Checklist for launching your online store in Costa Rica

Opening an online store is exciting, and that's exactly why it's easy to forget something. A price without VAT, a returns policy that doesn't exist or a confirmation email that never goes out can cost you sales, or a complaint before the MEIC (Costa Rica's Ministry of Economy, which handles consumer protection).

This list brings together what your store should have before it opens. The legal points come from the regulation to Law 7472 on consumer protection (Executive Decree 37899-MEIC), whose chapter IX covers e-commerce. The underlying rule is simple: selling online carries the same obligations as selling in a shop.

1. Your products

• Good, real photos of every product, well lit and from several angles.
• Complete descriptions: features, materials or composition, size or weight, and expiry date or country of origin where relevant. The law requires information that doesn't mislead.
• Stock kept up to date, so you never sell what you don't have.

2. Clear prices

• The total price in plain view, taxes included, with a breakdown of what it covers.
• The shipping cost shown before payment, on top of the product price. See shipping for online stores.
• If you charge in dollars, say that the exchange rate is the Central Bank's reference selling rate.

3. Who you are

The MEIC requires a business to identify itself clearly and keep that up to date:

• Your name or company name and ID number (cédula física or jurídica).
• Exact address, phone, email and other ways to reach you.

A contact page and a footer with these details take care of it.

4. Terms and conditions, in Spanish

• How customers pay, how and when you deliver, and how to file a complaint.
• The right to cancel (derecho de retracto): its conditions, the deadline and how to use it (see point 5).
• The legal warranty, explained separately from your exchange policy. The MEIC flags mixing the two as non-compliance.
• No clauses that take away customers' rights: the law treats them as abusive.

The law requires terms in Spanish; if you sell to English speakers, offer an English version too.

5. The right to cancel

For online purchases, customers can cancel within 8 business days, as long as the nature of the product allows it. If they already have the product, they return it unused, with its packaging and accessories, and you refund the money by the same method they paid with.

• Explain in your store how to request a cancellation: which email to write to and what to send.
• If you sell products that can't be returned this way, say so before the purchase. The exceptions include perishable or consumable goods, goods that can't be resold once used or installed, special-order imports and made-to-measure items.

6. The checkout process

• A summary before confirming: products, price, extra costs, total and delivery time, with the option to make changes.
• Explicit acceptance of the terms before paying, and a way to save or print them.
• No pre-ticked boxes, for example to receive marketing. The law treats it as a deceptive sign-up.

7. Payments

• At least card and SINPE Móvil; PayPal if you sell abroad; bank transfer for large amounts. See how to accept payments online.
• Information about payment security, such as the gateway you use and how it protects data.
• A real test purchase with each payment method, and a test refund.

8. Delivery

• A delivery time per area, in plain view. Note: if you don't state it, the regulation assumes delivery within 24 hours, and if you miss the deadline you must refund the full amount.
• Packaging tested with your most fragile products.

9. Receipts and e-invoicing

• A receipt by email after every purchase, with your details, the products, their prices and the amount charged.
• An electronic invoice or receipt (factura or tiquete electrónico) for every sale, as Hacienda requires. See e-invoicing for online stores.

10. Personal data and security

• The padlock (HTTPS) on every page of the site.
• A privacy policy that explains what data you collect, why, and how to ask for it to be deleted, under Law 8968 on personal data protection.
• Strong passwords, and dashboard access only for those who need it.

11. Measurement

• Google Analytics 4 with purchases set as conversions.
• Google Search Console with the sitemap submitted.
• If you'll advertise, Google Ads conversions connected.

12. The final test

• Buy from your own store on a phone, from start to finish.
• Check that the confirmation emails arrive, for the customer and for you.
• Ask someone you trust to buy without help and tell you where they hesitated.

After you open

A new store has no visitors on day one. Update your Google profile, announce it on social media, write to your current customers and consider a starting advertising budget. And check your measurement every week: it will tell you which products get viewed, which sell and where customers drop off.

If you're still putting your store together, see how much an online store costs in Costa Rica and our complete e-commerce guide. You can price it in the calculator or book a free call.

The legal points summarize what the MEIC explains about e-commerce (MEIC presentation, 2025, in Spanish). This isn't legal advice: if you have questions about your case, ask a lawyer.