Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Costa Rica have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual relations have been legal since 1971. In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made mandatory the approbation of same-sex marriage, adoption for same-sex couples and the removal of people's sex from all Costa Rican ID cards issued since October 2018. The Costa Rican Government announced that it would apply the rulings in the following months. In August 2018, the Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against the country's same-sex marriage ban, and gave the Legislative Assembly 18 months to reform the law accordingly, otherwise the ban would be abolished automatically. Same-sex marriage became legal on 26 May 2020.

Human Rights Watch has described Costa Rica as "committ[ed] to [equal] rights" and an "inspiration for other countries [in Central America]". Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited in employment and other areas, and transgender people are permitted to change their legal gender on official identity documents to reflect their gender identity, including driver's licenses, passports, and ID cards.

Legality of same-sex sexual activity Homosexuality first became classified as a crime during Spanish rule. After gaining independence, it remained a crime until the liberal presidency of Tomás Guardia (1870-76, 1877-82). While it was decriminalized during this era as part of a larger reform of the legal system, homosexuality was still widely seen as an "infamous sin".

In 1971, a universal age of consent was established (15), as was a new law that prohibited "scandalous sodomy" (presumably public, no known convictions are in record) but otherwise maintained the legal status of private homosexual sex acts between consenting adults. Article 382 in the Penal Code that mentioned "scandalous sodomy" was repealed in 2002, alongside many other laws.

Apology On 1 July 2018, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada issued a public apology to members of the LGBT community for the past persecution and discrimination they faced from the Costa Rican state. The President stated that the state had in the past "promoted and executed persecutions, raids, arbitrary arrests and beatings" towards LGBT people. He also spoke of the Stonewall riots, which led to the modern gay rights movement, and that Costa Rica had legalised homosexuality two years later, in 1971, but that discrimination and violence continued for the following decades.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

In 2006, the Supreme Court rejected a claim that the Constitution of Costa Rica requires the recognition of same-sex marriages. Human rights lawyer Yashin Castrillo Fernandez had sued arguing that certain constitutional provisions relating to equal rights and international law required the legalization of same-sex marriage, but only two of the justices agreed. The majority wrote that at the time the Constitution was approved, "marriage" was understood to be a union between a man and a woman. The court decision did state that the government had the power to enact civil unions.

In 2008, the LGBT rights association, Diversity Movement, persuaded some lawmakers to introduce a civil union bill. Deputies Ana Helena Chacón (then of the Social Christian Unity Party, currently of the Citizens' Action Party) and José Merino (Broad Front) expressed support for the proposed bill stating that "gays and lesbians are no less Costa Rican than the rest of us. We're not talking about marriage or adoption, but about basic civil rights."

In July 2010, the Constitutional Court ordered the TSE (Supreme Elections Tribunal) to halt a proposed referendum on the recognition of same-sex unions. The referendum was supposed to be held on 5 December 2010. The recurso de amparo (appeal) was presented by lawyer Quirós Salazar, alleging that the referendum proposal violated the rights and freedoms of individuals. The petition for a referendum had been organized by the Observatorio de la Familia, a religious conservative group, seeking to stop legislation to recognise civil unions for same-sex couples.

On 1 July 2013, the Legislative Assembly passed legislation that grants benefits of domestic partnerships "without discrimination contrary to human dignity". Progressive lawmakers indicated during debate that the changes would open civil unions to same-sex couples. Conservative lawmakers immediately called upon President Laura Chinchilla to veto the legislation, claiming that they mistakenly voted for the bill. Chinchilla refused to oppose the bill's passage and signed it into law days later. Presidenta Laura Chinchilla firmó ley con la que diputados habrían dado derechos a parejas gais. Retrieved 13 July 2013. The bill took effect on 8 July 2013. Juzgado acepta por primera vez el trámite de una unión homosexual en Costa Rica. Retrieved 13 July 2013. On 10 July 2013, six same-sex couples asked courts to have their relationships recognized as a domestic partnership. A day later, a family court accepted one of the petitions.

In mid-March 2015, two government proposals on civil unions were submitted to the Legislative Assembly. On 19 March 2015, a bill to legalise same-sex marriage was introduced to the Legislative Assembly by Deputy Ligia Elena Fallas Rodríguez from the Broad Front.

2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinion and legalisation

On 9 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an advisory opinion that parties to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage".

