---
title: "Costa Rica Hiring Guide 2026 | No Fixed Probation"
description: "Hire in Costa Rica 2026: written contract on day one, CCSS registration, aguinaldo by 20 December, employer CCSS 14.17%. Teamed runs all five steps."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica/hiring-guide
---

Costa Rica · Hiring guide child

Served by Teamed vetted partner-entity network in Costa Rica

# How do you *hire a Costa Rica employee* in 2026?

No fixed probation clause sits in Costa Rica's Labour Code. The three-month trial that employers rely on comes from case law, built off the point where notice and severance start to count (Código de Trabajo art. 28). So your offer can name a trial, but the protection it gives you is shorter than most managers assume.

Last reviewed 13 June 2026 · Costa Rica guide

![The skyline of San Jose, Costa Rica at golden hour, with green mountains rising behind low office buildings and red rooftops.](/images/country-guides/costa-rica-hiring-guide.webp)

Illustration · San Jose, Costa Rica

Answer.cite this

The Costa Rica hire runs in five steps. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, written contract, CCSS registration, first payday.

The Labour Code has no fixed probation clause. Courts treat the first three months as a trial, because notice and severance only start to accrue after that. Plan around the three-month mark, not a written probation period.

Every employee gets a signed written contract on day one. The employer registers with the CCSS social security fund before the first payroll. The aguinaldo, a full extra month of pay, falls due within the first 20 days of December.

Employer CCSS contributions run at 14.17% of salary, with extra parafiscal funds on top. Standard working time is 48 hours a week.

## What does the end-to-end Costa Rica hire process look like?

Five steps take you from accepted offer to first payslip. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, written contract, CCSS registration, first payday.

For a Costa Rican national, the path is fast. A foreign national needs the right work permit before the start date, which adds lead time.

| Step | What happens | Owner | Timing |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Offer letter | Written offer with role, gross salary, start date, trial-period expectations, and any conditions | Client / Teamed drafts | Same day after verbal accept |
| 2. Work-authorisation check | Confirm Costa Rican nationality or permanent residence, or verify a valid work permit for foreign nationals before the start date | Teamed | Before the employee starts |
| 3. Written employment contract | Signed written contract covering all terms under the Codigo de Trabajo | Teamed (legal employer) | On or before day one |
| 4. CCSS registration | Register the employee with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, set up SICERE reporting, collect bank details | Teamed | Before the first payroll |
| 5. First payday | First payslip issued; CCSS contributions and income tax withheld and remitted to the authorities | Teamed | End of first pay cycle |

1. Issue the offer letter Send a written offer the same day as verbal acceptance. Include role, gross salary, start date, working time, and the standard three-month trial under the Code rather than a hard probation clause.
2. Complete the work-authorisation check Confirm Costa Rican nationality or permanent residence by collecting the cedula, or verify the work permit for foreign nationals before the start date. Retain copies of all documents.
3. Issue the written employment contract The signed written contract must be in place on or before day one. Teamed's standard Costa Rica contract covers the Codigo de Trabajo. Clients choose commercial terms; Teamed signs as the legal employer.
4. Register with the CCSS Register the employee with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social and set up SICERE salary reporting before the first payroll. Collect bank details and set the income-tax withholding profile.
5. Issue the first payslip and file deductions Run the first payroll for the pay cycle agreed in the contract. Withhold CCSS contributions and income tax, remit them to the authorities, and issue the payslip. The employee is now on the payroll record.

## What must a Costa Rica offer letter include?

The offer letter is not the binding contract. It is the document the candidate weighs before saying yes.

Name the role, reporting line, start date, gross monthly salary, working location, working time of 48 hours a week, and any conditions such as work-permit status or references.

Three traps to avoid in Costa Rican offer letters:

- **Promising a fixed probation.** The Labour Code has no express probation article. Writing a hard probation window into the offer can read as a contractual promise you cannot rely on. State that the first three months follow the standard trial under the Code, and leave it there.
- **Quoting net instead of gross.** Income tax and the employee CCSS share come out of gross pay. Quote the gross figure and show the headline deductions, so there is no surprise on the first payslip.
- **Leaving out the aguinaldo.** The mandatory 13th-month payment is an extra full month of salary, due each December. Set out that the role carries the aguinaldo so the candidate prices the package correctly.

