Costa Rican Digital Identity Becomes Mandatory on January 1, 2027

Costa Rica’s mobile national identity is closing in on a legal deadline. The Identidad Digital Costarricense (IDC) launched on September 9, 2025 as a smartphone-based counterpart to the country’s physical cédula. Within two weeks of going live, almost 30,000 Costa Ricans had applied, prompting the TSE to briefly pause the rollout to clear a backlog. More than 17 public institutions are now wired into the platform. The larger shift arrives on January 1, 2027: from that date, every public institution and private business in Costa Rica is legally required to accept the IDC for official procedures.

From Plastic Card to a Mobile Credential

The IDC-Ciudadano app, developed by Costa Rica’s Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE), turns the existing national identity card into a downloadable digital document, available through Costa Rica’s official IDC portal. To activate the credential, applicants submit their cédula number and a real-time facial scan, then pay 2,600 Costa Rican colones (about US$5) and download the app on iOS or Android. The digital credential is valid for four years and is available to Costa Ricans aged 18 and over. Costa Ricans aged 65 and over can obtain their IDC free of charge.

That parallel existence is a deliberate policy choice. Costa Rica added facial recognition to its national biometric system in 2019, and the IDC reuses that backbone.

The main difference is that it’s a digital document with important security features based on international standards, and it uses biometrics to download, activate and access it.

Xenia Guerrero Arias, the TSE’s general director of technological strategy, told Biometric Update this after the September 2025 launch. The mobile ID can be remotely deactivated if a phone is lost or stolen and re-downloaded to a new device at no cost. The activation sequence uses the same selfie biometric already captured in government databases, with a personal PIN as a second factor.

ISO 18013-5 and Proof-of-Life Biometrics

The platform’s technical claims rest on two anchors: international certification and live biometric checks. The IDC operates under the ISO 18013-5 standard, the international specification for mobile driver’s licenses the system was built on. That certification makes the credential readable by foreign verification systems the same way a passport chip is, and it puts Costa Rica among a small group of Latin American countries issuing government IDs at that level of cross-border interoperability.

The second anchor is what the TSE calls “Proof of Life”: a real-time biometric match that confirms the person presenting the credential is the person registered in government databases at the moment of the transaction. The technology package was assembled by the public-private consortium Identidad del Futuro, comprising RACSA, the state telecom and IT company managed by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad; GET Group, a US-based secure-ID vendor; and Tech5. The per-credential cost to government: $1.13 per digital ID, per the TSE contract award reported in Costa Rican press.

The two credentials overlap in coverage but differ in almost every other practical dimension. The table below lays them side by side.

Sources: TSE contract award (Amelia Rueda, citing Sistema de Contratación Pública), Biometric Update (October 2025), RACSA blog (June 24, 2026), Wikipedia (Costa Rican identity card).

The Consortium Behind the Build

The TSE built the platform in tandem with the Identidad del Futuro consortium. RACSA contributed state telecom and IT infrastructure, plus cybersecurity and biometric operations; GET Group built the mobile identity wallet and the verifier platform. Tech5 also contributed to the project, and Korean state-owned KOMSCO won a related digital ID contract in 2024.

“This launch marks a historic milestone for Costa Rica and GET Group alike. It’s the first step in building a comprehensive Digital ID ecosystem in Costa Rica,” Joshua M. Mormol, managing director for Latin America at GET Group, said after the September 2025 launch. The TSE’s framing of the platform’s impact runs along three axes: social (free issuance for adults 65 and over), financial (a sustainable per-credential fee for adults), and environmental (paperless workflows across the public sector).

Backlog, Adopters, and the Verifier App

Costa Rican interest in the IDC outran the platform’s initial capacity. Within two weeks of the September 2025 launch, the application portal was temporarily closed to clear the surge. Early commercial adopters moved quickly: state-owned Banco de Costa Rica and telco Claro began accepting the digital document at launch. Public authorities including the police were obligated to accept the IDC from the start; private companies were given a six-month adjustment window to integrate it.

For institutions, the on-ramp is the Verificador IDC app. The companion verifier lets a bank branch, a hotel desk, or a building reception confirm in real time that an IDC presented by a visitor is officially issued and currently valid. Costa Rica’s plan is that office and residential buildings will no longer accept physical ID cards at their reception desks once the transition window closes; visitors will be verified digitally through the TSE Verification Agent app.

