QCOSTARICA – Starting this week, license plates seized by the Policia de Transito (traffic police) can be recovered to the Correos de Costa Rica (CCR) – the post office.
The cost of shipping with home delivery will be between ¢2,400 and ¢3,900, depending on the distance. For now, the service is only enabled for license plates in custody at Cosevi’s headquarters, in La Uruca.
“However, if the registered owner of the vehicle lives outside of the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), delivery will be made through Correos de Costa Rica at their address in any part of the country,” said the Cosevi.
This eliminates the need to line up at the Cosevi offices in La Uruca, lines that usually start before the sun rises and continue for most of the day.
The procedure is to first pay up the fine or appeal the confiscation of the plate and then make the request for their return at the Cosevi website (www.csv.go.cr).
The first step is to create an account with an email by the registered owner of the plates, based on the vehicle/plate registry.
Next, once the account has been created and process to have the plates returned approved, the Cosevi delivers the package for distribution to Correos de Costa Rica.
To approve the return, several things have to happen, the Marchamo (circulation permit) has to be paid up, the vehicle inspection (Riteve) has to be current, the ticket paid or appealed and any other outstanding fines paid up.
In the event the plate confiscation was for problems with gas emission, excess noise, ramp operation, hazardous materials, etc, documentation that proves compliance must be attached to the request.
If the plate was detained at the order of a judicial authority, a return authorization document must be attached, addressed to Cosevi, signed by the office that issued the order.
Of course, the delivery charges must be paid in advance.
Delivery time is from one to three days, depending on the recipient’s location.
“The web application for requesting withheld plates manages in an orderly manner all the necessary requirements for the user to complete the process easily and quickly,” declared Cosevi.
With this agreement between the Cosevi and Correos, the institutions seek to avoid the use or manipulation of cash and reduce the waiting time for the recovery of confiscated plates.
This past year, in many cases the wait time to recover confiscated plates was up to one month, this was due to a reduction in capacity at the Cosevi offices due to the pandemic.
The traffic police report that the majority of seizures are due to the lack of a current circulation permit or vehicle inspection which comes at a cost of ¢54,800 for each.
