hacienda, and you must meet both vehicle requirements and customs procedures.

**Vehicle requirements:**

• Original, clean title in the name of the importer, indicating that the vehicle is road‑worthy — Costa Rica does not allow importing vehicles with a **total loss/"salvage"** title or vehicles with structural chassis damage.
• The VIN must not be altered or tampered with.
• Original bill of lading in the name of the owner.

**Customs procedure:**

• A Declaración Única Aduanera (DUA) is submitted, just like any other import.
• **Since November 20, 2024**, Hacienda changed how it calculates the customs value: it no longer uses a tabulated “tax class”, but the **actual price paid according to the commercial invoice** (with the adjustments required by the Acuerdo de Valoración Aduanera de la OMC), plus the applicable taxes: Derechos Arancelarios de Importación (DAI), Impuesto Selectivo de Consumo (ISC) and IVA.
• After being cleared, the vehicle must pass the **RITEVE** inspection — the information on the DUA must match exactly the physical data of the vehicle; if there is a discrepancy, RITEVE returns it to Aduanas for correction before it can be driven.

**On the maximum allowed age and the exact amount of taxes**: there are restrictions and variations depending on the vehicle’s age (ISC in particular varies by year/model), but the available sources do not agree on a stable figure for “maximum years” — this regulation has changed several times in recent years. **Do not assume a number without first confirming directly with the Dirección General de Aduanas** (hacienda.go.cr) before buying a vehicle abroad to bring it in, so you don’t risk it being unable to be cleared.

To calculate the reference fiscal value of a specific vehicle, Hacienda offers the “AutoValor” tool at serviciosnet.hacienda.go.cr.