Teamed's standard Costa Rica offer letter covers the required ground and tracks the Codigo de Trabajo. Clients choose the commercial terms. Teamed holds the legal-employer position and issues the final contract.

## Costa Rica work-authorisation checks for foreign national employees

Costa Rican citizens and permanent residents can start work without a permit. Foreign nationals must hold a valid work permit before their first day.

Employing a foreign national without the right authorisation exposes the employer to fines and to an order to end the engagement.

### Costa Rican nationals and permanent residents

There is no separate work-authorisation check for Costa Rican citizens or permanent residents. The employer keeps a copy of the national identity card (cedula) as a standard identity record before the first payroll runs.

### Foreign nationals

Every foreign national needs a residence and work category granted by the Direccion General de Migracion y Extranjeria before starting work. Common categories include temporary residence tied to a specific employer and the special category for skilled or specialised roles. Each category carries its own documentary requirements and validity period, and processing can take several weeks.

The employer usually has to show that the role was offered on the local market first. Plan the permit timeline before you confirm a start date, because the contract cannot begin until the authorisation is in place.

Costa Rica · Codigo de Trabajo (Ley No. 2)

The Codigo de Trabajo governs the employment relationship in Costa Rica, including written-contract requirements, notice, severance, working time, and the aguinaldo. Every employer must comply with it from the first day of employment.

Source: [Sistema Costarricense de Informacion Juridica: Codigo de Trabajo (Ley No. 2)](http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?param1=NRTC&nValor1=1&nValor2=8045)

### Ongoing permit renewals

Work and residence categories in Costa Rica are time-limited. Employers must track expiry dates and start renewals well ahead of the deadline. Teamed monitors each permit expiry and alerts the employee and client before the renewal date, so no lapse occurs.

## The Costa Rica written contract: what must it contain?

Costa Rica expects a written employment contract, signed on or before day one. It is the binding document. The offer letter is not.

The contract sets the gross salary, working time, and benefits, all measured against the floor in the Codigo de Trabajo.

What a Costa Rica written employment contract should cover under the Codigo de Trabajo:

- Names, identity numbers, and addresses of both the employer and the employee
- Start date of employment
- Job title and a description of the work
- Place of work
- Gross salary, never below the occupational minimum wage set by decree (the 2026 generic unskilled rate is CRC 373,092.30/month, the generic skilled rate CRC 419,755.80/month)
- Pay cycle (up to monthly for office staff, up to fortnightly for manual workers)
- Working time, with the day-shift standard at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week
- Paid annual leave of 2 weeks after 50 weeks of continuous service
- The aguinaldo, an extra month of pay due within the first 20 days of December
- Notice on termination, which scales with service: 1 week from three to six months, 15 days from six months to a year, and 1 month after one year
- Any pension or supplementary benefit arrangements on top of the CCSS

Costa Rica has no single codified document like the UK's Section 1 statement. The requirement is that a written contract exists and carries the substantive terms above. Teamed's standard Costa Rica contract satisfies the Codigo de Trabajo. Clients choose the commercial terms; Teamed signs as the legal employer.

Key source: [Codigo de Trabajo](http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?param1=NRTC&nValor1=1&nValor2=8045) via the Sistema Costarricense de Informacion Juridica.

## Onboarding admin in the first week

The first week covers contract signing, CCSS registration, SICERE salary reporting setup, bank details, and the tax withholding profile.

Teamed runs the statutory registrations. The client runs the operational side.

| Onboarding task | Who does it | Day |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Written employment contract signed | Employee and Teamed | Day 0 or 1 |
| Work-authorisation check completed | Teamed | Day 0 (before start for foreign nationals) |
| Identity document (cedula or permit) recorded | Employee submits to Teamed | Day 1 |
| CCSS social security registration | Teamed | Before the first payroll |
| SICERE salary reporting set up | Teamed | Before the first payroll |
| Income tax withholding profile set | Teamed | Days 1 to 7 |
| Bank account details collected for payroll | Teamed | Days 1 to 7 |
| Equipment and system access | Client | Days 0 to 1 |
| Manager introduction and first-week plan | Client | Days 0 to 7 |
| 30-60-90 day plan documented | Client (manager) | Days 1 to 14 |

## How does Teamed handle Costa Rica employment for you?

Teamed becomes your legal [employer of record](/lp/employer-of-record) in Costa Rica for [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up** in any currency.

