Costa Rica's annual vehicle tax season has opened with a twist. The 2027 marchamo, the mandatory yearly fee every vehicle owner must pay, went live this week with a new electronic windshield sticker that behaves more like a chip-enabled tag than the old paper disc. Pay before December 31 and you avoid surcharges; miss it and fines under the Traffic Law kick in from January 1.
Around 2.09 million vehicle owners are on the hook this year, and the National Insurance Institute (INS), which runs collection, expects roughly ¢365 billion — about $800 million — to come in. Demand was predictable: 1.37 million queries hit the system before mid-morning on day one.
The big change is the sticker itself. For ¢1,200 (already folded into your total), you get a passive RFID tag rated to last up to a decade, applied once to the inside of the windshield, top centre. One shot only — peel it off and the chip is destroyed, a deliberate anti-theft feature. It applies to cars, buses and trucks; motorcycles and special equipment keep the old-style sticker while INS pilots the tech on bikes, since an exterior tag faces sun, rain and mud. If you replace your windshield or damage the tag, you request a replacement through INS. Multi-vehicle owners should double-check via the INS Móvil app that each tag's code matches the right plate before sticking it down.
There was an early stumble worth knowing about: on launch day, the online calculator pre-ticked an optional ¢11,900 (~$26) accident policy called Más Protección into the displayed total. After driver complaints and a call from the insurance superintendent, INS agreed to stop defaulting it in — so if you checked your amount early, the figure may have been inflated. The policy remains available if you actually want it.
The paper receipt is also gone. Your derecho de circulación proof of payment arrives by email, or can be downloaded as a PDF from grupoins.com or the app, and saved to a phone wallet. No email? INS suggests using a relative's address and printing a copy for the glovebox. Your old 2026 sticker can stay on the glass — MOPT says leaving it won't earn a fine, and police readers that scan the new tags arrive around 2028. INS insists the tag has no battery, no GPS and stores no driving history.
Check what you owe at marchamo.grupoins.com with your plate number (no spaces or dashes), via 800-MARCHAMO, WhatsApp at 2287-6100, or the INS Móvil app. Expect municipal parking fines with interest to be bundled in, plus property tax (about 59% of the total) and mandatory SOA insurance (around 27%), which rose for cars, motorcycles and buses this year but dropped for cargo vehicles and taxis.
Why it matters for travellers: if you're a long-stay visitor, expat or road-tripper with a vehicle registered in Costa Rica, the December 31 deadline is hard — and the one-shot sticker means a careless application is an expensive annoyance. Rental cars and tour vehicles are handled by their owners, so most short-term visitors can simply enjoy quieter INS queues.
