Car Accident in a Costa Rica Rental: What to Do, Step by Step

If you have a car accident in a Costa Rica rental, the short version is this. Check for injuries and get people out of traffic. Leave the cars where they stopped. Call 911 and your rental company’s 24/7 number. Then wait, sometimes for hours, for the traffic officer and the insurance inspector. Each of them gives you a document, and without both your rental insurance can refuse to pay.

It’s a slow, bureaucratic and frustrating process, especially on a 10-day vacation. It’s also the only process that protects you. Below is the full sequence, what each piece of paper is for, and the traps that cost tourists real money.

Step 1: Check for injuries and make the scene safe

People first, cars a distant second. If anyone is hurt, tell the 911 operator right away so they send the Cruz Roja (Red Cross ambulance). Don’t move an injured person unless there’s fire or another immediate danger.

• Turn on your hazard lights.
• Put on a reflective vest if the rental has one, and get everyone who can walk off the road and behind a guardrail or ditch. Don’t stand between the cars.
• Set out the warning triangles from the trunk, well behind the car. On a curve, place them before the curve, not at the bumper. Rentals should carry triangles and a fire extinguisher, so check for them at pickup.
• At night or in rain, keep the hazards on and stay visible. Fog on Route 32 through Braulio Carrillo and on the Cerro de la Muerte stretch of Route 2 makes rear-end crashes into stopped cars a real risk.

Can I move my car after an accident in Costa Rica?

This is the question everyone gets wrong, so here’s how it works in practice. Under Costa Rica’s traffic law, the Ley de Tránsito por Vías Públicas Terrestres y Seguridad Vial, No. 9078, the standard procedure has always been to leave the vehicles in their final positions until the traffic officer arrives and documents the scene. The officer reconstructs fault from where the cars ended up, the skid marks and the debris. Move the car and you erase the evidence that might clear you.

There’s a nuance. Costa Rica has changed, and debated changing, how minor crashes are handled, including letting drivers clear the road after fender-benders with no injuries. We couldn’t confirm the current rule as of October 2026, so we won’t tell you it’s fine to move. For a tourist in a rental, the safe rule is simple:

• Don’t move the car unless the traffic officer or the 911 operator explicitly tells you to, or leaving it there creates an immediate danger to life, such as a blind curve or fire.
• If you must move it, first take photos and video from every angle, showing the final positions, the plates and the lane markings.
• Your rental contract almost certainly also requires an officer’s report and an inspection. Moving the car and leaving without them is the fastest way to lose your coverage.

Step 2: Who to call (and in what order)

You’ll make two or three calls. Do them in this order:

1. 911. This covers ambulance, fire and the Policía de Tránsito (traffic police). English-speaking operators are often available. If not, use the Spanish phrases below.
2. Your rental company’s 24/7 emergency line. It’s on the contract, the key tag or a sticker on the windshield. Save it to your phone at pickup. The rental company usually dispatches the insurance inspector or tells you which insurer to call.
3. The insurer, if the rental tells you to call directly. Many rentals use INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros, the state insurer). INS’s emergency line has long been 800-800-8000, but verify the number on your rental contract, because some companies work with other insurers.

Tell each operator where you are as precisely as possible: route number, nearest town, and a landmark such as a gas station, bridge, soda (local diner) or kilometer marker. “Route 27, past the Atenas toll heading to Jacó” beats “on the highway”. Drop a pin in WhatsApp and send it to the rental company.

Spanish phrases that actually help

• Hubo un choque.: There was a crash.
• No hay heridos. / Hay una persona herida.: No one is hurt. / One person is hurt.
• Necesito un oficial de tránsito.: I need a traffic officer.
• Estoy en la Ruta [número], cerca de [lugar].: I’m on Route [number], near [place].
• Es un carro de alquiler.: It’s a rental car.
• No hablo bien español. ¿Alguien habla inglés?: I don’t speak Spanish well. Does anyone speak English?

Step 3: Document everything while you wait

You’ll have time, probably too much of it. Use it:

• Photos and video of both cars, the final positions, the damage close up and from a distance, skid marks, debris, road signs and lane lines, and road conditions such as potholes, missing signs or mud.
• The other driver’s details: name, cédula (Costa Rican ID) number or passport, phone, plate number and insurer. Photograph their license and the marchamo (the annual circulation sticker on the windshield, which includes mandatory insurance).
• Witnesses: names and phone numbers. A bus driver or a guy from the corner pulpería (small grocery) can be gold.
• Your own dashcam footage, if you have it. Back it up to the cloud immediately.

Step 4: The traffic officer arrives: what happens

The Policía de Tránsito officer will:

• Ask for your driver’s license, passport (with the entry stamp, since your foreign license is only valid for the length of your tourist stay) and the rental contract and registration. See our guide to driving in Costa Rica with a foreign license if you’re unsure yours is valid.
• Breathalyze both drivers in most accidents. Even a couple of beers at lunch can matter here. The limits are lower than many visitors expect. Read the Costa Rica drunk driving law before you drink anything on a driving day.
• Measure, sketch and photograph the scene, and take statements.
• Issue the boleta / parte oficial de tránsito, the official accident report. This is the document your rental claim depends on.

The officer may also write a ticket if they see an infraction, such as speeding, an expired license or an unbelted passenger. Fine amounts are set by category in Ley 9078 and tied to the salario base, which is updated every January. As of 2026 we don’t quote figures we couldn’t verify for this article. Check our Costa Rica traffic fines list and the current table on the COSEVI website.

Step 5: The insurance inspector’s visit

The inspector (INS or whichever insurer the rental uses) photographs the damage and fills out an inspection or accident declaration form. You’ll be asked to describe what happened and sign.

