If you work with a notary in Costa Rica for a property purchase, a corporate formation, or any other transaction that goes through a public deed, there is a layer of anti-money laundering compliance running in the background that you may never see but that directly affects how your transaction is handled. A recent development from the Dirección Nacional de Notariado makes that compliance layer more structured and, importantly, more documented.
What the Dirección Nacional de Notariado Has Introduced
The Dirección Nacional de Notariado has introduced a self-assessment tool for notarial risk under the framework of the Lineamientos para la Aplicación del Artículo 15 ter of Law 7786. According to the information available, Article 7 of those guidelines establishes a specific obligation for notaries to evaluate their own risk exposure related to money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.
What Law 7786 Actually Requires
Law 7786 is Costa Rica's primary legislation covering controlled substances, capital legitimization, and terrorism financing. Article 15 ter of that law brought notaries into the scope of obligated parties under Costa Rica's AML/CFT framework, meaning notaries are not just passive document drafters but are treated as entities with a duty to identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with the transactions they formalize. The new self-assessment tool is the Dirección Nacional de Notariado's way of operationalizing that duty by giving notaries a structured method to measure their own risk profile.
What This Means in Practice
For clients, whether local or foreign, the practical effect is that your notary is now working within a more formally defined compliance system. When a notary requests information about the origin of funds, the structure of a transaction, or the identity of beneficial owners, that is not bureaucratic excess. It is a required part of the risk evaluation that the notary is legally obligated to conduct and document.
A notary who skips these steps is not doing you a favor by moving faster. They are exposing themselves to regulatory liability and potentially creating problems for the transaction down the line.
Why This Matters for Real Estate and Corporate Transactions
Real estate and corporate work are two of the sectors that AML regulators globally and in Costa Rica pay the most attention to. Property transfers and company formations can be used to move funds across borders or obscure beneficial ownership, which is exactly what these frameworks are designed to detect. If you are buying property, forming a Costa Rican company, or restructuring an existing one, working with a notary who takes AML compliance seriously is not a disadvantage. It is a sign that the firm understands how to complete transactions that will hold up to scrutiny.
How Fortuna Lawyer Approaches This
At Fortuna Lawyer, our notarial practice is based in La Fortuna and serves both Costa Rican and foreign clients. We integrate AML due diligence into our process from the start of a transaction, not as a final checkbox. If you have questions about what documentation you will need to provide, why certain information is required, or how compliance obligations might affect the timeline of your transaction, we are happy to walk you through it before you get started.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For guidance on your specific situation, contact an attorney here.