A pothole damaged your car: how to claim from DTOP and what the ceiling is

It is an administrative claim against the Commonwealth, not a lawsuit. When damage to your vehicle was caused by the condition of a road DTOP administers, the route to being paid starts at the Department’s Citizen Services Office, with a file the agency evaluates. Two things are worth understanding up front. The first is the ceiling: the checklist says twice that the amount may not exceed one thousand dollars, so if the damage was greater, this route does not cover it in full. The second is that the file is demanding: the central document must be notarised before a lawyer, the estimates must be two, from different places, in original and certified, and the photographs have specific requirements. It is not a form you fill in at the counter and be done.

The checklist publishes no abstract eligibility requirement, but it defines who may claim through the documents it demands. Form SC-862 should preferably be filed in the name of the vehicle’s registered owner. If the person claiming is not the vehicle’s owner, they must be authorised to claim the damages by sworn declaration. If the vehicle is in the name of a rental or leasing company, an original letter from the company authorising the claim must be brought. And if the claimant is a corporation, it must submit a Corporate Resolution authorising the claimant to represent it.

• That the amount claimed not exceed $1,000.00: the checklist states it next to the box and repeats it citing Regulation #7794.Verified against the official source
• Including a letter from the claimant accepting to claim for that maximum amount, under Regulation #7794.Verified against the official source
• Providing the exact place of the events and the date of the accident, plus name, contact telephone, mobile, full Social Security number, physical address, postal address and email.Verified against the official source
• If you are not the vehicle’s owner, being authorised to claim the damages by sworn declaration; if the vehicle belongs to a rental or leasing company, an original letter from the company; if it is a corporation, a Corporate Resolution.Verified against the official source

• Form SC-862, Claim against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, duly completed and notarised by a lawyer, preferably in the name of the vehicle’s registered owner.
• Form SC-864, Witness Statement, if there was an eyewitness to the accident.
• Certified copy of the police report.
• Photographs: one showing the damage, one showing the rear of the vehicle with the plate number, and another showing the area where the accident happened with reference points.
• Two damage estimates from different places, made and certified in original, both on the establishment’s letterhead, by trustworthy persons with no interest in the claim; or an original certified paid invoice.
• One of these: a copy of the vehicle licence with a legible current sticker, the purchase contract, or the sticker certification in place of the vehicle licence.
• A copy of the claimant’s valid driver’s licence.
• If the vehicle is insured, an original letter from the insurance company stating no claim has been made for those damages, with policy number and accident date; if there is no private insurance, a letter from the claimant certifying they hold only the compulsory insurance.

1. 1

   Step 1: Decide whether it is worth it before spending

   The ceiling is written twice on the checklist: next to the amount box it says “By law, not more than $1,000.00”, and further down it repeats that under Regulation #7794 the maximum payable will be up to $1,000 subject to evaluation. Before moving anything, compare that ceiling with what the damage cost you and with what assembling the file will cost: notarising the SC-862 before a lawyer and the two certified estimates are not free, and the checklist does not publish what they cost.

2. 2

   Step 2: Take the three photographs, and take them as asked

   The specification is concrete and worth following to the letter, because these are what prove the case: a photograph showing the damage; one showing the rear of the vehicle with the plate number — that is the one tying the damage to your car —; and another showing the area where the accident happened with reference points, that is, so it can be seen where it was. Take them on the spot and the same day if you can: the pothole gets repaired and the evidence disappears.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get the police report as a certified copy

   The checklist asks for it that way, as a certified copy, not a plain one. That errand has its own process before the Police and a separate guide on this site. If no police report was made of the accident, that is a gap in the file to resolve before filing.

4. 4

   Step 4: Get two estimates, from different places and certified

   The requirement is specific: two damage estimates from different places, made and certified in original, both on the establishment’s letterhead, by trustworthy persons with no interest in the claim. The alternative the checklist accepts is an original certified paid invoice, if you have already repaired the car. A loose estimate or a quote without letterhead will not do.

5. 5

   Step 5: Have the SC-862 notarised before a lawyer

   The claim’s central document is form SC-862, Claim against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the checklist requires it to be duly completed and notarised by a lawyer, preferably in the name of the vehicle’s registered owner. If there was an eyewitness to the accident, form SC-864, Witness Statement, must also be completed.

6. 6

   Step 6: Clear up your insurance situation

   The checklist contemplates both cases. If the vehicle is insured, you must bring an original letter from the insurance company stating that no claim has been made for the damages giving rise to this claim, including the policy number and the accident date. If you have no private insurance, a letter from you certifying that you hold only the compulsory insurance is needed, and the checklist refers to an annex A for that purpose. It is the agency’s way of making sure you are not paid twice for the same damage.

The claim is filed with the Citizen Services Office of the Department of Transportation and Public Works. The checklist and forms SC-862 and SC-864 are downloaded from DTOP’s Documents section, in the Claims tab. The checklist carries signature spaces for the official who gives the orientation and for the one who verifies the claim, which indicates an in-person step; the document publishes no address or hours, so confirm them with DTOP.

• Assembling the file without first comparing the cost of the damage and the documents against the $1,000 ceiling.
• Submitting a single estimate, or two from the same shop, when the checklist requires two from different places.
• Bringing estimates without the establishment’s letterhead or not certified in original.
• Filing the SC-862 without notarisation before a lawyer.
• Bringing the police report as a plain copy when the checklist asks for a certified one.
• Taking only the photograph of the damage and not the one of the plate or of the location with reference points.
• Waiting weeks to photograph the location, when the pothole is repaired and the evidence disappears.
• Claiming for a vehicle that is not yours without the sworn declaration of authorisation.
• Omitting the insurer’s letter, or your own letter certifying you hold only the compulsory insurance.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)

  DTOP

  docs.pr.gov

• DTOP Claims documents

  dtop

  www.dtop.pr.gov

• Form SC-862, Claim against the Commonwealth

  dtop

  docs.pr.gov

• Form SC-864, Witness Statement

  dtop

  docs.pr.gov