Debt Collection Agency in Puerto Rico - No Win, No Fee
Recover unpaid invoices in Puerto Rico through ACCS International, our exclusive partner for the Caribbean. No Win No Fee, no upfront cost, and a full guide to Rule 60, limitation periods and federal bankruptcy below.
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Why Choose Debitura for Debt Collection in Puerto Rico
You recover the invoice without paying anything up front. Debitura is a debt collection platform: you upload the claim in a couple of minutes, a vetted partner works it on a No Win No Fee basis, and a fee only arises if money actually comes back.
For Puerto Rico that partner is ACCS International, our exclusive partner for the Caribbean, founded in 2000 and registered in the Dutch Register Incassodienstverlening under number 00018, with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification and a team of 70. ACCS is based in Curaçao and covers Puerto Rico as part of a regional mandate rather than from an office on the island. Debitura is not a Puerto Rican collection agency and has no local office; the partner performs the regulated collection work and we run the platform, the tracking and the commercial terms.
That structure is what lets a single account reach 183 countries with local execution in each. Across the platform, cases resolve at an 87 per cent recovery rate, and every step on a Puerto Rico file is visible in your dashboard.
Getting started takes about two minutes and costs nothing.
- Create a free account and upload the claim: the invoice or contract, proof the sum is due, and the debtor's full name and current address.
- See the fee before you commit. The exact success fee appears on screen before you submit, and it follows the debtor's location rather than yours.
- Sign the Power of Attorney digitally so the partner can act for you in the amicable phase.
- The partner takes over. Skip tracing, a formal written demand and a multi-channel campaign across a six-month Collection Period, run within the federal FDCPA and TCPA conduct rules.
- You decide about court. If the amicable phase does not close the claim, you receive a priced recommendation: Rule 60 in the Sala Municipal for claims up to $15,000, or ordinary procedure in the Sala Superior above it. Nothing is filed without your approval.
Two things to check before you upload. First, the age of the claim: the general civil limitation period is four years and the commercial one is five. Second, the debtor's current residential address, because Rule 60 is filed where the debtor lives.
Transparent, success-based pricing
With Debitura you only pay when we succeed. Pre-legal collection is No Cure, No Pay: a success fee deducted from recovered amounts, invoiced locally by your partner. Fees depend on the debtor's country, not yours.
- Debtors in Europe (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland): success fees from 6% depending on claim size.
- Debtors in the rest of the world: success fees from 7.5% depending on claim size.
- Older claims: a surcharge applies for claims 12–24 months overdue and for claims older than 24 months.
- Legal action is optional: you approve fixed-price quotes before any legal spend.
See the pricing page for the full fee schedule, or get an instant estimate when you upload a claim.
How does debt collection work in Puerto Rico?
Debt collection in Puerto Rico starts with an amicable phase handled by a local, licensed partner: reminders and a formal payment demand, aimed at full payment or a written instalment agreement. Most straightforward claims are resolved at this stage. If the debtor still does not pay, escalation to court is a separate, approved step - never automatic.
The four steps from unpaid invoice to recovered cash
- Step 1 - Amicable collection: reminders, a formal payment demand and negotiation, handled locally by a local, licensed partner. Most undisputed claims are resolved in this phase, without going to court.
- Step 2 - Enforceable title: if the debtor still does not pay, your partner assesses the legal route to obtain an enforceable title and you approve a fixed-price quote before anything proceeds.
- Step 3 - Enforcement: with a legal title, the competent enforcement authority can attach wages, bank funds and other assets until the claim is recovered.
- Step 4 - Insolvency: if the debtor turns out to be insolvent, your proof of claim is filed and any distributions are monitored on your behalf.
Every step is tracked in your dashboard, and nothing escalates without your approval. The full legal detail for Puerto Rico - timelines, costs, courts and enforcement - follows in the guide below.
Debt collection in Puerto Rico - the complete 2026 guide
Debt collection in Puerto Rico runs on two legal systems at once. Ordinary contract and commercial claims are Commonwealth matters decided under Puerto Rico's own civil-law codes and courts, while bankruptcy is exclusively federal. This guide keeps the two apart and states which one governs each step of a recovery.
On this page:
Why you can trust this guide
At Debitura, we uphold the highest standards of impartiality and precision to bring you comprehensive guides on international debt collection. Every guide is written from primary legal sources and reviewed by licensed local experts in the jurisdiction it covers.
