All licensed drivers in Costa Rica must now provide the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (COSEVI) – licensing office – with an email for any and all notifications, in particular for notice of traffic tickets.
According to the COSEVI, all 1.1 million licensed drivers in the country must meet the requirement, that is the completion of a form that was released yesterday by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) – Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
The document will record the full name and identification of the driver (passport number, residency or cedula), the phone number, home address and email.
Once the form is completed, it can be handed in at any Policia de Tránsito station, Riteve (vehicular inspection), the traffic ticket appeals office, drivers licensing centres or the COSEVI offices in La Uruca.
The deadline for submitting the form is April 26, 2013.
The form can be downloaded here or at the COSEVI website. (Once downloaded you can print it and submit it).
For those who have the “firma digital” (digital signature), they can email to the direccionelectronicavial@csv.go.cr.
Although the form is mandatory, the MOPT says drivers who do not provide the information cannot argue they did not receive notification, for they will be deemed automatically notified with the publication in La Gaceta, the official government newsletter.
Carlos Rivas, an official with the COSEVI, recommends if delivery the document in person, to bring a copy and get it stamped or acknowledged, as a back up and proff that it was submitted and on time.
The requirement to provide the information is established in the new traffic law that went into effective on October 26, 2012.
Article 149 states: “The obligation of drivers and vehicle owners to annually update the email address and, if any changes, notify the COSEVI within ten days after the change occurs.”
According to the COSEVI there are 1.8 million licenses issued to 1.1 million drivers.
The inability of the COSEVI to notify drivers of their traffic tickets has caused problems for transport authorities, in particular shutting down the traffic camera program.
Editor’s note: In Costa Rica a driver is issued multiple licenses for the different type of vehicles, ie a license for passenger vehicles, another for motorcycles, buses and heavy trucks.
