Q COSTARICA — Dekra, the German company in charge of vehicle inspections (RTV) in Costa Rica, filed a criminal complaint with the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) in early March against a group of employees at its Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos) inspection station.
The company accused the workers of having formed a network with local mechanic shops to manipulate results at specific points during the vehicle inspection.
According to sources consulted by La Nación, the complaint targets at least 10 former employees of the company and the owners of three mechanic shops in the area.
The employees have already been dismissed, but after their terminations, they allegedly returned to the facilities posing as drivers, causing disturbances that in several cases required police intervention.
Dekra also formally wrote to the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi) Board of Directors requesting authorization to prohibit these individuals from entering the premises. Cosevi responded that the company already has a sufficient regulatory framework to make that decision on its own, without needing specific authorization.
The company did not provide many details about how it detected the irregularities, stating that the case is under investigation. It did announce that it has reinforced its control measures: monitoring of appointment scheduling, vehicle entry controls, and new system security measures.
It is worth remembering that Dekra continues operating, on a temporary basis, as the sole provider of vehicle technical inspections in Costa Rica since the end of 2022, with permits that have been extended due to delays in the bidding process of awarding the contract to a permanent operator, of which Dekra would be one of the bidders.
Legally, it operates under a specific administrative figure known as a “permiso de uso en precario” (a temporary, revocable permit). When DEKRA took over the inspection program from Riteve in October 2022, it was granted a discretionary two-year temporary permit that was originally slated to expire in October 2024.
The 2025 and 2026 Extensions: Because the government repeatedly failed to finalize a definitive public bidding process for a permanent operator. The 2026 contract extension signed by the MOPT established that DEKRA will continue managing operations until at least July 27, 2026.
If anyone believes they have been affected by irregularities, they can file a complaint at info.cr@dekra.com or directly with the judicial authorities.