Marchamo Costa Rica 2027: The Complete Guide for Expats, Investors and Companies
If you own a car in Costa Rica, you pay Marchamo every year. Think of it as your annual registration renewal, mandatory accident insurance and vehicle property tax rolled into a single bill. It applies the same way whether you are a Costa Rican citizen, a resident, a non-resident who keeps a car here for the season, or a foreign investor whose car sits under a local company. Marchamo Costa Rica 2027 brings the biggest change in decades: the old yearly windshield sticker is being replaced by a digital tag that lasts up to 10 years, and your proof of payment now arrives by email. This guide explains what Marchamo is, what changes this year, what it costs, and exactly how to pay it, including from abroad.
- Deadline: Marchamo 2027 can be paid from Monday, November 2 to Thursday, December 31, 2026. After that, surcharges and traffic fines kick in.
- New this year: cars, buses and trucks get a digital tag on the windshield, valid up to 10 years. You still pay every year, but you only pick up a tag once.
- Your proof of payment is now digital: the derecho de circulación is emailed to the address you enter when paying. Use an email you will always have access to.
- Mandatory insurance (SOA): up 4.03% on average; a private car pays ₡31,881, up from ₡30,238.
- Driving with an expired Marchamo means a fine of about ₡61,000, possible removal of your plates or vehicle, and no mandatory accident coverage.
Practice Area: General
- What is Marchamo, in plain English?
- Key Spanish terms you will see
- Who must pay it
- Marchamo 2027 dates
- How to pay Marchamo, step by step
- The new digital Marchamo explained
- If you live abroad or travel in November–December
- What it costs: 2027 SOA rates
- Electric vehicles: the exemption ends
- Penalties for late payment
- Legal basis
- When to involve a lawyer
- Frequently asked questions
What is Marchamo, in plain English?
If you come from the United States or Canada, the closest comparison is your annual vehicle registration renewal, except that in Costa Rica the mandatory insurance and the vehicle property tax are billed together with it, by a single institution, once a year. Officially it is called the derecho de circulación (the right to drive on public roads), and it is collected by the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS), the state-owned insurer. One Marchamo payment covers:
- SOA (Seguro Obligatorio Automotor): mandatory accident insurance that covers injury or death of drivers, passengers and pedestrians involved in a crash, regardless of who was at fault. It does not cover damage to cars or property; for that you need voluntary insurance.
- Vehicle property tax: calculated on the vehicle’s valor fiscal (taxable value), set by the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda). For newer or higher-value cars, this is usually the largest part of the bill.
- Small fixed fees: the same for every vehicle, going to the road safety council (COSEVI), the Red Cross, the fire department and an education stamp.
- Extra charges for buses and taxis, linked to public transport regulation.
- Any unpaid traffic tickets, which are added to the same bill.
- New from 2027: a small, separate charge for the digital tag on vehicles with a windshield.
Key Spanish terms you will see
The INS portal and your bill are in Spanish. These are the words that matter:
| Spanish term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Marchamo / derecho de circulación | Your annual right to drive; the whole bill. |
| Placa | License plate number; it is what you use to look up your bill. |
| SOA | Mandatory accident insurance for people injured in a crash. |
| Impuesto a la propiedad de vehículos | Vehicle property tax. |
| Valor fiscal | The taxable value Hacienda assigns to your vehicle. |
| Etiqueta / marchamo digital | The new electronic windshield tag that replaces the yearly sticker. |
| Multas | Traffic fines. |
| Recargos / intereses | Late-payment surcharges and interest. |
| RTV (Riteve / Dekra) | The mandatory technical vehicle inspection. It is a separate requirement from Marchamo; you need both. |
Who must pay it
Every vehicle registered in Costa Rica owes Marchamo, regardless of who owns it or how much it is used:
- Costa Rican citizens, permanent and temporary residents, and non-residents with a vehicle in their name.
- Costa Rican companies, including the corporations many foreign investors use to hold property and that often also own a car.
- Cars, motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, trucks, buses and any other motor vehicle registered for road use.
Two points that often surprise newcomers: your immigration status does not change the obligation, and a car that sits in the garage all year still owes Marchamo. If you rent a car, the rental company, as the owner, pays it.
