In short
Article 10.19 of the Vehicles and Traffic Act presumes a vehicle — in good condition, unserviceable or derelict — has been abandoned if found unattended on a public road or in any annexed area, public or private, for more than twenty-four hours, and prohibits abandoning it. If, at the request of the Police of Puerto Rico or the Municipal Police, the owner does not remove it within twenty-four hours, it may be towed. An identified owner is notified at their last known postal address that they have a non-extendable sixty-day term to collect it and pay the towing and storage under Article 6.28. For scrap, derelict or unserviceable vehicles the clock is shorter: a non-extendable thirty days to claim it where the titleholder was identified, and fifteen days where they could not be, after which the Police or the municipality dispose of the vehicle under their regulation or ordinance. And anyone notified that their vehicle was removed has the right to challenge the process within thirty days before the Court of First Instance, counted from when they are notified.
What is it?
It is the article governing two everyday situations: the car that has sat outside your house for weeks, and your own car that turned up towed. It sets when it is presumed abandoned, who may take it, how long you have to claim it and how to challenge the removal.
Who can do it?
The presumption of abandonment applies to a vehicle in good condition, unserviceable or derelict found unattended on a public road or in any annexed area, public or private, for more than twenty-four hours. Subsection B, on scrap, also applies to unserviceable, derelict or scrap vehicles that are illegally parked or that are in an area designated for parking, public or private.
Requirements
- To recover a towed vehicle: collecting it within the applicable non-extendable term — sixty days if it was in good condition, thirty if it is scrap, derelict or unserviceable and you were identified — and paying the towing and storage charges under Article 6.28 of the Act.Verified against the official source
- To challenge the removal: filing within thirty days before the Court of First Instance of the Superior Division to which the municipality where the vehicle was located belongs, counted from notification that it was removed (Article 10.19(C)).Verified against the official source
- The Act does not publish the towing or storage amounts in this article: it refers them to Article 6.28, which we did not read.
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Twenty-four hours and it is presumed abandoned
Article 10.19(A) sets the presumption: “a vehicle in good condition, or unserviceable or derelict, shall be presumed abandoned if found unattended on a public road or in any annexed area, public or private, for a period longer than twenty-four (24) hours”. Note the reach: not only the public road, but any annexed area, and that area may be private. And it adds the prohibition: “No person shall abandon a vehicle on the public road or annexed areas, whether public or private”.
Step 2: Who can tow it, and where it goes
Any vehicle abandoned by its owner which, at the request of the Police of Puerto Rico or the Municipal Police, was not removed by that owner within twenty-four hours, “may be removed by the Police of Puerto Rico itself or by the municipality”. The vehicle is towed to a site the Police or the municipality choose, “where it shall remain in deposit and at its owner’s disposal, under the provisions of Article 6.28 of this Act”. That Article 6.28 governs the deposit and the charges, and we did not read it: which is why we publish no amounts here.
Step 3: A non-extendable sixty days if it was in good condition
If the vehicle’s titleholder is identified from the Department’s records, “they shall be notified at their last known postal address of their obligation to collect their vehicle within the non-extendable term of sixty (60) days and to pay the towing and storage charges as Article 6.28 establishes”. The word “non-extendable” is in the Act: there is no extension. And the notice goes to the last postal address the Department has, which makes keeping your address current in the registry no small matter.
Step 4: If the municipal police took it
The Act maps the route. If it was the municipal police who removed the vehicle, they shall notify the Police of Puerto Rico and give them all relevant information on it, “including but not limited to: plate, colour, make, model and physical condition”. Then the Police of Puerto Rico, under Article 6.28(e), shall notify the registered owner’s last known address that the vehicle is at a municipal facility and that they must collect it within a non-extendable sixty-day term, paying the applicable costs. Once that term expires, the municipality may dispose of the vehicle under Article 6.28(f).
Step 5: What counts as scrap, and why it matters
Subsection B defines it: a scrap, derelict or unserviceable motor vehicle means “one lacking an engine or other parts essential to its self-propulsion, and which has been abandoned by its owner for a period longer than twenty-four (24) hours”. And it adds something people do not expect: “The foregoing also includes any part of a motor vehicle whose titleholder could not be identified”. It matters because the clock to claim it is half the other one.
Step 6: Thirty days if you were identified, fifteen if not
Where the abandoned vehicles are derelict, unserviceable or considered scrap and the titleholder could be identified, the Police of Puerto Rico shall notify their last known address in the Department’s registry “that they must claim their property within a non-extendable term of thirty (30) days, failing which the Police of Puerto Rico or the municipality shall dispose of it as the Police regulation or the applicable municipal ordinance provides”. After those thirty days, the Police or the municipality have fifteen days to hand the plate to the Department, where one exists. If the titleholder could not be identified, the vehicle shall remain fifteen days at the property it was towed to, and afterwards the Police of Puerto Rico or the Municipal Police may dispose of it under the applicable regulation or ordinance.