Questions or feedback? Email us at contact@debitura.com , we update this guide based on your input.
Debitura By the Numbers:
- 767 licensed partners - collection agencies and law firms in our network
- 180 countries covered - with cases handled in 174 of them
- 5,306 businesses registered with Debitura
- 33 days median time to first payment on European cases
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Written by Lars Holdgaard, Founder of Debitura (+10 years in global B2B debt recovery). Every page is reviewed by top local attorneys to ensure legal accuracy and practical steps you can use.
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Debt collection in Puerto Rico - quick answers
These are the figures that decide a Puerto Rico file, with the statute behind each one. Note throughout whether a rule is Commonwealth law or federal law, because the two run in different courts.
How long do you have to collect a debt in Puerto Rico?
Four years for an ordinary civil claim, and five years for a commercial one. This is a genuine split written into two different statutes. The Código Civil de Puerto Rico of 2020 (Ley 55-2020), art. 1203 (31 L.P.R.A. sec. 9495), sets four years for personal actions of every kind unless the law fixes a different term. The older Código de Comercio, art. 940 (10 L.P.R.A. sec. 1902) as amended by Ley 272-1998, keeps a five-year default for commercial matters where no other term applies.
| Claim type | Limitation period |
|---|---|
| General civil and consumer claims (personal actions) | 4 years (Código Civil art. 1203, 31 L.P.R.A. sec. 9495) |
| Commercial (mercantil) claims where no other term applies | 5 years (Código de Comercio art. 940, 10 L.P.R.A. sec. 1902) |
| Tort and possession actions | 1 year (Código Civil art. 1204) |
| Mortgage action | 20 years (art. 1204) |
| Real-property actions | 30 years (art. 1204) |
The relationship between the two periods is the reverse of what it once was. Ley 272-1998 shortened the commercial default to five years precisely because the old civil default of fifteen years was thought too long for commercial claims. The 2020 Civil Code then independently cut the general civil period to four, so today the commercial period is the longer of the two. One caveat, stated rather than glossed over: no decision on post-2020 facts confirming that art. 940 survives the new Civil Code untouched was located for this guide, and no repeal was found either. Treat the five-year commercial period as well sourced rather than beyond argument, and do not rely on the extra year if the four-year date is within reach.
Is your claim civil or commercial?
It is not always obvious, and the answer moves the deadline by a year. Whether a transaction is mercantil turns on arts. 243 and 244 of the Código de Comercio (10 L.P.R.A. secs. 1701 to 1702). A sale of movable goods bought with the intention of reselling them at a profit is commercial. Specifically carved out are a farmer or rancher selling their own produce or livestock, an artisan selling the output of their own workshop, and a purchase made for the buyer's own consumption, even if the goods are later resold. Where a transaction sits near that line, work to the shorter four-year date.
What is the fast route for a money claim in Puerto Rico?
Rule 60 of the Reglas de Procedimiento Civil de 2009 (32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V), a summary money-collection procedure for claims up to $15,000 excluding interest. It is filed in the Sala Municipal of the Tribunal de Primera Instancia for the defendant's place of residence, the hearing is set within three months and not earlier than 15 days after notice, judgment is issued the same day, and the filing stamps are around $60. Rule 60 is a procedure inside the ordinary trial court, not a separate small-claims court: Puerto Rico has no Tribunal de Reclamaciones Menores.
How much interest can you add in Puerto Rico?
Where the parties agreed a rate, that rate applies. Where they did not, Código Civil art. 1169 sets moratory interest at the rate fixed for judgments by the Junta Financiera of the Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF), calculated simple rather than compound. The same OCIF rate governs post-judgment interest on the judgment, costs and fees from the date of judgment until it is satisfied, and a party found to have litigated with temeridad, meaning obstinacy, can be charged interest from the date the claim accrued instead (Regla 44.3, 32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V). The current numeric OCIF rate could not be verified for this guide and is deliberately not stated; take it from OCIF at the time the claim is quantified.
What documents do you need?
The contract or invoice, proof that the sum is due and unpaid, and the debtor's full identification. For Rule 60 the claim must be for a specific sum of money within the threshold. Keep every written demand you send: under Código Civil art. 1197 an extrajudicial demand from creditor to debtor interrupts the limitation period and restarts the full term from zero, which makes a dated, provable demand letter one of the cheapest protective steps available in a Puerto Rico file.
Who does what in Puerto Rico debt collection?