The early metrics behind the platform, at a glance:

• 2,600 colones (about US$5): per-credential fee; waived for adults aged 65+
• $1.13: government cost per digital credential issued, against $3.02 for the printed physical card
• 4 years: validity of an IDC, against 10 years for the physical cédula
• More than 17: public institutions integrated by mid-2026
• 6 months: adjustment window institutions were given to begin accepting the IDC

The High Security Printing Award

In mid-2026, the IDC received a “Best New Digital ID Program 2026” recognition at the High Security Printing Latin America 2026 forum in Guatemala City, organized by Reconnaissance International. The award cited the TSE’s migration of the top-tier security features of Costa Rica’s polycarbonate physical card onto a mobile form factor, an approach the program called integral homologation of the two formats.

The selection sat alongside other regional programs on the forum’s shortlist. Recognition at HSP Latin America is one of the few public venues where national ID programs are formally benchmarked on security lineage and international compatibility. The Costa Rica IDC’s win, per the RACSA update on IDC milestones from June 2026, gave the country a regional reference point for how a mobile credential can carry the same security dossier as a polycarbonate national card.

The 2027 Legal Switch

The deadline that gives the IDC its structural weight is the legal-mandate switch. From January 1, 2027, every public institution and private business in Costa Rica is required to accept the IDC for official procedures. A remote-procedure phase for banking, telecommunications, and tourism runs first, with voting integration to follow.

The TSE staged the rollout so the legal obligation lands after technical readiness, not before. The application portal has reopened, the verifier app is in production, and most named public institutions are operating against the IDC today.

Where the IDC stands in the timeline:

1. September 2025: IDC-Ciudadano app goes live for adults 18 and over
2. Two weeks after launch: application portal temporarily paused after nearly 30,000 applications
3. Mid-2026: IDC recognized at HSP Latin America 2026 in Guatemala City as Best New Digital ID Program 2026
4. January 1, 2027: mandatory acceptance of the IDC by all public institutions and private businesses takes legal effect
5. 2028: IDC becomes a valid identification document for voting in municipal elections

Cultural Design and Sector Reach

The IDC carries the same national symbols as the physical card on its mobile form: the Guaria Morada (a purple orchid that is Costa Rica’s national flower) and the Carreta Típica (the traditional oxcart). The cultural elements travel from the polycarbonate physical card to the mobile app, giving citizens a continuous visual identity regardless of which version they hand over.

The next expansion phase prioritizes three sectors. Banking and finance leans on the IDC for remote account creation, loan processing, and high-security transactions without an in-person branch visit. Telecommunications uses the same credential for instant remote identity verification at mobile and internet service activations. Tourism layers it into local check-ins and travel-related identity authentication. The architecture is in place; the on-ramps are being wired in next.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Costa Rican Digital Identity (IDC)?

The IDC is the mobile version of Costa Rica’s physical cédula. Costa Ricans download it as an app, activate it with a live facial scan and PIN, and present it on the same smartphone that already carries their physical card. It is built by Costa Rica’s Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, the same agency that issues the physical card, and the two credentials operate in parallel.

How much does the IDC cost, and how long does it last?

The IDC costs 2,600 Costa Rican colones, roughly US$5, and is valid for four years. Adults aged 65 and over are exempt from the fee. Re-downloading the credential to a new device after a lost or stolen phone is free.

Is the IDC valid for voting?

The IDC was not accepted for the February 2026 national elections. From 2028, it is expected to be a valid identification document for voting in Costa Rica’s municipal elections.

Which institutions accept the IDC today?

Public institutions including the police must accept the IDC. State-owned Banco de Costa Rica and telco Claro were early adopters at launch, and more than 17 public institutions had been wired into the platform by mid-2026. Private companies were given a six-month transition window, ending January 1, 2027, to begin accepting the credential.

Can someone else use my IDC?

The credential is locked to a live biometric match and a personal PIN, so presentation requires both the device and the registered face. If a phone is lost, the IDC can be deactivated remotely and re-downloaded to a new device at no cost.