The Costa Rican Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) made it possible for citizens to change the name that appears in their identity card (cédula) to match their gender identity, following the advisory opinion given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

With this change all personal documents of the transgender population must also be modified according to show the name as it appears in their ID, this includes, insurance policies, payroll information, and employee identification card, among others.

Employers must comply with the new law and companies must take all necessary measures to change the internal documentation of an employee to match the name as shown in the national identification card. This include certifications and letters that are issued for the employee.

However, contracts or agreements that were signed with the previous name remain legally valid until their renewal, the employer is not obligated to make the changes immediately but can do so if preferred and through an addendum.

TSE confirms that so far, they have received more than 123 requests to make the change of name.

In approximately ten months the ID cards will no longer show the gender at all, but the information will continue to show as it was registered in the birth certificate.

These changes are done with the purpose of eliminating stigmatization and discrimination.