ID cards

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Renewal of your Costa Rican ID card (cédula)

For the renewal of your Costa Rican ID card (cédula), you must personally submit the following documents to the Consulate:

  • Current ID card (expired or about to expire)
  • Two colour photographs (3.5 cm high by 3 cm wide) with white.

If your ID has been expired for more than ten years, you must come to the Consulate with two witnesses (family or friends). Each witness must bring their valid Costa Rican identity card (cédula) in good condition.

In case of loss or theft of your ID card, to request a new one you must provide a birth certificate issued by the Civil Registrar Office in San José (Registro Civil) and an official photo ID, preferably your Costa Rican passport.

Applying for your first Costa Rican ID card (cédula)

To apply for a Costa Rican identity card (cédula) for the first time, you must personally submit the following documents to the Consulate:

  • Two colour photographs (3.5 cm high by 3 cm wide) with white background.
  • Child Identification Card (Tarjeta de Identificación de Menores or TIM)

If you do not have a TIM, you must provide a birth certificate issued by the Civil Registrar Office in San José (Registro Civil) and shall also come to the Costa Rican Consulate with witnesses; one witness only if he/she is an immediate family member (only father, mother, brother, sister or grandparent), two witnesses if otherwise. Each witness must bring their valid Costa Rican identity card (cédula) in good condition. If the direct family member is a foreigner, he/she must bring a valid passport (no foreign witnesses are allowed except for the aforementioned immediate family members).

You may request your first ID card from the moment you turn sixteen, but it will only be given to you until the age of eighteen.