Unlike the United States, that has most of the public information available through various sources, and with a relatively easy access and low-cost, that is not the case here. Remember, that all records here are in Spanish. The system of collecting and providing information on persons or places here, is not as detailed as that in the states.
In the United States, all you have to do, is go to the clerk’s office in your jurisdiction or the jurisdiction of the person or place you are looking for, and obtaining a factual concise briefing on what you seek. For example, let’s say you’re looking for Joe Smith and you make the request and it will give you his address such as 4532 Scenic Dr., anywhere, any state, and the ZIP Code. From there is relatively simple to go to that address and find Joe Smith.
In Costa Rica, if you were to look for Joe Smith, your first obstacle to overcome, would be the name itself. And Coast Rica all searches for information on persons require two last names as it is the custom to use both last names and all transactions here. Additionally, a data birth is required. Without these two pieces of information it is nearly impossible to locate a person.
This is further complicated if Joe Smith is not a Costa Rica National. All public record information here is on Costa Rican nationals and citizens from other countries that are not in some way connected to a Costa Rican will not be recorded. There is no information publicly available for non-coaster Rican citizens or permanent residents of Costa Rica.
If Joe Smith is a Costa Rican national or a permanent resident, the same rules and regulations apply to them as well. The criteria for getting information on a Costa Rican citizen or permanent resident is to have the complete name, date of birth and or the persons national identification number known as a Cedula. Without this information your chances of finding, the Costa Rican, is greatly diminished.
Costa Rica is a country that has historically and culturally fostered and promoted hiding information. This is true for its citizens as well as any business activities conducted here. That is the reason if you want me to be effective and efficient you need to provide me with as much information as possible. Period doing these types of investigations is not complicated but it is time-consuming because of the obstacles we encounter.