AI regulation in Costa Rica: laws & policy (2026)

INTECO (Costa Rica's national standards body) officially promulgated the INTE/ISO/IEC 42001:2026 standard for AI management systems, adapted from the international ISO 42001 framework with input from 15 organizations including PRODHAB. This is the first binding technical reference for AI governance applicable to both public and private entities in Costa Rica.

The Government of Costa Rica and the Inter-American Development Bank co-organized the first Regional AI Public Policy Dialogue for Latin America and the Caribbean on December 4–5 in San José, cementing Costa Rica's role as a regional hub for AI governance deliberation.

Costa Rica and the UN Office in Costa Rica convened the country's first national high-level dialogue on AI ethics and governance, attended by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Technology. The event addressed algorithmic discrimination, privacy, gender equity, and a roadmap for ethical AI regulation.

MICITT released the formal Action Plan implementing the National AI Strategy (ENIA), specifying concrete initiatives across its seven strategic axes including 5G infrastructure, a National Center of Excellence in AI, and workforce upskilling. This operationalized the October 2024 strategy.

MICITT officially launched the Estrategia Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ENIA) 2024–2027, making Costa Rica the first country in Central America and the Caribbean to publish a national AI policy. Built on seven strategic axes anchored in ethics, human rights, and inclusion, it also establishes AI as a driver of economic competitiveness and public-sector modernization.

The Legislative Assembly's specialist committee approved a revised substitute text of Expediente 23771, the country's flagship AI regulation bill, streamlining provisions on the proposed AI Regulatory Authority (ARIA) and risk classification. The bill has yet to pass a full plenary vote, but this marks the furthest any Costa Rican AI bill has advanced legislatively.

MICITT published the near-final draft of the National AI Strategy for a formal public consultation process, inviting contributions from industry, academia, civil society, and the public. This multi-stakeholder process was a prerequisite before the October 2024 official launch.

A cross-party group of legislators filed Expediente 23771 — a comprehensive AI regulation bill notable for being drafted with the assistance of ChatGPT-4, creating an immediate precedent and public debate. The bill proposed a risk-based regulatory model and the creation of ARIA (Autoridad Reguladora de Inteligencia Artificial).

Costa Rica's MICITT signed a formal letter of commitment with UNESCO, with CAF support, pledging to develop a national AI strategy aligned with UNESCO's 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This commitment set the multi-stakeholder process that culminated in the 2024 ENIA.

MICITT and the National High Technology Center (CENAT) signed letters of intent to create the Laboratorio Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (LANIA), targeting applied AI research in mobility, biodiversity, health, and seismology. This established Costa Rica's first dedicated public AI research infrastructure.

Costa Rica was among the first non-OECD-member countries to formally endorse the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence on May 22, 2019, alongside Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Romania. This international commitment anchored subsequent national policy development in a human-centred, trustworthy AI framework.

The implementing regulation for Law 8968 entered into force, activating PRODHAB (Agencia de Protección de Datos de los Habitantes) and establishing binding rules on data controller obligations, cross-border data transfers, and enforcement procedures. This regulatory infrastructure later became the primary legal framework governing AI systems that process personal data.