Puerto Rico splits the work across a Commonwealth track and a federal track. Knowing which forum owns which stage prevents the most common and most expensive mistake in a Puerto Rico file, which is starting in the wrong system.
Collection agencies (the pre-legal phase)
Role: contact the debtor, issue the written demand, negotiate payment or an instalment agreement. Scope: extrajudicial only. Licensing: no Commonwealth-specific statute licensing debt-collection agencies as such was located for this guide, and none is asserted here. What is certain is that federal conduct rules apply: the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. sec. 1692 et seq.) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. sec. 227) are nationwide federal statutes and reach Puerto Rico, which is part of the United States for federal-statute purposes even though it is not a state. Debitura's role: Debitura is the platform. The regulated collection work for Puerto Rico claims is carried out by our exclusive partner, ACCS International, a Curaçao-based agency registered in the Dutch Register Incassodienstverlening, which covers Puerto Rico as part of its Caribbean and Latin American mandate. Debitura has no office in Puerto Rico and does not itself collect.
The Commonwealth courts
Role: decide ordinary civil and commercial claims and order enforcement. Structure: the Tribunal de Primera Instancia hears claims at first instance, divided into a Sala Municipal, which is where Rule 60 claims are filed, and a Sala Superior for ordinary procedure. Appeals go to the Tribunal de Apelaciones and then to the Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico, which is the final authority on Commonwealth law.
Alguaciles (the court's enforcement officers)
Role: serve process and execute the court's orders, including the embargo of assets. Scope: an alguacil acts on a court order, so enforcement follows the judgment rather than running alongside it. You do not appoint or instruct an alguacil directly; the court does.
The federal courts
Role: bankruptcy, and nothing else in an ordinary collection file. Two distinct federal courts are involved and they are routinely confused. Ordinary personal and corporate bankruptcy under Title 11 of the United States Code is heard by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Restructuring of the Commonwealth government's own debt under Title III of PROMESA is heard by the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Different court, different statute, different subject matter.
Lawyers
Role: file and run Rule 60 and ordinary claims, appear in the Commonwealth courts and, where the debtor files, in the federal bankruptcy proceeding. Debitura's role: where a claim needs court action you receive a priced recommendation first, and nothing is filed without your approval.
Which laws and courts apply to debt collection in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, not one of the 50 states, and it does not use common-law state civil procedure. Ordinary money claims are governed by Puerto Rico's own civil-law codes and heard in Commonwealth courts. Bankruptcy is exclusively federal. Every rule below is marked with the system it belongs to.
The Commonwealth court system
The Tribunal General de Justicia has three tiers. The Tribunal de Primera Instancia hears claims at first instance and is divided into a Sala Municipal, the venue for the Rule 60 summary procedure, and a Sala Superior for ordinary procedure. Appeals go to the Tribunal de Apelaciones, and from there to the Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico, which is the final authority on Commonwealth law. Civil procedure is set by the Reglas de Procedimiento Civil de Puerto Rico de 2009 (32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V).
Key legislation, by system
| Instrument | System and what it governs |
|---|---|
| Código Civil de Puerto Rico (Ley 55-2020), in force 28 November 2020 | Commonwealth. Limitation periods (arts. 1203, 1204), interruption (art. 1197), moratory interest (art. 1169) |
| Código de Comercio de Puerto Rico | Commonwealth. The five-year commercial limitation period (art. 940) and the definition of a mercantil transaction (arts. 243, 244) |
| Reglas de Procedimiento Civil de 2009 | Commonwealth. The Rule 60 summary money procedure, ordinary procedure, post-judgment interest and temeridad (Regla 44.3) |
| Title 11, United States Code | Federal. All ordinary personal and corporate bankruptcy, heard in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico |
| PROMESA (Pub. L. 114-187, approved 30 June 2016) | Federal. Restructuring of the Commonwealth government's own debt under Title III, heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Not ordinary bankruptcy |
| Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. sec. 1692 et seq.) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. sec. 227) | Federal. Collection-conduct and contact rules, applying nationwide including Puerto Rico |
The 2020 recodification and what it changed
Puerto Rico replaced its 1930 Civil Code with Ley 55-2020, in force since 28 November 2020. For creditors the material change is the general limitation period: the old fifteen-year civil default became four years under art. 1203. Anything written about Puerto Rican limitation periods that predates late 2020, including older guidance still circulating online, is likely to state the wrong number. Note also that the old Código de Comercio was not wholly displaced. Its art. 940 five-year commercial period survives as a distinct default, and a Tribunal de Apelaciones decision of 5 May 2022 was still applying it.