Marchamo 2027 dates
By law, the payment window opens on the first business day of November and closes on December 31, with no extensions. For Marchamo 2027, which lets you drive throughout calendar year 2027:
| Payment window opens | Monday, November 2, 2026 |
| Last day to pay without surcharges | Thursday, December 31, 2026 |
| Surcharges and traffic fines apply from | Friday, January 1, 2027 |
Our advice: pay in November. Every year the systems slow down in the last days of December, and this year you also need to pick up and install the new tag. Leaving it for the holidays, when many people travel, is the most common way expats end up paying late.
How to pay Marchamo, step by step
- Have your plate number ready. It is the only thing you need to look up your bill.
- Check your amount from November 2. Enter your plate on the official INS portal, marchamo.ins-cr.com. Within Costa Rica you can also call the INS toll-free line, 800-MARCHAMO (800-6272-4266).
- Review the breakdown before paying. Check the SOA, the property tax and any old traffic tickets. If something looks wrong, such as a fine that is not yours or a valor fiscal far above your car’s real value, sort it out before paying.
- Pay through any official channel: the INS portal (international debit and credit cards are accepted), your Costa Rican bank’s online banking, or in person at INS offices and authorized payment points.
- Enter an email address you control. Your derecho de circulación is now sent by email. If someone else pays for you, make sure they use your email, not theirs.
- First year only: pick up your digital tag in person. Cars, buses and trucks receive the new tag with their first payment under the digital system; after that, there is no need to visit an office every year.
- Install the tag correctly. Clean the glass and stick it on the inside of the windshield, in the same spot as the old sticker. Do not try to peel it off and reposition it: it is designed to destroy itself if removed.
- Keep the digital document handy. Traffic police can still ask for your derecho de circulación; keep it on your phone.
The new digital Marchamo explained
The digital Marchamo is an electronic windshield tag that uses passive RFID technology (UHF), similar in concept to the toll tags many drivers know from the U.S. “Passive” means it has no battery and sends no signal on its own; it only responds when an authorized reader is close by. INS has already received the 1.6 million tags for the rollout.
What changes for you
- One tag, up to 10 years. You receive it once and keep it on the windshield for its useful life.
- You still pay every year. Only the sticker stops being annual. Each year you pay online or through the usual channels and keep the same tag.
- No more paper. From November 2, 2026, the derecho de circulación is no longer printed; it is emailed to the address registered at payment. INS will offer other download options for anyone who cannot receive it by email.
- A bad install means a trip to INS. If you stick it in the wrong place, you must request a replacement at an INS office.
Which vehicles get it?
In this first stage, only vehicles with a windshield: cars, buses and trucks. Motorcycles keep the traditional sticker for Marchamo 2027 while INS runs a pilot to test the tag in harsher conditions; they are expected to join with Marchamo 2028, with a tag replaced every three years.
How much does the tag cost?
INS has given an approximate price of ₡1,200, but has not confirmed the final amount because it depends on the exchange rate. The cost is charged separately from the SOA insurance, as its own line on the bill.
Can it track my car?
No. INS has stated that the tag has no GPS and cannot monitor a vehicle’s location. Because it is passive, it can only be read at close range by authorized equipment.
If you live abroad or travel in November–December
Many foreign owners are outside Costa Rica during the payment window. Paying is easy from anywhere, but the first year of the digital system adds one in-person step, so plan ahead:
- Payment: the INS portal accepts international cards, so you can pay from abroad. INS bills in colones; your card issuer handles the conversion.
- The digital document: arrives by email, so it reaches you wherever you are.
- The tag: it must be picked up in person the first year. INS has not yet published detailed rules on whether someone else can collect it on your behalf. If you will be away, confirm the procedure with INS before December, or have your local representative handle it.
- Leaving your car with someone? Make sure whoever drives it can show the digital derecho de circulación at a traffic stop.
