Costa Rica Launches New ID Card Made of Polycarbonate

On October 6, 2025, Costa Rica officially launched a new design for its physical identity card. The new design aims to enhance security, improve usability, and protect personal data. The physical identity cards with the new design will be valid for 10 years.

According to reports, the new design of Costa Rica's physical ID card adheres to international standards, with dimensions of 85.60 mm × 53.98 mm, following the ISO781ID-1 international standard. The front features the Braille representation of the letters "TSE" (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones), which stands for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

The newly designed physical ID card uses more durable materials.PolycarbonateMaterial and color laser engraving technology; the barcode on the ID card has been replaced by the MRZ (Machine Readable Zone), and with the application of MRZ, automatic identity verification systems can read the document information.

The new version of the ID card no longer includes the names of parents and voting addresses; in addition to the main photo, a smaller "secondary photo" has been added, a design adopted by many countries and compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

The anti-counterfeiting measures of the new version of the ID card include embossed patterns, anti-counterfeiting icons visible under ultraviolet light, and micro-text, numbers, and images that are difficult to discern with the naked eye and require magnification equipment to be seen.

The Supreme Electoral Court emphasizes that the old version of the ID card and the new version have the same legal effect. Therefore, if the existing ID card is still valid and well-preserved, there is no need to replace it. Currently, ID cards can be replaced for free once a year.