Step 7: It also covers car parks, public or private
Subsection B closes with its reach: “This subsection shall apply to unserviceable, derelict or scrap vehicles that are illegally parked or that are in an area designated for parking, whether public or private”. That is, the scrap car in a condominium or shopping centre car park falls within the article, not only the one in the street.
Step 8: You have thirty days to challenge, and must be warned
Subsection C is the owner’s right, and it has two parts. First: anyone notified that their vehicle was removed under this article “must be warned in that notice of their right to challenge the process”. It is not optional: the warning is part of what the notice must say. Second: the term is thirty days “before the Court of First Instance of the Superior Division to which the municipality where the motor vehicle was located belongs”, and “the thirty (30) day term shall begin to run from when notice is given that the vehicle was removed” — from the notice, not from the removal.
Where to do it
The removal is carried out by the Police of Puerto Rico or the Municipal Police, and the vehicle stays at the site they choose. The notice to the registered owner is given by the Police of Puerto Rico, at the last known address in the registry of the Department of Transportation and Public Works. The challenge is filed at the Court of First Instance, in the Superior Division to which the municipality where the vehicle was located belongs. And the vehicle’s final disposal is governed by the Police regulation or the applicable municipal ordinance, which we did not read.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
What we did not read and therefore do not publish. Act 22-2000 runs to 227 pages and we did not read all of it: for this guide we read Article 10.19, subsections A, B and C, and nothing else. Left out is Article 6.28 of this same Act, which governs the deposit, the towing and storage charges and the vehicle’s disposal in its subsections (e) and (f); we name it wherever Article 10.19 points at it, but we publish no amounts because they are not in the article we did read. Nor did we read the Police of Puerto Rico regulation or the municipal ordinances governing how the vehicle is disposed of, or Act 58-2024 beyond the amended text the compilation prints. Cost goes unverified for exactly that reason. Processing time is published in pieces — twenty-four hours, sixty days, thirty days, fifteen days — but not for the whole route, so it too goes unverified.
Common mistakes
- Believing weeks must pass: the presumption of abandonment kicks in at twenty-four hours.
- Thinking it only applies to the street: the Act covers the public road and any annexed area, public or private.
- Assuming a car in good condition cannot be removed: the presumption also covers those in good condition.
- Confusing the two clocks: a non-extendable sixty days for the vehicle in good condition, thirty for scrap with an identified titleholder.
- Forgetting the notice goes to the registry address: if your address at the Department is out of date, the notice is sent anyway.
- Believing the term can be extended: the Act uses the word “non-extendable” in both cases.
- Thinking there is no procedure without a plate: the scrap definition includes any part of a vehicle whose titleholder cannot be identified.
- Assuming a private car park is outside it: subsection B expressly includes it.
- Letting the thirty days to challenge pass: they run from when you are notified of the removal, not from when you find out on your own.
- Not reading the whole notice: the Act requires it warn you of your right to challenge.
- Going to the wrong court: the challenge goes to the Superior Division to which the municipality where the vehicle was located belongs.
Frequently asked questions
When is a vehicle considered abandoned?
Article 10.19(A) presumes it abandoned if found unattended on a public road or in any annexed area, public or private, for more than twenty-four hours, whether it is in good condition, unserviceable or derelict.
How long do I have to collect my towed car?
A non-extendable sixty days if the vehicle was in good condition, paying the towing and storage under Article 6.28. If the vehicle is scrap, derelict or unserviceable and you were identified, it is a non-extendable thirty days.
Can I challenge the removal?
Yes. Article 10.19(C) gives thirty days to challenge the process before the Court of First Instance of the Superior Division to which the municipality where the vehicle was located belongs, counted from notification that it was removed. And the notice itself must warn you of that right.
How much are the towing and storage?
Article 10.19 does not say: it refers to Article 6.28 of the same Act, which we did not read. That is why this guide publishes no amounts.
There is a scrap car outside my house, who do I call?
The article puts removal in the hands of the Police of Puerto Rico or the Municipal Police, and the final disposal is governed by the Police regulation or the applicable municipal ordinance. The Act publishes no number or complaint form.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)
DTOP
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 1, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.
Was this guide helpful?
Did you find out-of-date information?
The driver’s bill of rights
Two paid hours to renew your licence, fines only from the last eighteen months, and automatic exoneration if the ticket is missing data.
Your vehicle: what you must report and how long it can be held
Act 8-1987 sets the owner’s duties — theft, plates, recovery in 10 days, engine change by sworn declaration — and caps investigative holds at 30 days.
How to transfer a vehicle title in Puerto Rico
How a vehicle transfer works at CESCO, what to check before buying or selling, and where to get the official forms.
What to do after a crash
Stopping is mandatory and failing to revokes your licence. There are four hours to notify the Police if they did not investigate on scene.
When a property is declared a public nuisance
Thirty days to request a hearing before an examining officer. If the town cleans up, the fine is quarterly, one to five thousand dollars, plus the lien.
How to replace a vehicle title in Puerto Rico
What CESCO requires to replace a Certificado de Título: the sworn statement and its exact wording, the stamps, and what changes if the vehicle has a lien.