Some 45.000 vehicle owners with license plates ending in “1” have yet to make the mandatory changeover to the new license plates, despite the deadline is the end of the month.
According to the National Registry, only 72.000 of the 117.000 registered vehicles who must comply have done so.
This is worrisome to the registry officials as it will created problems for the coming three months when vehicles with license plates ending in “2” are required to make the changeover.
In typical Tico (Costa Rican) fashion, many wait to the last minute.
Driving a vehicle past the changeover date can mean a fine by the traffic police. The amount of the fine has yet to be announced by the Ministry of Transport.
The cost for a set of new license plates is ¢15.000 colones for passenger and commercial vehicles and ¢8.000 colones for motorcycles.
The new licence plates come with a sticker that must be attached to the front winshield, with the serial number of the issue and the license plate number must match the ownership papers.
The changeover can be made at any Registro Nacional office.
The change can also be made at the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) branches and the Correos de Costa Rica (Post Office) locations. The BCR tacks on a ¢5.000 colones service charge , while the Correos ¢4.600 for the greater metropolitan area of San José and ¢5.750 for the rest of the country. Correos, for ¢10.000 will deliver the new plates to your home or office.
Source: Registro Nacional
