The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica has approved, in the second debate, reforms to the Commercial Code and the Judicial Notification Law, allowing email to be used as an official notification method for business entities.
With this reform, all business entities, both those already established and those to be created in the future, will be required to register an email address with the Mercantile Registry of the Public Registry. This email will be used to receive official notifications. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in automatic notification, meaning the notification will be considered valid even if the company has not activated the email for such purposes.
In addition to the reforms to the Commercial Code and the Judicial Notification Law, other relevant articles have been amended, such as Article 243 of the General Law on Public Administration and Article 21 of the Law on Document Registration in the Public Registry, to include email as a method of notification for legal entities.
The National Registry has a period of six months from the law’s effective date to make the necessary modifications for its implementation. Furthermore, existing business entities will have one year from the expiration of the previous deadline to register a valid email account to receive notifications.
These reforms represent a step forward in simplifying legal and administrative processes for businesses in Costa Rica, aligning with global trends toward digitalization and efficient communication. The implementation of these measures will facilitate greater agility in notification management, benefiting business entities in the country.
mariela.saborio@garciabodan.com
Associate
García & Bodán
Costa Rica