Debt Collection in Costa Rica ☎️ Civil Recovery Lawyers
Debt collection in Costa Rica refers to the legal mechanisms available to recover unpaid monetary obligations through the civil courts. These procedures apply when a debtor fails to comply with a payment obligation arising from a loan, contract, promissory note, invoice, or similar document.
At CPG Legal, we represent both creditors seeking to recover unpaid debts and debtors who require legal defense in civil collection proceedings. Costa Rican law provides different procedural routes depending on the nature of the obligation, the existence of a written title, and the type of guarantee involved.
The most common judicial mechanism for individual debt recovery in Costa Rica is the Monitory Civil Process (Proceso Monitorio), a fast-track procedure designed to enforce clear, liquid, and due monetary obligations.
What is a personal loan?
A personal loan, for civil procedural purposes, is a monetary obligation that is not secured by a specific asset such as real estate or a vehicle. These obligations are enforced through individual debt collection actions, most commonly the monitory civil process, when the debt is clear, liquid, and due.
In practice, personal loans are usually documented through promissory notes, bills of exchange, checks, or written agreements. Depending on the document used, these instruments may qualify as executive titles under Costa Rican law, allowing faster judicial enforcement.
What type of payments guarantees are usually recommended when lending money?
For debt collection purposes, Costa Rican law distinguishes between personal obligations and obligations secured by real guarantees. This page focuses on personal monetary obligations, which are typically enforced through the monitory civil process.
Claims based on mortgages or pledges are enforced through a different and specialized procedure known as the pure execution process, which is addressed separately.
If I have a contract, and not a promissory note, can I file an individual debt collection?
When a debt arises from a contract that does not qualify as an executive title, and the obligation is disputed, the claim may need to be enforced through an ordinary civil process rather than a monitory action.
Can you explain what "real guarantees" are?
Costa Rican law distinguishes between personal obligations and obligations secured by real guarantees, such as mortgages and pledges. Claims based on real guarantees are enforced through a different and specialized procedure, known as the pure execution process.
Learn about Execution of Mortgages and Liens in Costa Rica.
Why is pre-trial debt collection a good idea?
In certain cases, a formal pre-trial debt collection attempt may resolve the matter without the need for immediate litigation. This may include a written payment demand or settlement discussions aimed at voluntary compliance. However, when the debtor fails to respond or disputes the obligation, Costa Rican law provides efficient judicial mechanisms—such as the monitory civil process—to enforce payment through the courts.
What is the monitory civil process?
The Monitory Civil Process (Proceso Monitorio) is a special civil procedure designed to collect clear, liquid, and due monetary obligations in a fast and efficient manner. It is the primary judicial mechanism used for individual debt collection in Costa Rica when the creditor can demonstrate the existence of a monetary obligation through documentary evidence.
This process applies when the debt arises from documents such as promissory notes, bills of exchange, checks, invoices, written agreements, or other documents that prove the obligation to pay a specific sum of money. Depending on the nature of the document, the claim may be filed with or without an executive title.
Unlike ordinary civil litigation, the monitory process is structured to reverse the traditional sequence of a lawsuit. Instead of beginning with a full evidentiary phase, the court issues an initial payment order based on the documents filed by the creditor.
Why is it called a monitory process?
Because of its inverted form. It is unlike any traditional civil process that begins with a lawsuit, a response, a hearing to evacuate evidence, and a final resolution that can be appealed.
The monitory process, begins with a monitory lawsuit, and the Judge immedately issues the payment order (resolución intimatoria) issued by the court at the very beginning of the case. Once the claim is admitted, the judge orders the debtor to pay the debt within a short statutory period or formally oppose the claim.
At this stage, the court does not analyze the merits in depth. The judge verifies that the obligation appears liquid, due, and enforceable on its face. If the debtor fails to oppose the claim, the payment order becomes final and immediately enforceable.
This structure allows creditors to obtain enforceable judgments without lengthy trials, provided the debtor does not raise a valid defense..
What happens if the debtor opposes the monitory claim?
Costa Rican law strictly limits the defenses that may be raised in a monitory process. The debtor may only oppose the claim on specific legal grounds, such as:
Payment of the obligation
Statute of limitations
Lack of enforceability
Falsity of the document
If a well-founded opposition is filed, the effects of the payment order are suspended, except for any precautionary measures already granted. The court will then schedule an oral hearing governed by the rules of the summary process.
If the opposition is upheld, the creditor may request that the case be converted into an ordinary civil process, ensuring full evidentiary debate and judicial analysis.
When is the monitory process not appropiate?
The monitory process is not suitable when the debt is disputed from the outset and cannot be proven through documents, or when the claim arises from a breach of contract without an executive title. In those cases, the proper procedural route is the Ordinary Civil Process, which allows for full evidentiary production and judicial determination of contested facts.
Executive Titles and Precautionary Measures.
In Costa Rica, the effectiveness of a debt collection case largely depends on whether the creditor holds an executive title (título ejecutivo). An executive title allows the creditor to request immediate precautionary measures, such as asset seizures, from the very beginning of the monitory process.
Under the Civil Procedural Code, executive titles include documents that clearly and unequivocally establish a liquid, due, and enforceable monetary obligation. Common examples include promissory notes, bills of exchange, checks, notarized instruments, judicial confessions, and other documents granted executive force by law.
When an executive title is attached to the monitory claim, the court may order asset attachments (embargos) at the same time it issues the payment order. These measures are designed to prevent the debtor from disposing of assets while the case is pending.
What if there is no executive title?
Not all valid debts are documented through executive titles. Costa Rican law still allows creditors to file a monitory claim based on non-executive documents, such as private contracts, invoices, or written acknowledgments of debt.
In these cases, the creditor may still pursue the monitory process, but precautionary measures are subject to additional requirements, including the posting of a bond to secure potential damages. If the debtor fails to oppose the payment order, the resolution becomes final and enforceable, even without an executive title.
However, when the debt is contested and lacks executivity, the case may eventually require conversion to an ordinary civil process.
Is there debtor´s prison in Costa Rica?
No. And there´s no such thing as contempt or court for failure to pay. Article 38 of the Costa Rican Constitution bans debtor´s prison. There is, however, an exception to this rule: breach of alimony and child support payments. If a person owes child support or alimony, they will be arrested and can spend up to six months in prison, until the debt is paid.
As the loan debtor, do I have the possibility to defend myself in this debt recovery action?
Yes, of course! Due process is always observed. Once you get served, you can file an opposition within a five day window. The opposition must be adequately founded, or it will be rejected “ad portas.” (Ad portas means “at the doorway.”) Oppositions can be based on legal defenses, also called “exceptions.”
Some legal defenses may include that the payment was already done, statute of limitations exception, and even the lack of enforceability exception, to name a few. If your defenses are rejected, you can always appeal the decision, per basic due process principles of law.
Dr. Christopher Pirie.