REMOTE SERVICE
If you lived in Costa Rica and now need your police clearance certificate for immigration, employment or academic purposes abroad, you do not need to travel or send me documents. You request the certificate through the Costa Rican consulate in your jurisdiction, usually by email; the consulate sends the request directly to the Judicial Branch; my office collects the document, obtains the apostille from the Foreign Ministry and sends it to you.
Authorized public notary no. 28613 · Fully remote process · Three business days in Costa Rica
This service is for you if…
You lived in Costa Rica and are now applying for a visa or residency elsewhere
Immigration authorities may require a police clearance certificate from each country where you lived. Costa Rica issues it only within its territory.
You are Costa Rican and live abroad
You need your police clearance certificate for work, study, marriage or naturalization and cannot attend the Judicial Registry in person.
An employer or university requires an apostilled document
A certificate without an apostille has no effect outside Costa Rica. These are two separate in-person procedures.
You already tried and encountered the online system
The Judicial Branch’s digital police clearance requires an account issued only in person at judicial offices in Costa Rica.
The process, step by step
1
We speak and I confirm that your case qualifies
Write to me through the form or by email, tell me what country you are in and why you need the document. I will reply with the relevant consulate, the exact information to include in your request and the details of the person in my office who will be authorized to collect it, ready for you to simply forward.
Timing: same day
2
You request the certificate through the consulate
Send your request to the Costa Rican consulate or embassy in your jurisdiction, naming my office as authorized to collect the certificate. In most cases an email is enough, with no appointment or in-person visit. The consulate sends the request directly to the Judicial Branch in Costa Rica: you do not need to send me anything or grant a power of attorney.
Timing: depends on the consulate’s response time
3
I collect the document and obtain the apostille
Once the request is with the Judicial Registry, my office collects the police clearance certificate and takes it to the Foreign Ministry’s Authentication and Apostille Department. I supervise the process from start to finish and stand behind it as a notary.
Timing: three business days after the certificate is issued
4
You receive the document
On the same day the apostille is issued, I email you a full-colour scan. If you also need the physical original, I can send it by international courier to the address you provide.
Timing: immediate digital delivery
What you receive
Digital delivery, on the same day
High-resolution full-colour scan of the certificate with its apostille, emailed to you. A digital copy may help advance your application when the receiving authority accepts it. The apostille includes a key and code for verification through the Foreign Ministry portal.
Original by courier — optional
Many procedures are resolved with the scan alone. If yours requires the physical document, I will send it to the address you provide. Courier pricing is quoted separately by destination, only on request, and I share the tracking number once dispatched.
I also apostille these documents
Birth, marriage and death certificates — issued by the Civil Registry
Special and general powers of attorney — granted before me and apostilled for use abroad
Corporate registry certificates — for corporations and limited liability companies
Academic degrees and certificates — subject to validation by the issuing institution
Signature authentications and certified copies — with certification from the National Directorate of Notaries
Sworn statements — granted before me for legal effect abroad
Tell me about your case
Tell me what country you are in and why you need the document. I will reply with the exact steps and total cost, in writing and without obligation.
I do not charge to review whether your case qualifies.