In short
Act 166 of 2026, the Act on Priority in the Restoration of Essential Services for Residential Establishments, defines a residential establishment as a public or private, duly licensed centre or institution offering care and integral development services to seven or more minors under Act 57-2023; and defines essential services as those including, without limitation, electric power, potable water, telecommunications and any other critical service necessary for the health, safety, protection and continuity of services to the minors in care. It establishes as public policy that these establishments, under the supervision of the Department of the Family, be classified as priority attention facilities in basic-service restoration plans after an emergency or disaster, and declares that the services they provide constitute essential services, so they shall be classified as critical facilities. The Department of the Family shall keep an updated registry of all authorised establishments, share it with the Electric Power Authority, with LUMA Energy and with the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, immediately notify any change of location or status, annually send NMEAD an updated list for the State Emergency Management Plan, and verify annually, before the start of hurricane season, that all have functional electric generators with up-to-date maintenance and adequate capacity. Agencies have ninety days from approval to adopt or amend their regulations or protocols.
What is it?
It is the decision to put homes where seven or more minors live in the same queue as hospitals and nursing homes when services must be restored after an emergency. It is not a benefit you apply for: it is a classification the Department of the Family communicates to the service companies, and a duty the law imposes on them.
Who can do it?
Public or private, duly licensed centres or institutions offering care and integral development services to seven or more minors under Act 57-2023. The three conditions are cumulative: licensed, seven or more minors, and under the supervision of the Department of the Family.
Requirements
- Being a public or private, duly licensed centre or institution.Verified against the official source
- Offering care and integral development services to seven (7) or more minors, under Act 57-2023.Verified against the official source
- Having functional electric generators, with up-to-date maintenance and adequate capacity: the Department of the Family verifies this annually before the start of hurricane season.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Confirm your establishment fits the definition
Article 2 defines it this way: a public or private, duly licensed centre or institution offering care and integral development services to seven (7) or more minors, under Act 57-2023. The threshold of seven is what decides, and being licensed is a condition, not a detail.
Step 2: The classification puts you alongside hospitals and nursing homes
Article 3 declares that these establishments shall be classified as priority attention facilities in basic-service restoration plans after an emergency or disaster, and that the services they provide constitute essential services, so they shall be classified as critical facilities. Article 4 makes it concrete: the companies shall include them in their priority restoration protocol alongside hospitals, nursing homes and other critical facilities.
Step 3: The Family Department keeps the registry, not you
The Department of the Family shall keep an updated registry of all authorised residential establishments and share it with the Electric Power Authority, with LUMA Energy — or the entity administering and operating the transmission and distribution system — and with the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. It shall also immediately notify the relevant agencies of any change in the establishment’s location or status. There is no application the establishment files: what there is is a duty on the Department.
Step 4: Before each hurricane season they check your generators
It is the most concrete duty the law places on the Department of the Family and the one most worth being ready for: it shall verify annually, before the start of hurricane season, that all residential establishments have functional electric generators, with up-to-date maintenance and adequate capacity to guarantee the continuity of essential services during an interruption.
Step 5: You also enter the State Emergency Plan
The Department of the Family shall annually send the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau (NMEAD) an updated list of licensed residential establishments, so they are included within the State Emergency Management Plan.
Step 6: Telecommunications runs on its own federal track
Telecommunications providers shall integrate the information provided by the Department of the Family into their emergency management protocols, without altering the obligations of the federal Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) programme or any other applicable federal rule, and shall coordinate their processes through the State Emergency Management Plan.
Step 7: Count on ninety days of rulemaking
Article 5 provides that the agencies and entities involved shall adopt or amend their existing regulations or protocols, as necessary, within a term no longer than ninety days from the approval of this Act. Each company’s concrete protocols may still be changing.
Where to do it
There is nowhere to apply: inclusion depends on the registry the Department of the Family maintains and shares with the service companies. If your establishment is licensed and does not appear, the conversation is with the Department of the Family.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
This guide describes all of Act 166-2026, which is the only thing we read. We did not read Act 57-2023, so we do not explain here how a residential establishment is licensed or what other duties that Act carries. Classification as a critical facility is a priority in the restoration order; the law promises no restoration time and sets no consequence if a company fails to comply, and we do not invent one. Nor does it publish cost or a procedure, because the duty falls on the agencies and not on the establishment. Since each agency’s regulations had ninety days to be brought in line, confirm the current protocol with the Department of the Family before relying on it. A note on the source: the PDF carries no text layer and we read it by optical recognition at 200 dpi; the articles came through cleanly and that is where every figure comes from, while the signature block is OCR noise. PRFácil does not register establishments or arrange service restorations.
Common mistakes
- Believing you must apply: the law requires the Department of the Family to maintain and share the registry, not the establishment to file anything.
- Thinking it covers any children’s home: the definition requires seven or more minors and that the centre be duly licensed.
- Neglecting the generators: the Department verifies annually, before hurricane season, that they are functional, with up-to-date maintenance and adequate capacity.
- Reading priority as a time guarantee: the law sets a place in the restoration order, not a deadline.
- Not reporting a move or a change of status: the Department must notify the agencies immediately, and cannot do so if it does not know.
Frequently asked questions
How many minors are needed for it to apply?
Seven or more. Article 2 defines a residential establishment as a public or private, duly licensed centre or institution offering care and integral development services to seven (7) or more minors, under Act 57-2023.
Do I have to register my home on some list?
The law creates no application. It requires the Department of the Family to keep an updated registry of all authorised residential establishments and share it with AEE, LUMA Energy and AAA, and to send NMEAD an annual list. If you are licensed and think you do not appear, ask the Department of the Family.
What counts as an essential service?
Article 2 defines them as those including, but not limited to, electric power, potable water, telecommunications and any other critical service necessary for the health, safety, protection and continuity of services to the minors in care. The list is open by its own wording.
Does the law guarantee service back within a certain time?
No. What it does is classify the establishment as a critical, priority-attention facility within the restoration plans, alongside hospitals and nursing homes. It sets no deadlines and publishes no consequence for non-compliance, and we do not add one.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de la Familia
Familia
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 27, 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.
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