Aphanotriccus capitalis occurs on the Caribbean slope in north Costa Rica and south Nicaragua. All Nicaraguan records are historical specimens collected near Lake Nicaragua or its outflow, río San Juan⁷. However, three specimens taken in 1896 are labelled "Río Coco", which, unless there are two Coco rivers, forms the border with Honduras and considerably extends the range northwards⁷. In Costa Rica, it is known from Volcán Orosí (northern tip of the Cordillera de Guanacaste), south to the Río Reventazón drainage, in the foothills between the Cordilleras Central and de Talamanca. It is not common anywhere, with most recent observations at Rancho Naturalista (east of Turrialba), La Selva Biological Reserve and their environs^{1,2,4,8,9,10,11,12,13,14}.