Every Costa Rican citizen must carry this ID card immediately after turning 18.

[1] In the near future in Costa Rica, the cédulas de identidad will also be used in the digital signature process.

[3] As of January 2020, the Costa Rican Tribunal Supremos De Elecciones (TSE) is in the planning and testing stages to move from a physical card to the use of biometrics for purposes of identification, eliminating the current plastic card.

[4] This law was issued in response to individuals who in a single year requested as many as three or four cédulas, which had a production cost of US$7.29 by 2022.

The TSE had documented cases of people who during their adulthood had applied for as many as 150 identity cards.