The Codigo de Trabajo, CCSS contributions, SICERE reporting, and the aguinaldo all run on **one platform**.

**Real HR and legal experts** handle your Costa Rica hires, from the first offer letter through every CCSS and income-tax remittance. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is **no setup fee** and **no exit fee**. Employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice, including the 14.17% employer CCSS line and the parafiscal funds on top.

EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on **one platform**. A Costa Rica contractor who converts to direct employment keeps their record. The EOR model fits until it isn't, and Teamed tells you when that point arrives. Run the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see when your Costa Rica team is ready to graduate to your own entity. Start from [the Costa Rica hiring overview](/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica); each guide here takes one layer of Costa Rica employment law.

Key sources: [Codigo de Trabajo (PGR)](http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?param1=NRTC&nValor1=1&nValor2=8045), [CCSS contributions](https://www.ccss.sa.cr/seguros), and [MTSS minimum-wage list](https://www.mtss.go.cr/temas-laborales/salarios/lista-salarios.html).

## Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to hire someone in Costa Rica through Teamed?

Teamed can onboard a Costa Rican national or permanent resident within a few business days once the offer is accepted. The written contract must be signed on or before day one. CCSS registration and SICERE reporting are set up before the first payroll. A foreign national who needs a Costa Rican work permit must have it in place before the start date, which adds lead time depending on the category and the queue at the Direccion General de Migracion y Extranjeria.

Does Costa Rica have a statutory probation period?

No. The Codigo de Trabajo has no express probation article for general employment. Courts treat the first three months as a trial, because notice (preaviso) and severance (auxilio de cesantia) only begin to accrue after three months of continuous service. Write the standard trial into the contract by reference to the Code rather than inventing a fixed probation window the law does not back.

What notice period applies when ending a Costa Rica contract?

Notice (preaviso) scales with length of service under Codigo de Trabajo article 28. From three to six months of service the notice is 1 week. From six months to one year it is 15 days. After one year it is 1 month. The employer can pay the notice out instead of having the employee work it.

What is the aguinaldo and when is it due?

The aguinaldo is Costa Rica's mandatory 13th-month payment: an extra month of salary on top of normal pay. It is calculated on total ordinary and extraordinary pay earned from 1 December to 30 November, and it must be paid within the first 20 days of December. There is no separate statutory 14th-month payment.

What is the minimum annual leave for a Costa Rica employee?

The statutory minimum paid vacation is 2 weeks, taken after 50 weeks of continuous service. Where service is shorter, leave accrues at roughly one day for each month worked. Standard day-shift working time is 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. Costa Rica also has 9 days of mandatory paid public holidays.

How much does the employer pay into social security in Costa Rica?

The headline employer CCSS contribution is 14.17% of salary, covering the health (SEM) and pension (IVM) schemes. Additional parafiscal funds raise the total employer burden further. The employee also contributes 8.34% of salary, withheld from gross pay alongside income tax.

Teamed Legal Operations

Costa Rica catches employers out on probation. There is no probation article in the Labour Code at all. The first three months work as a trial only because notice and severance start to count from that point, so a written probation clause gives you less cover than it suggests. Treat the three-month mark as the real decision point.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Costa Rica gives you no written probation clause to lean on. The three-month trial comes from the Code's notice rules. Manage it as a hard internal deadline.  
The aguinaldo lands every December. A full extra month of pay, due in the first 20 days. Budget for it from the first hire.  
The contract exists on day one. CCSS registration follows before the first payroll.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Related Costa Rica guides

- [Hiring in Costa Rica, overview](/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica)parent
- [Costa Rica termination and severance](/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica/termination-and-severance)sibling
- [Costa Rica tax and payroll](/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica/tax-and-payroll)sibling
- [Costa Rica employer cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/costa-rica/cost-breakdown)sibling
- [Kenya hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/kenya/hiring-guide)sibling
- [Employer of Record overview](/lp/employer-of-record)core
- [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)tool
- [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change and vary by jurisdiction. Verify current requirements with the Costa Rica Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social and the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, or speak to a qualified professional, before relying on any specific framework.