Interruption, and why the demand letter matters
Under Código Civil art. 1197 the limitation period is interrupted by a judicial, administrative or arbitral claim, by an extrajudicial demand from the creditor to the debtor, or by the debtor's acknowledgement of the obligation. The full period then restarts from zero. Unlike systems where only court action stops the clock, in Puerto Rico a properly documented demand letter is itself a preservation step, which is why written demands should be dated, addressed and retained.
Consumer protection
The conduct rules that bite in Puerto Rico are federal. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs how a debt collector may communicate with a consumer debtor, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act governs unsolicited calls and texts. No Commonwealth-specific debt-collection-conduct statute was located for this guide, so none is described here.
Step 1 - How does amicable (pre-legal) debt collection work in Puerto Rico?
Most Puerto Rico claims are settled before anyone files anything. Our partner contacts the debtor, issues a written demand and negotiates payment or an instalment agreement. There is no upfront cost, and no court is involved.
The demand letter does legal work in Puerto Rico
This is the point that distinguishes a Puerto Rico file from most others. Under Código Civil art. 1197 an extrajudicial demand from creditor to debtor interrupts the limitation period, and the full term then restarts from zero. So does the debtor's acknowledgement of the obligation, which a signed instalment agreement or a part payment can supply. In practice that means the amicable phase, done properly and documented, both pursues the money and protects the deadline at the same time. Send the demand in a form you can prove was sent and received, and keep it.
What the amicable phase looks like
Debitura's Standard Debt Collection Agreement sets a six-month Collection Period, with minimum activity levels that scale with the claim: larger claims get more letters, more contact attempts and deeper skip tracing. For a Puerto Rico claim the partner confirms the debtor's current address and contact details, issues the formal demand, and runs a multi-channel campaign aimed at full payment or a signed instalment plan.
| Stage | What happens, and what it does legally |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The invoice falls due and the limitation clock starts: four years for a civil claim, five for a commercial one. |
| Case approval and skip tracing | The partner accepts the file and verifies the debtor's identity, address and contact details. |
| Formal written demand | Issued in a provable form. This interrupts the limitation period under Código Civil art. 1197 and restarts the full term. |
| Six-month Collection Period | Letters, email, SMS and calls, within the federal FDCPA and TCPA conduct rules where the debtor is a consumer. |
| Acknowledgement or instalment plan | A signed acknowledgement or part payment interrupts the period again and gives you a document to sue on. |
| Escalation decision | You receive a priced recommendation. Nothing is filed without your approval. |
Conduct rules to keep the file clean
Because federal law applies, the FDCPA governs how a consumer debtor may be contacted, and the TCPA governs calls and texts. A collection campaign that breaches either can generate a counterclaim, which is a poor trade for a routine invoice. Working through a partner that operates to those rules is the practical protection.
When to escalate
Escalate when the debtor disputes the claim on substance, when an agreement is signed and broken, when contact stops, or when the four-year civil date is approaching and no interruption has been secured. Where the civil and commercial characterisation of the claim is arguable, work to the four-year date rather than assuming the extra year.
Step 2 - How do you obtain an enforceable title in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico offers a summary route and an ordinary route, and the $15,000 line between them is the first thing to establish. There is no separate small-claims court: the fast route is a procedure operating inside the ordinary trial court.
Rule 60: the summary money-collection procedure
Rule 60 of the Reglas de Procedimiento Civil de 2009 (32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V) is the fast route for a claim for a sum of money up to $15,000, excluding interest. Its mechanics are unusually specific and worth knowing before you choose a venue.
| Feature | Rule 60 |
|---|---|
| Threshold | Up to $15,000, excluding interest |
| Venue | Sala Municipal of the Tribunal de Primera Instancia for the defendant's place of residence |
| Hearing | Set within three months, and not earlier than 15 days after notice |
| Judgment | Issued the same day as the hearing |
| Filing stamps | Around $60 |
A correction worth making explicitly, because the opposite is widely repeated: Puerto Rico has no Tribunal de Reclamaciones Menores, or small-claims court. Rule 60 is a summary procedure inside the Tribunal de Primera Instancia, run by that court's Sala Municipal. Anything describing a separate Puerto Rican small-claims court with its own monetary ceiling is describing a court that does not exist.
