Costa Rica’s Traffic Police headquarters in San José and offices nationwide will close for in-person services during the year-end holiday break, the Road Safety Council (Cosevi), announced.

All Cosevi offices will be closed from 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, through 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.

In Costa Rica, most public-sector employees in nonessential services take vacation starting the last Friday before Christmas and return after the first Monday following New Year’s Day.


People who need to file claims or handle matters related to driver’s licenses, license plates or traffic fines must wait until offices reopen. However, drivers may submit claims by email at recepcion-impugnaciones@csv.go.cr

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Cosevi said drivers who are ticketed during the holiday period and have their vehicles impounded, license plates seized or licenses expired will not be able to recover them until offices resume operations.


Under Costa Rica’s Traffic Law, vehicle owners must pay the original fine plus two additional charges: a towing fee and a daily custody fee. The towing fee is based on the distance from the location where the vehicle was seized to the police impound lot.


The base cost is about $15 for the first three miles, with an additional $8 charged for each extra mile. The custody fee is $10 per day for each day a vehicle is stored at a Cosevi impound lot.


Traffic fines remain valid for seven years. As a result, owners of impounded vehicles must pay any outstanding fines, towing charges, custody fees and other unexpired penalties to recover their vehicles or license plates.

To schedule a recovery appointment, drivers must submit a request through the Cosevi website.

Although traffic police facilities will be closed, officers will continue nationwide patrols as part of a broader holiday surveillance operation aimed at ensuring road safety.

Officials also confirmed there will be no vehicle restrictions in San José from  Dec. 22, 2025, through Jan. 2, 2026, in recognition of the holiday season.

As of November, more than 1,400 people had been arrested for drunk driving this year, authorities said.

Traffic deaths remain a major concern nationwide. Officials reported nearly 500 roadway fatalities so far this year, with motorcyclists accounting for 52% of the deaths.

Cosevi is a government agency under the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and is responsible for enforcing Costa Rica’s traffic laws.

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