How escrow protects your money on a Costa Rican purchase: the documents you will need, how to check your provider is registered with SUGEF, and the warning signs.
Buying property in Costa Rica is exciting right up to the moment someone asks you to wire six figures to an account in a country you do not live in, under a legal system you have never used. That is the point at which escrow stops being paperwork and starts being the thing that protects you.
A regulated escrow provider holds the money while the lawyers do their work. Nothing moves to the seller until every condition in the contract has been met — clean title, no liens, taxes current, boundaries where the plan says they are. If the deal collapses, the funds go back where they came from. This guide covers how escrow services in Costa Rica work in 2026, what you will be asked for, how to check a provider is genuinely registered, and the warning signs worth knowing before you send anything.
Escrow providers operating in Costa Rica are subject to anti-money-laundering supervision, and most must be registered with SUGEF before they can legally hold client funds. Verifying that registration takes five minutes and it is the single most valuable thing a buyer can do before transferring anything.
Jorge Morales — Broker and owner, Tropical Realty Costa Rica
What an escrow account actually does
Instead of paying the seller directly, both parties appoint an independent third party to hold the funds. The money sits in a dedicated account, outside the reach of either side, and is released only when the conditions written into the Sale and Purchase Agreement have been satisfied and documented.
In practice that means the escrow agent is waiting on the same checklist your attorney is working through: title verified at the National Registry, no mortgages or judicial liens attached to the property, municipal taxes and the impuesto solidario up to date, corporate records in order if the property is held in a company, and boundaries that match the registered survey plan. Only when those clear does the money move — and at that point it moves in several directions at once, which is the second thing escrow is for.
What you will be asked for
Escrow providers are regulated for anti-money-laundering purposes, so opening an account is closer to opening a bank account than signing a form. Expect to provide:
- A valid passport, or official government identification.
- Proof of your physical address, and recent bank statements.
- Source-of-funds documentation — where the money came from, evidenced. Sale of a property, pension drawdown, business proceeds, inheritance: whatever it is, they will want the paper trail, often with recent tax returns alongside.
- Completed Know Your Customer (KYC) forms.
- For funds held through a company, corporate documents and, in some cases, certification from a Costa Rican CPA.
Start this early. Source-of-funds review is the step that most often delays a closing, and it is entirely avoidable: gathering documents takes days, chasing a bank in another country for a statement from four years ago takes weeks.
What each side gets out of it
| For the buyer | For the seller |
|---|---|
| The money is not gone. Funds are held until title and transfer are verified, not advanced on trust. | The money is real. Confirmation that the buyer's funds exist and have cleared before anyone signs a deed. |
| Due diligence has teeth. Deposits are not released until the property clears its legal checks. | One disbursement, not six. Escrow pays commissions, legal fees and transfer taxes out of the closing statement simultaneously. |
| Neither side can grab it. If a dispute arises, no single party can unilaterally withdraw the funds. | Clean on the compliance side. Source-of-funds screening has already happened, which reduces questions later. |
How to check a provider is actually registered
This is where the generic advice to “use a reputable provider” falls down, because it gives you nothing to act on. Here is the concrete version.
Costa Rica's anti-money-laundering law (Law 7786) requires those who administer third-party funds as a business to register with SUGEF, the country's financial regulator, under the procedure set out in SUGEF Agreement 11-18. Banks and licensed trust companies are supervised already. An independent escrow company is not — which is exactly why its registration matters.
So: ask the provider for its registration, then confirm it against SUGEF's own published list of registered obligated subjects rather than taking a certificate by email at face value. A provider that is genuinely registered will answer this question immediately and without irritation. Hesitation is your answer.
Two further checks worth making: that the escrow account is held at a Costa Rican bank in the escrow company's name, and that the provider carries professional indemnity cover. Ask what happens to your funds if the company fails — a serious operator has a clear answer.
The process, step by step
1. Agreement signed, account opened
Both parties sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement, which names the escrow provider and sets out precisely what must happen before funds are released. The provider then opens the account and runs its compliance checks on both sides. Read the release conditions properly at this stage: they are the whole protection, and they are much harder to change later.
2. Due diligence and the earnest money deposit
The buyer transfers the deposit into escrow, which takes the property off the market in good faith. While it sits there, attorneys verify ownership and boundaries at the National Registry, check for liens and encumbrances, confirm tax status, and review the corporate standing of any company holding the title. This is the stage that justifies the whole arrangement — the deposit is committed, but it is not exposed.
3. Compliance review, then closing
Before the closing date the provider completes its review of the incoming funds, the buyer wires the balance, and the transfer deed is executed before a Costa Rican notary. Escrow then disburses according to the closing statement: seller, agents, legal fees, transfer taxes and stamps, each paid out at once. Ownership and money change hands in the same movement rather than one preceding the other on a promise.
What it costs
Escrow is charged either as a flat fee or on a sliding scale against the purchase price, and who pays it — buyer, seller, or split — is negotiable and should be written into the contract rather than assumed. Wire fees and any currency conversion are usually separate.
Get the full schedule in writing before you open the account, including the cost of amendments and what happens if the closing is delayed or the deal falls through. Against the sums involved in a property purchase these fees are small; being surprised by them at closing is still avoidable.
Warning signs
Most losses in international property transactions are not elaborate frauds. They are ordinary wire fraud, and they follow a pattern:
- Pressure to skip escrow and wire the seller directly, usually framed as faster or cheaper. It is neither, for you.
- Changed wire instructions by email, especially close to closing or marked urgent. Email accounts get compromised. Always re-confirm account details by phone, on a number you already had, before sending anything.
- An escrow account in a third country, or in a personal name rather than the company's.
- A provider who cannot show registration, or who deflects the question.
- An escrow agent recommended only by the seller, with no independent standing. The provider should be acceptable to both sides.
Where to go from here
Escrow is one part of a transaction that also involves an independent attorney, a notary, and — if you are buying near the water — the concession rules that apply within the maritime zone, which we cover in our guide to buying in Tivives. Worth knowing before you choose the property, not after.
We work with escrow providers, attorneys and closing specialists across the country and can introduce you to people we have actually closed deals with. Tell us what you are buying and we will point you to the right ones. If you are still at the looking stage, start with the areas or browse what is available.
This guide is general information about how escrow works in Costa Rica, not legal or tax advice, and the rules change. Confirm the details of your own transaction with a Costa Rican attorney and with the escrow provider before transferring funds.
