Costa Rica’s National Registry has officially extended the deadline for commercial corporations to register their mandatory corporate email address, acknowledging the significant operational strain currently affecting the Registry of Legal Entities.

Through Directive DPJ-001-2026, published in La Gaceta No. 97 on May 28, 2026, the Dirección del Registro de Personas Jurídicas amended Directive DPJ-002-2025 and granted corporations additional time to comply with the obligation introduced under Law No. 10.597.

While the extension itself may appear administrative, it reflects a broader reality currently affecting corporate compliance procedures in Costa Rica: an unprecedented accumulation of filings, new regulatory requirements, and increasing delays before both the National Registry and the RTBF compliance system.

Corporate Compliance in Costa Rica Has Become Significantly More Complex in 2026

Over the past months, Costa Rican corporations have faced a series of major legal and operational changes impacting their ability to remain compliant.

As we previously discussed in our article, Costa Rica Corporate Update – April 2026: RTBF Compliance, companies are now navigating a much stricter and increasingly technical compliance environment.

Among the most significant developments are:

• The mandatory registration of an official corporate email address before the National Registry;
• New RTBF (Registro de Transparencia y Beneficiarios Finales) filing restrictions;
• Changes affecting powers of attorney and corporate representation;
• Increased scrutiny over legal representatives and digital signature requirements;
• Operational limitations within the TRIBU-CR and Central Directo systems; and
• Severe delays in the registration and qualification of corporate documents.

In practice, these reforms have generated substantial bottlenecks across corporate filings and registry procedures throughout Costa Rica.

Registry Delays Intensified by RTBF Reforms and New Power of Attorney Requirements

One of the primary factors contributing to the current backlog before the National Registry has been the implementation of new RTBF compliance criteria during 2026.

As discussed in our previous articles, Costa Rica RTBF General POA Requirements and February 2026 Costa Rica RTBF Exception Update, recent regulatory and operational changes have significantly restricted the use of traditional authorization mechanisms previously utilized by corporations for RTBF compliance.

In practice, many corporations are now required to:

• Grant broader general powers of attorney (poderes generalísimos);
• Appoint compliant legal representatives with Costa Rican digital signatures;
• Update corporate representation structures; and
• Register additional corporate documentation before the National Registry.

These changes have created substantial complications, particularly for foreign-owned corporations whose shareholders or representatives reside abroad and must coordinate apostilles, consular formalities, notarial protocols, and registry filings from multiple jurisdictions.

At the same time, the Registry of Legal Entities has experienced significant operational congestion due to the simultaneous increase in RTBF-related filings, corporate email registrations, legal representative updates, and corporate compliance corrections.

As a result, corporations throughout Costa Rica have encountered increasing delays in the registration and qualification of corporate documents during 2026.

Only 21% of Corporations Have Registered Their Corporate Email

According to the National Registry, compliance with the mandatory corporate email requirement remains surprisingly low.

The Registry reported that:

• Only 21.37% of obligated corporations have completed the registration;
• Approximately 294,806 corporations remain pending; and
• Nearly 78% of Costa Rican commercial corporations have yet to comply.

The Registry also confirmed that during April and May 2026 alone, approximately 33.5% of all related filings were submitted, resulting in a nearly 300% increase in qualification requests before the Registry of Legal Entities.

This operational overload directly influenced the decision to extend the deadline.

New Deadline: September 5, 2026

Under Directive DPJ-001-2026, corporations now have until September 5, 2026 to register their official email address before the National Registry.

However, the Registry also issued a clear warning:

Beginning September 5, 2026, no document related to a commercial corporation will be registered unless the corporation has a duly registered email address on file.

This means that corporations failing to comply may encounter registration defects preventing the processing of:

• Corporate appointments;
• Powers of attorney;
• Share transfers;
• Amendments;
• Real estate transactions involving corporate ownership; and
• Other corporate filings before the National Registry.

Corporate Tax Compliance Remains Essential

Separately, the Registry reminded corporations that they must remain current with the annual Corporate Tax (Impuesto a las Personas Jurídicas) in order to process registry filings.

This obligation has created additional complications during 2026 due to the implementation of new operational requirements within Costa Rica’s tax administration systems.

In particular, the payment of the Corporate Tax has been significantly affected by the migration toward the new TRIBU-CR platform, which no longer allows payments through traditional online banking systems. Instead, payments are now processed:

• Through the TRIBU-CR platform directly, using a Costa Rican bank account in colones registered under the name of the taxpayer corporation; or
• Through an authorized representative properly linked within the TRIBU system.

Alternatively, payments may still be completed in person at authorized banking institutions.

These operational changes have generated additional logistical challenges, particularly for foreign-owned corporations, inactive entities, and companies without local banking access or properly configured tax administration authorizations.

What happens if you don’t?

• Similar marks start appearing in the market
• Your positioning becomes diluted
• You miss opposition opportunities at the Registry
• Your exclusivity weakens over time

A trademark does not protect itself. It requires ongoing monitoring.

Possible Legislative Reform Could Simplify the Email Registration Process

Meanwhile, the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly continues discussing Bill No. 25.094, which seeks to simplify the registration and modification of corporate email addresses.

If approved, the bill would:

• Allow registration through a sworn declaration by the legal representative;
• Eliminate the need for a public deed or protocolization;
• Extend the compliance deadline until December 31, 2026; and
• Introduce a free filing mechanism before the National Registry.

However, the legislative process has recently encountered additional delays.

According to recent reports, the vote on the bill was retroactively returned to “First Debate” (Retrotracción a Primer Debate) following procedural discussions within the Legislative Assembly.

At Blue Zone Legal, we will continue monitoring the legislative process closely and will provide updates should the reform be officially approved and published in La Gaceta.

Practical Recommendation for Corporations in Costa Rica

Although the deadline extension offers temporary relief, the current reality is that Costa Rica’s corporate compliance landscape has become increasingly technical and time-sensitive.

Given the existing delays before the National Registry and the large number of corporations that still need to comply, companies should avoid waiting until the final weeks before the September deadline.

At Blue Zone Legal, we continue assisting local and international clients with:

• Corporate email registrations;
• RTBF compliance filings;
• General powers of attorney and legal representation structures;
• Corporate maintenance obligations;
• Registry filings and corrections;
• Corporate tax compliance; and
• Ongoing legal compliance for Costa Rican corporations.

Our team remains available to assist corporations in navigating the rapidly evolving compliance environment affecting Costa Rica in 2026.

📩 Contact us at info@bluezonelegal.com to schedule a consultation or request assistance with your corporate compliance obligations in Costa Rica.

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