All weapons in Costa Rica are regulated by the Law of Arms and Explosives – Law 7530 (Ley de Armas y Explosivos Ley 7530) According to Article 3 of the Law, a weapon is defined to include both firearms and knives (“armas contundentes y las punzo cortantes“).
However, Article 8 of the law exempts the sale and holding of knives described as follows: shaving blades, table and hunting knives, knives used by butchers and meat processors, knives used in the shoe industry, machetes and other tools used in the ordinary course of labor.
The law also exempts knives from the carrying permit required for weapons so long as they are being carried as part of employment or labor of the individual carrying the knife or being used as part of a sporting event. The way the statute is drafted, it appears that if you are using or carrying a knife because it is a tool for your trade or as part of a hunting trip or sporting event, it is permitted. It is also rare in Costa Rica to have prosecutions based exclusively on the simple possession of a knife unless the knife was used as part of another underlying criminal act.