Ordinary procedure
Claims above $15,000, and any claim where the ordinary procedure is requested, go to the Sala Superior under procedimiento ordinario. This is full civil litigation: pleadings, discovery, evidence and a judgment, with the corresponding time and cost. The trade-off against Rule 60 is straightforward. Rule 60 buys speed and a fixed, low filing cost; ordinary procedure buys the ability to litigate a genuinely disputed claim properly and to claim any amount.
Choosing between them
Two practical points decide most files. First, the $15,000 threshold excludes interest, so a principal sum just under the line does not lose the Rule 60 route because interest has accrued on top of it. Second, Rule 60 is filed where the defendant resides, not where the creditor is, so the debtor's address determines the venue and should be verified during the amicable phase rather than at filing.
More on court proceedings in Puerto Rico
PROMESA is not a debt-collection route
PROMESA (Pub. L. 114-187) appears in a great deal of writing about Puerto Rican debt, and almost none of it is relevant to a commercial creditor chasing an invoice. Its Title III mechanism restructures the debt of the Commonwealth government and its instrumentalities, and it is heard by the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico rather than the Bankruptcy Court. Unless your debtor is a Puerto Rican government entity, PROMESA does not touch your claim.
Post-judgment interest and obstinacy
Once you hold a judgment, interest runs at the rate set by the Junta Financiera of OCIF on the judgment, costs and fees, from the date of judgment until it is satisfied. Where a party is found to have litigated with temeridad, meaning obstinacy, the court may impose interest from the date the claim accrued instead (Regla 44.3, 32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V). That is a real lever against a debtor who defends a plainly good claim to buy time.
What is deliberately not stated here
No figure is given for how long an ordinary Puerto Rico claim takes from filing to judgment, and no numeric OCIF interest rate is quoted, because neither could be verified from an official source for this guide. Rule 60's own timetable is stated because it comes from the rule itself and from the judiciary's own published description of the procedure.
Step 3 - How does debt enforcement work in Puerto Rico?
Enforcement in Puerto Rico runs through the Commonwealth court that gave judgment. The court issues the order, and its alguaciles carry it out. There is no private enforcement profession that a creditor appoints and instructs directly.
What triggers enforcement
A judgment. Whether it came from a Rule 60 summary hearing in the Sala Municipal or from ordinary procedure in the Sala Superior, the judgment is what allows the court to order an embargo against the debtor's assets. Until then the claim is a claim, not an enforceable right against property.
What the alguacil does
The alguacil serves the court's process and executes its orders, which in a money file means locating and embargoing assets so they can be applied to the judgment. Assets typically reached include bank accounts, wages, vehicles and real property. Sale of seized property is conducted under the court's supervision and the proceeds are applied to the judgment, costs and interest.
What is protected
Puerto Rican law keeps part of a debtor's income and certain essential assets outside the reach of an embargo, so that enforcement does not strip a debtor of basic subsistence. The granular exemption schedule and the detailed post-judgment procedure could not be verified from an official source for this guide and are therefore not set out in numbers here. Before an enforcement plan is settled, have your partner confirm the current position for the specific assets you have identified rather than assuming an asset is reachable because it is visible.
Sequencing that actually matters
| Step | Practical point |
|---|---|
| Verify the debtor's address early | Rule 60 is filed where the defendant resides, so the address determines the venue as well as the service route. |
| Get the judgment before assets move | Enforcement follows the judgment, so the interval between demand and judgment is the window in which a debtor can reorganise assets. |
| Claim post-judgment interest | It accrues on the judgment, costs and fees from the date of judgment until satisfaction under Regla 44.3. |
| Raise temeridad where it applies | If the defence was obstinate, interest can be run from accrual instead of from judgment. |
| Watch for a federal filing | A bankruptcy petition in the federal court stops Commonwealth enforcement. See Step 4. |
Step 4 - How do insolvency procedures affect debt recovery in Puerto Rico?
Insolvency in Puerto Rico is entirely federal. There is no Commonwealth insolvency statute for ordinary business or consumer debtors: Puerto Rico relies on Title 11 of the United States Code, the federal Bankruptcy Code, and cases are heard in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico. This is confirmed by that court's own description of its jurisdiction. If your debtor stops paying and files, the file leaves the Commonwealth system entirely.