What it costs: 2027 SOA rates
Every vehicle’s total is different, because it combines the property tax (based on its taxable value) with an SOA premium that depends on the vehicle category. For Marchamo 2027, the insurance regulator SUGESE approved on October 12, 2026 an average SOA increase of 4.03%, from ₡44,889 to ₡46,700. Private cars, motorcycles and especially buses go up; cargo vehicles, taxis and special equipment go down.
| Vehicle category | SOA 2026 | SOA 2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private passenger vehicles | ₡30,238 | ₡31,881 | +5.43% |
| Light cargo | ₡18,806 | ₡17,134 | −8.89% |
| Heavy cargo | ₡35,004 | ₡34,170 | −2.38% |
| Motorcycles & mopeds | ₡99,623 | ₡104,110 | +4.50% |
| Buses | ₡81,060 | ₡91,108 | +12.40% |
| Taxis | ₡73,300 | ₡67,799 | −7.50% |
| Special equipment | ₡9,627 | ₡8,706 | −9.57% |
Source: SOA rates authorized by SUGESE for 2027. These figures cover the mandatory insurance only, not the full Marchamo bill.
Why it went up: more accidents. According to SUGESE, injuries covered by SOA rose about 15% from 2024 to 2025, and roughly two out of three injured people were motorcyclists. Meanwhile, SOA coverage stays capped at ₡6 million per injured person, unchanged since 2016, which is one more reason expats are often advised to carry voluntary insurance as well.
On top of the SOA, your bill includes the fixed fees (around ₡13,000 combined), the digital tag charge for vehicles with a windshield, and the property tax specific to your vehicle. That is why two people with the “same” type of car can receive very different totals. Your exact figure appears on the INS portal from November 2.
Electric vehicles: the exemption ends
Costa Rica’s electric-vehicle incentive law, Law No. 9518 (reformed in 2022 by Law No. 10209 and implemented through Executive Decree No. 43641-H-MINAE-MOPT), gave EVs a partial, step-down exemption on the vehicle property tax, one component of Marchamo, not the whole bill. According to the schedule published by the Costa Rican Electric Mobility Association (Asomove), the exemption went from 100% in 2022 to 80%, 60%, 40% and finally 20% for Marchamo 2026. From 2027, the property tax is paid in full unless a new reform changes it.
In practice, if you drive an EV, expect the property tax portion of your Marchamo 2027 to be higher than last year’s. The example below holds the base tax constant to isolate the effect, using a round, hypothetical figure:
| Same electric vehicle (illustrative) | Marchamo 2026 | Marchamo 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax before exemption* | ₡250,000 | ₡250,000 |
| Exemption applied | 20% | 0% |
| Property tax to pay | ₡200,000 | ₡250,000 |
*Hypothetical figure used only to show the arithmetic. In reality, Hacienda recalculates the taxable value every year and applies its own progressive rate table.
Before paying, review your breakdown on the INS portal and compare it with Asomove’s calculator. Keep in mind that any tax exemption also requires the registered owner, individual or company, to be current with the tax authority (Tributación).
Penalties for late payment
Missing the December 31 deadline triggers several consequences at once:
- Traffic fine: driving without a current derecho de circulación is a category D offense, with a fine of about ₡61,000 (₡60,679.58 for 2026). Officers may also remove your plates or the vehicle itself, which adds recovery costs.
- SOA surcharge: the Central Bank’s basic passive rate plus five percentage points, charged in proportion to the days late.
- Interest on unpaid traffic fines already on your record.
- Property tax interest and penalties that grow for each month of delay, at rates set by Hacienda.
The consequence most people overlook: when Marchamo expires, your SOA insurance expires with it. If there is an accident during that time, you, not INS, are personally exposed to the medical and civil liability costs of anyone injured.
Legal basis
Marchamo is a statutory obligation under Law No. 9078, the Traffic Law (Ley de Tránsito por Vías Públicas Terrestres y Seguridad Vial), which sets the annual collection cycle and the penalties for driving without it. The move to the digital format was made possible by a February 2026 amendment to Articles 33 and 34 of the SOA Regulations (Reglamento del Seguro Obligatorio para Vehículos Automotores), which allows Marchamo to be either printed or a digital or electronic device. The project had been declared of public interest in 2024.
When to involve a lawyer
For most owners, paying Marchamo is a routine task done online in a few minutes. Legal help makes sense in a narrower set of situations that are especially common among expats and foreign investors:
- Disputing your vehicle’s taxable value. If Hacienda’s valor fiscal looks far above your car’s real condition or market value, which is common with older imported vehicles, there is a formal process to challenge it.