The Costa Rican Government quickly announced that it will abide by the opinion, and legalise same-sex marriage. The Superior Council of Notaries however refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the ban was explicitly struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed by the Legislative Assembly. Despite this, one same-sex couple successfully married before a notary in February 2018. The notary in question faced an investigation, but rejected any wrongdoing, stating that he respected international law and took a stand against discrimination when marrying the couple. The marriage was later annulled.

Lawsuits seeking to legalise same-sex marriage went before the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica. In August 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of lifting the same-sex marriage ban, giving the country's legislators 18 months to legalise same-sex marriage. On 14 November, the Court released the full written ruling, which was published in the judicial bulletin on 26 November 2018, setting a deadline for 26 May 2020. As legislators took no steps to legalise same-sex marriage before the deadline, same-sex marriage became legal on 26 May 2020.

Adoption and parenting

Mario Núñez, a member of the Libertarian Movement Party, introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly in 2007 to ban LGBT people and same-sex couples from adopting or having custody of children. The bill was not successful.

Married same-sex couples have been able to legally adopt since May 2020, in light of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Costa Rica. In a June 2020 interview, Jorge Urbina Soto, coordinator of the National Children's Institute (PANI, Patronato Nacional de la Infancia) stated that all prospective adoptive parents are evaluated for eligibility irrespective of sexual orientation or sex. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal also clarified that if a married lesbian couple conceives a child through assisted insemination, the non-biological mother will be automatically recognized as the child's legal mother.

In February 2025, the Constitutional Court recognized the right to co-maternity leave for same-sex couples. It recognized the right of non-gestational mothers of same-sex couples to a 4-week maternity leave in accordance with the law. The decision is not yet effective as it has not been published in El Diario La Gaceta.

Discrimination protections The Constitution of Costa Rica does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, Article 28 states that nobody can be persecuted for their opinions or acts (if they are not against the law) and, Article 33 states that everyone is equal under the law.

Under Article 48 of the 1998 Costa Rican HIV/AIDS law (ley núm. 7771 general sobre el VIH-SIDA), "sexual option" is one of the categories in which discrimination is generally prohibited in areas such as employment. The article reads:

In 2020, the Legislative Assembly passed multiple pieces of legislation to strengthen anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation. This amended article 112 of the Penal Code to provide twenty to thirty-five years' imprisonment for hate crimes motivated by the victim(s)' sexual orientation, among other characteristics, article 380 to provide one to three years' imprisonment for "excluding, segregating or distinguishing" a person on account of their sexual orientation in order to limit, restrict or deny their rights and freedoms, and article 386bis to provide three to ten years' imprisonment for inflicting physical or mental pain or suffering, intimidation, coercion or blackmail on the basis of sexual orientation. Legislators also amended law n° 9343 on the labor market to read:

Transgender rights Prior to 2018, changing the sex assigned at birth was not allowed. Article 51 of the Organic Law of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the Civil Registry () includes sex as one of the requirements to register births. Article 2 of the Regulations on Photographs for Identity Documents (Reglamento de Fotografías para la Cédula de Identidad) states: "Every person has the right to have their image and gender identity respected at the moment of taking the photograph that is attached to the identity card."

Since 2013, transgender people have been able to change their legal name on documentation so that it matches their gender identity. Sex reassignment surgery is not a requirement but a judicial order is required.

In 2016, a bill allowing transgender people to legally change their name and gender without the need for surgery or judicial permission was introduced to the Legislative Assembly. In June 2017, the bill advanced to the Human Rights Committee, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal endorsed the bill, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

On 14 May 2018, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) approved a resolution allowing transgender people to change their name to reflect their gender identity on official ID cards. The decision came in response to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling in January 2018 that all member countries, including Costa Rica, must provide full and equal rights to same-sex couples and citizens whose self-perceived gender is different from their birth gender. The tribunal declared that the process can be accomplished through a simple and free procedure. In addition, the TSE reported that in order to avoid stigmatizing effects, the gender a person is registered with at birth will no longer appear on identity documents.

On 28 June 2018, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada issued an executive decree requiring all state institutions to modify the documents and internal records of transgender people who wish to have their name, photograph or sex changed. The decree applies to passports, driving licenses, ID documents, work permits, university identification, etc. Costa Rican officials announced that this was in accordance with the January 2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling. In December 2018, President Alvarado signed another executive order extending this right to immigrants.

Additionally, hormone replacement therapy is financed by the state health system.

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