Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA)

Boating in Puerto Rico: licence, sticker and life jackets

If you were born after July 1, 1972 you need a course and exam to operate. Under-12s wear life jackets, and the alcohol limit drops with age.

August 23, 2026

Old electronics: the store is obliged to take them back

Act 18-2012 requires retailers to receive the electronic equipment a consumer decides to return or discard, and to say so at the point of sale.

August 26, 2026

Safety & Licensing

Reporting tree cutting, illegal dumping and environmental damage to the DRNA

Anyone can file a complaint with the DRNA. The form’s incident types, the Rangers Corps phone numbers, and what a ranger can and cannot do.

August 15, 2026

Safety & Licensing

Coal ash: what the law prohibits and the $25,000-per-day fine

Act 40-2017 bans disposing of coal ash on roads, lands, landfills and bodies of water, and depositing it beyond 180 days from production.

August 24, 2026

Safety & Licensing

Outside waste in Puerto Rico landfills: the ban that admits no exceptions

Act 424-2000 bans disposing in Puerto Rico landfills of solid waste generated outside the island, and says it admits no exceptions or contrary contracts.

August 24, 2026

Vehicles & CESCO

The tire shop may not charge you an “environmental fee” for tires

Act 41-2009 bars tire sellers from charging consumers an environmental or handling fee, and requires them to accept up to four used tires from you.

August 24, 2026

Business & Permits

Wild pigs on your farm: the special hunting permit for farmers

Act 102-2026 orders DRNA to authorise wild-pig hunting by affected farmers, with a two-year permit, a report and prohibitions.

August 27, 2026

Boat marbete: an extension when the federal government cannot issue your certificate

Act 170-2026 lets DRNA extend your marbete up to 90 days when a federal agency cannot issue your documentation for reasons beyond your control.

August 27, 2026

Roads to the beach and nature trails

Act 314-2000 declares royal roads and time-immemorial beach accesses public, and creates DRNA’s Register of Natural Trails.

Entering or exploring a cave: what the law allows

Act 111-1985 protects caves and sinkholes: eight prohibited acts, fines up to $10,000, and permits requiring written consent.

Conservation easement and its tax credit

Act 183-2001 lets you encumber your land in perpetuity to conserve it, with a 50% tax credit and property tax exemption.

What can be done on land in the karst zone

Act 292-1999 bars ten activities in the karst zone without a DRNA permit, with fines up to $25,000, and exempts conserved farms from property tax.

Cutting trees and classifying an auxiliary forest

The Forest Act bars cutting certain trees without a permit, limits felling to weekdays 6 a.m.–6 p.m., and exempts auxiliary forests from property tax.

Adopt a Hectare: donating to conserve land

Act 108-2001 creates a DRNA programme giving a certificate, photo, a sign with your name and visits to those who donate to acquire high-value natural areas.

Fishing licence in Puerto Rico

Seven licence types with different terms, separate permits for lobster and conch, and fines of $100 to $5,000 for each illegal catch.

Sport hunting licence in Puerto Rico

It lasts five years and expires on your birthday. It needs a hunter course, a medical certificate and a clean record, and renews this way only three times.

Business & Permits

Permit to operate a game preserve

The DRNA permit expires on 30 June of its second year. The owner registers the preserve’s weapons in their own name and files monthly reports.

Where and when you may hunt in Puerto Rico

No hunting in state forests, on public roads or within a hundred metres of dwellings. You must carry the licence and the weapon’s registration on you.

Permits for exotic species in Puerto Rico

Possessing, importing, selling or transporting an exotic species without a prior DRNA permit is illegal, and so is advertising it online. Fines run per specimen.

Wildlife in captivity and rehabilitation

Keeping wildlife in captivity, or taking nests, eggs or young, requires written authorisation from the DRNA Secretary. The Act names the permits that exist.

Modifying natural habitat: mitigation plan

Essential critical habitat may not be modified. Non-essential critical habitat needs vital public interest, and the compensation is at least three to one.

Boating accident: what the law requires

Help first, give your details and report: twelve hours for death or injury, forty-eight if damage tops a hundred dollars, plus a written report to DRNA.

Boating tickets and fines in Puerto Rico

You have thirty days to seek reconsideration. The fine is entered on the vessel’s register and blocks the sticker and any transfer until it is paid.

When your vessel is deemed abandoned

A sticker expired six months is enough to meet the definition. Thirty days to answer, sixty before seizure and auction, then collection of the debt.

Claiming an abandoned vessel

The Act opens a route: certified letter, newspaper notice, Police and Justice certifications, a sworn statement and a fee that cannot exceed fifty dollars.

Business & Permits

Boat and jet ski rental business

Twenty-one to rent a boat, twelve for a kayak. The business needs life-saving accreditation, a licensed instructor and a record kept for one year.