Districts of Costa Rica

According to the Territorial Administrative Division, the cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 492 districts (distritos), each of which has a unique five-digit postal code.

Government organization
Each canton is divided into districts whose number varies from canton to canton. Each district has a District Council chaired by a syndic, all popularly elected. The District Council is the interlocutor between the district and the municipal government and ensures the communal and neighborhood interests before the Municipal Council;. However, the direct administration of the district falls to the municipality; the District Councils also exercise administrative functions such as forwarding projects to the Council and supervising the mayor's work.

District Municipal Council
There are seven District Municipal Councils (Concejo Municipal de Distrito) in districts that are geographically distant from the head city of the canton where the municipality is located; these councils are in charge of municipal administrative activities.


 * Peñas Blancas, in San Ramón canton.
 * Tucurrique, in Jiménez canton.
 * Cervantes, in Alvarado canton.
 * Colorado, in Abangares canton.
 * Lepanto, in Puntarenas canton.
 * Paquera, in Puntarenas canton.
 * Cóbano, in Puntarenas canton.

Postal codes
Postal codes in Costa Rica are five-digit numeric, and were introduced in March 2007; they are associated with and identify a unique district. The first digit denotes one of the seven provinces, the 2nd and 3rd refer to the 82 cantons (unique within the province), the 4th and 5th the 488 districts (unique within the canton). The numbers are the same as used by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC).