Costa Rica is located in Central America and it connects North America and South America. People across the country have different ways of communicating with each other, especially how they write address format on their mail. Some regions might give preference to certain address elements while others might omit them. 

Moreover, different types of Costa Rica addresses have different address component requirements.  If you want to send mail to a client or customer in Costa Rica but don’t know the format, we have got you covered. We bring to you various examples of how to structure the different types of addresses you will find in Costa Rica.

Recipient Name

Write the full name of the recipient. You can use titles like Senor for Mr. and Senora for Mrs. In case you are sending the mail to a business, write the company’s name in the first line, followed by the recipient’s name and their department. To ensure that the address lands at the right desk and office, write ATTN. in front of the recipient’s name.

Street Address

Write the street name and house or building number for the residential and business address. Write the type of street in front of the street name. It can be Calle and Avenida. You can write their abbreviated form i.e. Ca and Av. In case the recipient uses a PO box, write AP ( Apartdo Postal is Spanish for PO Box) and write the box number.

City or Town

Write the name of the city or town where the person lives. Some of the major cities in Costa Rica are Heredia, Cartago, San Jose, and Alajuela.

Province

Costa Rica is divided into 7 provinces. Write the name of the province in the same line and after the city or town.

Postal Code

They are called codigo postals in Costa Rica and are five-digit numbers. Each city and town has its postal code.

Country Name

Write the country name in the last line. In case you are sending international mail to Costa Rica, write the country name in capital letters.

1. Address Placement: The address should be written on the bottom left-hand corner of the envelope.
2. Address Line Alignment: The address lines should be left aligned.
3. Capitalization: To ensure clarity and legibility, write the address in capital letters.

Residential Address Format

Write the recipient’s name, street address, city or town, province, postal code, and country name.

Rural Address Format

The streets in rural areas do not have a formal name. Be as descriptive as possible and write the directions, distance from famous roads, and nearby larger towns. After this, write the district, province, postal code, city, and country name.

Business Address Format

Write the name of the company in the first line, the person’s name in the second line, and the department name in the third line.

International Address Format for NGOs And Organizations

Write the name of the organization, followed by the specific department to which the mail is addressed. The rest of the address components will be at the same place as the residential address.

PO Box Address Format

Instead of a street address, write AP and then the box number. All the other address elements will remain in the same place as the residential address.

Military Address Format

Just like civilian addresses, mail sent to military personnel stationed in Costa Rica is managed by  Correos de Costa Rica. Start with the rank and name of the person, followed by their military unit number.

Government Office Address Format

Write the name of the office or department before the street address or PO box number. Place the rest of the address elements in the same place as the residential address.

Address Format for Multiple Recipients

If you are sending mail to multiple people of the same family or business, write their names separately in each line of the residential address.

Address  Format for Courier Services

If you are using a courier service like DHL, or FedEx, write the contact details of the recipient in the last line of the residential address. This will assist the provider in making the right delivery.

The national postal system of Costa Rica is Correos de Costa Rica and it was established in 2005. It is responsible for managing domestic and international mail deliveries.  It is one of the largest postal networks in Costa Rica and has over 500 post offices. Aside from standard mail, it offers services such as express mail, logistics, eCommerce, financial and logistics services.

Sending direct mail to the wrong address reduces your chances of increasing sales, building relationships with prospects, or maybe nurturing networks with clients or customers. A simple typing error, spelling mistake, or formatting mistake can also affect your brand’s reputation. Hence, keeping the correct data in your database and watching for incorrect or incomplete data entering your system is essential. 

All of these problems can be solved when you have a perfect address verification solution, like PostGrid, in place. Autocomplete, verify, validate, and standardize addresses across 250+ countries & territories to local postal standards for better deliverability, up-to-date records, and eliminating return mail with PostGrid. Be it a single address at a time or verifying over 1 million addresses in one go our solution will assist in ensuring correct deliveries to Costa Rica mailing addresses.

Do you want to send mail to countries other than Costa Rica but don’t know the format? Don’t worry, we have got covered. Visit our international address format page where you will find address format for countries across the world.