- Company-owned vehicles and fleets. When the car belongs to a Costa Rican corporation and the directors live abroad, someone has to authorize payment, receive the digital document and collect the tags. A simple compliance protocol avoids a scramble every November.
- Buying or selling a used car. Unpaid Marchamo, traffic fines or liens can block the transfer at the National Registry. Check before you pay for the car, not after.
- Inherited vehicles. A car transferred through an estate carries its own registration and tax history, which must be reconciled before the new owner can pay in their name.
- Registration problems while you are abroad. Paying remotely is easy; fixing an error in the vehicle’s registration, or handling the first-year tag pickup, may require someone in Costa Rica.
How AG Legal helps
AG Legal advises foreign residents, investors and companies on vehicle-related compliance as part of our broader immigration and corporate practice, including:
- Reviewing and disputing taxable value assessments before the Ministry of Finance.
- Setting up a Marchamo compliance protocol for vehicles and fleets held through Costa Rican companies, adapted to the digital system.
- Resolving liens, unpaid fines or registration discrepancies before a vehicle sale or transfer.
- Coordinating vehicle matters alongside residency, corporate and estate planning work already in progress with our firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Marchamo in Costa Rica?
- Marchamo is Costa Rica’s annual right to drive (derecho de circulación). It combines mandatory accident insurance (SOA), the vehicle property tax and a set of fixed fees, and it is collected once a year by INS under Law No. 9078.
- When is Marchamo 2027 due?
- You can pay from Monday, November 2 to Thursday, December 31, 2026 without surcharges. From January 1, 2027, interest applies and traffic police can fine vehicles without a current Marchamo.
- What is the digital Marchamo?
- It is a passive RFID tag placed inside the windshield that replaces the yearly sticker for cars, buses and trucks from Marchamo 2027. It lasts up to 10 years, and the derecho de circulación is emailed to the address registered at payment.
- Do I still have to pay every year with the digital Marchamo?
- Yes. Only the sticker stops being annual. You pick up the tag once, then pay every year online or through the usual channels while keeping the same tag.
- How much does the digital Marchamo tag cost?
- INS has given an approximate price of ₡1,200, pending final confirmation due to exchange rate variations. It is charged separately from the SOA insurance.
- Does the digital Marchamo track my car?
- No. INS has stated that the tag has no GPS and cannot monitor a vehicle’s location. It is passive and can only be read at close range by authorized equipment.
- Do motorcycles get the digital Marchamo?
- Not yet. For Marchamo 2027, motorcycles keep the traditional sticker while INS runs a pilot program; they are expected to join the digital system with Marchamo 2028.
- How much does Marchamo 2027 cost?
- It depends on the vehicle. The 2027 SOA ranges from ₡17,134 for light cargo to ₡104,110 for motorcycles, with ₡31,881 for private cars. Add fixed fees of around ₡13,000, the digital tag for vehicles with a windshield, and the property tax based on your vehicle’s taxable value.
- Can I pay Marchamo from outside Costa Rica?
- Yes. The official INS portal accepts international debit and credit cards, and the digital derecho de circulación is emailed to you. The first-year digital tag, however, must be picked up in person in Costa Rica.
- Do I have to pay Marchamo if I don’t drive the car?
- Yes. Marchamo applies to every registered vehicle, including cars parked all year while the owner is abroad.
- What happens if I drive with an expired Marchamo?
- Traffic police can impose a fine of about ₡61,000 and remove your plates or the vehicle. Your mandatory SOA insurance also lapses, leaving you personally exposed if there is an accident.
- Do electric vehicles still get a Marchamo discount?
- According to the 2022 reform schedule published by Asomove, Marchamo 2026 was the last year with an exemption (20% on the property tax). For Marchamo 2027, EV owners should expect to pay that tax in full unless a new reform changes it; review your breakdown before paying.
Away from Costa Rica, or have a car under your company?
AG Legal helps foreign owners, investors and companies with vehicle tax disputes, fleet compliance and registration issues, so Marchamo season never becomes a problem.
CONTACT AG LEGALThis article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. Rates, deadlines and surcharges are set and updated every year by INS, SUGESE and the Ministry of Finance; always confirm current figures on the official INS portal before paying. Information current as of October 29, 2026, for the Marchamo 2027 cycle (payment window November 2 – December 31, 2026). The final price of the digital tag is pending confirmation by INS.