The chapters that matter to a trade creditor
Ordinary bankruptcy runs under the standard federal chapters: Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 11 reorganisation, Subchapter V for smaller business reorganisations, Chapter 12 for family farmers and fishermen, and Chapter 13 for individuals with regular income. Which chapter the debtor uses determines whether you are looking at a distribution from a liquidated estate or a plan payment over time, but in either case your route is the same: file the proof of claim in the bankruptcy case, within the deadline the court sets.
What a filing does to your Commonwealth case
A federal bankruptcy filing halts collection and enforcement activity against the debtor. A Rule 60 hearing, an ordinary claim and an embargo through the alguaciles all stop, and the creditor's remedy moves into the federal proceeding. Secured claims rank ahead of unsecured ones, so an unsecured trade supplier participates in whatever is left. This is the strongest structural argument for moving early on a Puerto Rico claim rather than letting it age.
PROMESA is a different thing entirely
PROMESA, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (Pub. L. 114-187, approved 30 June 2016), is not ordinary bankruptcy and is not a route for a private creditor. Its Title III (48 U.S.C. sec. 2161 et seq.) restructures the debt of the Commonwealth government and its instrumentalities, it is heard by the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico before a specially designated judge rather than by the Bankruptcy Court, and it works by cross-referencing selected Bankruptcy Code provisions rather than by being Title 11. It exists because Puerto Rico cannot use ordinary Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy, being excluded from the Bankruptcy Code's definition of a State. Unless your debtor is a Puerto Rican government entity, PROMESA is background, not procedure.
| Question | Ordinary bankruptcy | PROMESA Title III |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Private individuals and businesses | The Commonwealth government and its instrumentalities |
| Statute | Title 11, United States Code | Pub. L. 114-187, 48 U.S.C. sec. 2161 et seq. |
| Court | U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico | U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico |
| Relevance to a trade creditor | Direct: this is where your claim goes | None, unless the debtor is a government entity |
A correction on terminology
Descriptions of Puerto Rican insolvency that use the labels Abreviado and Ordinario for case types, or Procedimiento Voluntario and Procedimiento Necesario for how a case starts, are not describing Puerto Rican law. Those terms match neither Title 11 nor PROMESA. They appear to be borrowed from a different jurisdiction's insolvency vocabulary and should be disregarded when planning a Puerto Rico recovery.
What to do when you learn of a filing
Get the case number and chapter, file the proof of claim with the contract, invoices and any written acknowledgement before the bar date, and check whether your claim is secured in any way, since that determines where you sit. Then monitor the docket: plan payments and estate distributions can arrive long after the filing, and only a claim that was properly filed participates.
Fees, interest and who pays what in Puerto Rico
- Our fee: success-based, No Cure No Pay. The rate follows the debtor's country rather than yours, so it is set by where your debtor sits, not by where you invoice from (see pricing).
- Court costs: only if the claim escalates. A Rule 60 filing carries stamps of around $60; ordinary procedure in the Sala Superior costs more and adds legal representation.
- Statutory debtor items: moratory interest at the OCIF-set rate where no rate was agreed, and post-judgment interest on the judgment, costs and fees until satisfaction.
- Who keeps what: recovered principal is yours. Interest and any costs awarded follow Puerto Rican law and the terms of your contract.
Interest before judgment
Where the contract fixes a rate, that rate governs. Where it does not, Código Civil art. 1169 applies the rate that the Junta Financiera of the Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF) sets for judgments, and it is calculated as simple interest, not compounded. The current numeric rate is not quoted here because it could not be verified from an official source for this guide: take it from OCIF when the claim is quantified. The practical drafting lesson is that a contractual interest clause is worth having, because it removes the dependency on a rate you then have to go and look up.
Interest after judgment, and the temeridad lever
Post-judgment interest runs at the same OCIF rate on the judgment plus costs and fees, from the date of judgment until it is satisfied (Regla 44.3, 32 L.P.R.A. Ap. V). The rule also carries a lever that is genuinely useful against a stalling debtor: where a party is found to have litigated with temeridad, meaning obstinacy, the court may run interest from the date the claim accrued rather than from judgment. A debtor who defends an obviously good claim purely to delay is therefore taking a costed risk.
The cheapest step in a Puerto Rico file
It is the written demand. Because an extrajudicial demand interrupts the limitation period under Código Civil art. 1197 and restarts the full term, a documented demand letter buys time that would otherwise cost a filing fee to secure.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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