The Maritime Zone (Ley 6043): what you can and cannot own on a Costa Rican beach, and how to check a parcel

*General information, not legal advice. The law, its regulations and the official coastline delimitation change and vary by parcel. Have a Costa Rican attorney or notary check any coastal purchase before you sign.*

General information, not legal advice. The law, its regulations and the official coastline delimitation change and vary by parcel. Have a Costa Rican attorney or notary check any coastal purchase before you sign.

Every listing that says "beachfront" in Costa Rica raises the same question, and most listings do not answer it: is this land titled, or is it a concession? The answer turns on Ley 6043, the Maritime Zone law, and on where the parcel sits in relation to the high-tide line. This guide explains the zone as the official sources describe it, who may hold a concession there, the one exception that lets some coastal land be titled, and the checks your attorney should run. Where the sources behind this guide stop, the guide says "check with your attorney" rather than guessing.

The 200-metre band

Ley 6043 normally establishes a band 200 metres deep measured from ordinary high tide. The first 50 metres is the public zone. The next 150 metres is the restricted zone. A municipal regulation hosted by the Procuraduría General de la República puts it in one sentence: "Comprende, primero la Zona Pública la cual es de cincuenta metros iniciando desde la pleamar y segundo la Zona Restringida la cual es de ciento cincuenta metros" (PGR, municipal regulation). In English, the zone comprises, first, the public zone of fifty metres starting from high tide, and second, the restricted zone of one hundred and fifty metres.

That source is an explanatory regulation rather than the current consolidated text of the law itself, so treat it as the plain-language statement of the rule, not the final word on any parcel. The line on the ground is set by the official delimitation, and that is one of the things to check (see below).

The public zone is what it sounds like. The first 50 metres from the high-tide line cannot be owned by anyone. No listing can sell it, and no concession covers it.

Concession, not title, in the restricted zone

In the 150-metre restricted zone the law permits concessions for use, not ordinary fee-simple title. A PGR opinion states it directly: "Los restantes 150 metros constituyen la zona restringida", the remaining 150 metres make up the restricted zone (PGR opinion, 2017). A concession is a right to use the land granted by the municipality, with a contract, a holder, a term and conditions. It is not the same thing as owning the land, and a buyer who pays a titled-land price for a concession has bought a contract, not a freehold.

There is an exception, and it matters. A separate PGR opinion notes that properly registered private property can be an exception under article 6 of the law. A pre-existing, properly registered private title can therefore sit inside the 200-metre band. So it is wrong to say that every parcel within 200 metres of the sea is concession land. It is equally wrong to assume a parcel is titled because a listing says so. The registry title history of the specific parcel decides it.

Check with your attorney whether the parcel you are looking at is a registered private title that falls under the article 6 exception, a concession, or neither, based on the Registro record and the official delimitation. The sources behind this guide confirm the exception exists; they do not say how common it is or how to recognise it from a listing.

Who may hold a concession: the foreigner rules

Article 47 of Ley 6043 restricts who may hold a concession in the restricted zone. A PGR opinion reproduces the restriction on foreign individuals: concessions may not be granted "A extranjeros que no hayan residido en el país por lo menos durante cinco años", to foreigners who have not resided in the country for at least five years (PGR opinion, 2007). The same restrictions cover a company that is more than 50% foreign-owned, and the opinion also identifies foreign-domiciled entities.

For a foreign buyer that means three things. A foreigner who has not lived in Costa Rica for five years cannot be granted a concession in their own name. A Costa Rican company does not solve that if more than half of it is foreign-owned. And an entity domiciled abroad is caught as well.

Check with your attorney the current 2026 consolidated text of article 47 and any special regime that applies to the parcel or the area. The opinion quoted above dates from 2007. The restriction it reproduces is the basis for the foreigner rules you will read on this site and elsewhere, and it should be confirmed against the current text before you rely on it for a purchase.

The checks to run on a coastal parcel

The following is a due-diligence checklist drawn from the official sources behind this guide. It is not a statement that any listing on this site is titled or concessioned; nothing at listing level has been verified, and that is the point of the checklist.

Reconcile the Registro Inmobiliario record with the cadastral plan. The Registro Inmobiliario covers both titled property and maritime-zone concessions, and it includes the cadastre. The 2025/26 general regulation of the Registro Inmobiliario (Decreto 44647) expressly addresses plans for maritime-zone concessions. Your attorney should pull the registry record and the plano and confirm they describe the same parcel.
Check the official public-zone line. The 50-metre public zone is measured from a line set by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). Ask for the official delimitation for this stretch of coast and confirm where the parcel sits relative to it.
If it is a concession, read the contract. Confirm the municipal concession contract exists, who the holder is, the term and the renewal position, and that payments are current.
Confirm the permitted use and the coastal plan. A concession is granted for a use, under the municipality's coastal regulatory plan. Confirm the use you intend is the one permitted.
Look for a protected-area or pre-existing-title exception. Parcels inside or next to a protected area may carry further restrictions, and a parcel may be a registered private title under article 6. Either changes the analysis.
Use an independent notary or attorney. The checks above are theirs to run, and independent means not the seller's.

Check with your attorney the term and renewal rules for concessions, the fees a concession holder pays, what happens to a concession on a sale or on the holder's death, and whether a concession can be mortgaged. None of those is set out in the sources behind this guide, and this guide does not state them.

What this means for a listing marked "beachfront"

Read the listing as a claim, not a fact. A house 30 metres from the high-tide line is in the public zone for part of its footprint and cannot be owned at all there. A house 120 metres back is, in the normal case, on concession land, which a foreigner with under five years' residency cannot be granted. A house 250 metres back can be fee-simple and owned outright by a foreigner in their own name, with no residency requirement. Any of those positions can be complicated by the article 6 exception or by a protected area, which is why the price you pay should follow the registry record, not the listing headline.

If you want the sunset without the concession question, the guide on beachfront versus ocean-view is the next read. If you want the worked example of what goes wrong, read the $415,000 beachfront mistake.

FAQ

What is the Maritime Zone in Costa Rica? Under Ley 6043, normally a 200-metre band measured from ordinary high tide: the first 50 metres is public zone and the next 150 metres is restricted zone.

Can anyone own the first 50 metres of beach? No. The public zone cannot be owned by anyone.

Can a foreigner own beachfront property in Costa Rica? A foreigner can own titled (fee-simple) property outside the Maritime Zone outright, with no residency requirement. Inside the restricted zone, land is held by concession, and under article 47 a concession may not be granted to a foreigner who has not resided in the country for at least five years, nor to a company more than 50% foreign-owned. Confirm the current text with your attorney.

Is all land within 200 metres of the sea concession land? No. A PGR opinion notes that properly registered private property can be an exception under article 6. The registry title history of the specific parcel decides it, so check it rather than assume either way.

What is the difference between a concession and a title? A title is ownership of the land, recorded in the Registro Inmobiliario. A concession is a municipal grant of the right to use land in the restricted zone, with a contract, a holder, a term and a permitted use. The Registro Inmobiliario records both.

What should my attorney check on a coastal parcel? The Registro Inmobiliario record and the cadastral plan, reconciled; the IGN's official public-zone line; the municipal concession contract, holder, term, renewal and payment status; the permitted use and coastal plan; and any protected-area or pre-existing-title exception.