A Costa Rican family is seeking international recognition for Jose Flores, a former farmer whose identity documents indicate that he was born on July 11, 1907. If specialists validate those records, Flores would be 119 and could become the world's oldest verified living man.
The claim is not official yet. Historical documents must be examined across his entire lifetime to rule out mistaken identity, transcription errors or records belonging to another person with a similar name. Guinness World Records and specialist longevity researchers generally require more than a modern identity card before accepting an exceptional age.
Who is Jose Flores?
Flores lives in Sardinal, a town on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula about 20 minutes from the Pacific coast. Reuters reported that he spends much of his day resting, eating meals prepared by his granddaughter and occasionally arm-wrestling with her.
He worked in the countryside for most of his life. His family says he had eight children and now has 23 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
| Detail | Information reported | |---|---| | Name | Jose Flores | | Claimed birth date | July 11, 1907 | | Claimed age | 119 | | Home | Sardinal, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica | | Former occupation | Farmer and rural worker | | Verification status | Pending international review |
His granddaughter and carer, Hellen Flores, says family attention is central to his wellbeing. Relatives hope recognition would create pride not only for the household but for Costa Rica.
Why verification takes time
Claims above 110 years receive close scrutiny because early civil registration can be incomplete and small errors have enormous consequences. A person born in 1917 rather than 1907 would still be remarkably old, but would not qualify for the same record.
Researchers normally look for a chain of evidence rather than one document. That can include a birth certificate, baptism record, childhood census, marriage documents, records created when children were born and identity papers issued later in life.
The records should agree on names, parents, dates and location. Specialists also check that two relatives with similar names have not been combined into one biography and that a younger person did not inherit an older family member's documents.
Jorge Vindas, founder of the Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone Association, said the family has material ranging from a birth certificate and baptism certificate to later-life records. Those documents still require confirmation from international organisations.
What is the Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone?
Nicoya is commonly described as one of five “Blue Zones”—regions where researchers observed unusually high concentrations of people living to 100. The label became popular through demographic and lifestyle studies, although scientists continue to debate how much comes from behaviour, genetics, environment and the quality of historical records.
Local residents point to mineral-rich water, meals based on corn and beans, routine physical work and strong family networks. Vindas also identifies spirituality, faith, low stress and continued movement as common features among older residents.
None of those factors guarantees extreme longevity. A region can have favourable habits while individual outcomes still depend on healthcare, infection, accidents, genes and chance. The Blue Zone description should therefore be treated as a population observation, not a formula for living to 119.
Is Jose Flores already the world's oldest person?
No. A family claim and national documents do not become a world record until the relevant organisation accepts the evidence. Flores could be recognised as the oldest living man if his case is verified, but the review remains pending.
Reuters identified Britain's Ethel Caterham, born on August 21, 1909, as the world's oldest verified living person. She turned 117 in 2026 and received the title after Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas died in April 2025.
The titles “oldest person” and “oldest man” are separate. Even if Flores' documents are accepted, record organisations would specify the precise category and effective date.
Why very old age claims are often disputed
Centenarian stories can spread faster than documentary checks. Families usually act in good faith, but oral history may round ages upward, birth dates can change when official identification is issued decades later and records can be damaged or lost.
Countries with long-running civil registration make verification easier. In other places, researchers rely on church archives, handwritten local registers and indirect documents. Exceptional claims require consistent evidence precisely because there may be no living witness from the person's birth.
Verification protects both the record and the claimant. A rushed announcement followed by a reversal can be painful for families and undermine trust in legitimate longevity research.
What happens next
Specialists will compare the submitted records and attempt to establish an unbroken identity timeline from 1907 to the present. They may also request certified copies, archival confirmation and information about relatives whose ages help test whether the family chronology is possible.
Until that process is complete, the accurate wording is that Flores is reported or claimed to be 119, not that he has been confirmed as the world's oldest man. His age claim remains extraordinary, but his family's account is already drawing attention to Sardinal and the wider Nicoya region.
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