• Describe facts, not fault: “I was driving north at about 50 km/h, the other car pulled out of the side road.” Don’t say “sorry, my fault.”
• If the form is in Spanish, ask the inspector to explain each section, or call the rental company and have them translate on speakerphone.
• Ask for a copy or a photo of everything you sign, and the claim or case number.

What you should leave the scene with

Step 6: The traffic court follow-up (Juzgado de Tránsito)

This is the part almost no competitor mentions, and it trips up tourists on tight schedules. After an accident with a police report, the drivers are generally expected to appear at the Juzgado de Tránsito (traffic court) named on the boleta and give a statement within a short deadline. That deadline is commonly quoted as 8 business days. Read your boleta, because the court and the deadline should be written on it, and confirm with the officer before they leave.

• If you’re flying out before the deadline, tell the officer and the rental company right away.
• You can often go early, sometimes the next business day, to give your statement.
• In many cases a Costa Rican lawyer can represent you through a power of attorney (poder especial). Ask the rental company or your embassy for referrals. This is worth verifying for your specific case, especially if anyone was hurt.
• If the officer’s report clearly puts fault on the other driver and there are no injuries, the process is usually simpler. Don’t assume you can skip it, though.

What if someone is injured?

Everything gets more serious. Injuries are covered by the mandatory vehicle insurance (SOA), which every Costa Rican plate pays through the marchamo. Victims are treated whoever was at fault. But an injury crash can become a criminal matter, and a court can restrict a driver from leaving the country while the case is open.

• Stay at the scene. Leaving after an accident with injuries is a serious offense.
• Cooperate fully, but don’t sign a statement you don’t understand.
• Contact your embassy. US citizens can find the American Citizen Services contacts at the US Embassy in San José. Canadians can contact the Canadian Embassy in San José.
• Get a local lawyer early.

Dealing with the rental company: what to expect

Your rental company becomes your main point of contact. Most will arrange a tow or a replacement car, though in remote areas it may take a day to reach you. Here’s how the money usually works:

• If you took the rental’s CDW: you’ll typically pay the deductible (often hundreds to a few thousand dollars, depending on the tier you chose), usually charged to the card held at pickup. Lower-deductible or zero-deductible packages exist. Read what you actually bought.
• If you declined CDW and are using credit card coverage: expect the rental to charge your card for the repair upfront, or hold a large deposit. You then file with your card issuer at home, and they will want the police report, the inspection report, the rental agreement, the itemized repair estimate and photos.
• Liability insurance (TPL/SLI) is the mandatory part in Costa Rica and covers damage you cause to others. Our Costa Rica rental insurance guide explains which cover is mandatory and which is optional.
• Common exclusions: tires, rims, windshields, undercarriage damage, water damage from river crossings, and anything that happened while you were breaking the law (drunk, unlicensed driver, off-road). If you drove through a river and flooded the engine, expect zero coverage. See river crossings in Costa Rica.
• Extra charges to ask about: “loss of use” (days the car sits in the shop), administration fees and towing. Ask for every charge in writing, itemized.

What never to sign or pay on the spot

• Never pay the other driver cash, however small the damage or however hard they push. Once you pay, you’ve effectively admitted fault, and they can still file a claim later.
• Never sign a private agreement (“arreglo”, “acuerdo”) with the other party without the officer and the rental company involved.
• Never sign a document in Spanish you don’t understand. That includes forms from the inspector, the officer or a tow truck driver. Ask for an explanation or call the rental to translate.
• Never write or say “it was my fault”. Stick to facts. Fault is decided by the report and, if needed, the court.
• Never pay a tow truck that shows up on its own. Unsolicited tow trucks sometimes appear at crashes. Use only the tow the rental or insurer sends.
• Don’t sign the rental’s final damage invoice before you see an itemized estimate. A signature can be read as accepting the amount.
• Don’t hand your passport to anyone except the officer. The other driver gets a photo of your ID page at most.

Special situations

Single-car crash (pothole, ditch, landslide)

You still need the officer and the inspector. That pothole that ate your rim on Route 34 near Parrita, or the ditch you slid into on a muddy road to Monteverde, is still an accident for insurance purposes. If you didn’t buy tire and rim cover, expect to pay that part yourself. Rainy-season roads make this far more common, so read our rainy season driving guide.

Hit-and-run or a damaged parked car

Call 911 and the rental company anyway, and get the police report. Note the plate if you saw it. If someone broke into your car, that’s a separate process with the OIJ (Judicial Investigation Agency). See car break-ins and safe parking.

Hitting a motorcycle, cyclist or animal

Motorcycles weaving between lanes on Route 1, Route 27 and in San José traffic are the most likely other party in a tourist crash. Assume injuries until proven otherwise: stop, call 911 and follow the injury steps above. If you hit livestock on a rural road, the animal’s owner may show up. Don’t negotiate. Wait for the officer.

How to make this less likely in the first place

• Don’t drive rural roads after dark (sunset is around 5:30–6:00 pm year-round).
• Add 30–50% to Google Maps drive times so you aren’t rushing. Our road trip planner builds in realistic timing.
• Film a full walk-around of the car at pickup, including the windshield, tires and undercarriage.
• Save the rental emergency number in your phone before you leave the lot.
• Read our complete guide to driving in Costa Rica for the habits that keep you out of trouble: one-lane bridges, yielding to oncoming traffic, and the unofficial meaning of a flash of headlights.

Bottom line

After a car accident in a Costa Rica rental, being patient pays. Leave the cars where they are and call 911 and the rental line. Wait for both the traffic officer and the insurance inspector, and don’t leave without the boleta and the inspection report. Check your traffic court deadline before your flight date, never pay or sign anything on the spot that you don’t fully understand, and put every exchange with the rental company in writing. It might eat an afternoon of your trip, but it protects you from a much bigger bill later.