In short
Act 161-1996 requires the owner, administrator or person in charge of every automotive technique or mechanics and electromechanics shop to provide clients with a complete invoice that includes all parts and/or accessories installed in every motor vehicle repaired, detailing their exact cost, as well as the amount charged for labor performed. The law’s own statement of motives explains why it exists: the most common consumer complaint is that they are not given a breakdown of the cost of each part or accessory installed in their vehicle, nor how much they are charged for labor, and that on many occasions the client is told verbally a single total that includes parts, accessories and labor. Non-compliance constitutes a misdemeanor, and a person convicted shall be punished with a fine of one hundred (100) dollars for the first offense, two hundred fifty (250) dollars for the second, and five hundred (500) dollars for the third and subsequent offenses.
What is it?
It is a short law — two articles — that turns into a legal duty something many shops treat as a courtesy: handing you an invoice where you can see, separately, what each part cost and what was charged for the work. It is not a recommendation or a shop policy: breaking it is a misdemeanor.
Who can do it?
It applies to every client of an automotive technique or mechanics and electromechanics shop in Puerto Rico. The one bound is the shop’s owner, administrator or person in charge, and the duty arises from having repaired a motor vehicle.
Requirements
- That the work was done by an automotive technique or mechanics, or electromechanics, shop.Verified against the official source
- That a motor vehicle was repaired.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Ask for it: it is a duty, not a favor
The text leaves no room. “The owner, administrator or person in charge of every automotive technique or mechanics and electromechanics shop is required to provide clients with a complete invoice.” The word doing the work is “every”: it does not distinguish between a big shop and a corner shop, or between an expensive and a small repair.
Step 2: What must appear on the invoice
Two blocks, and both are mandatory. First, all parts and/or accessories installed in the repaired vehicle, detailing their exact cost. Second, the amount charged for labor performed. If the invoice gives you a single lump number, it does not comply with the law, however correct that number may be.
Step 3: A total said out loud does not count
The law’s statement of motives is worth reading because it describes exactly the scene: “on many occasions the client is told verbally a single total that includes parts, accessories and labor.” That practice is precisely what the law came to prohibit. The legislature named it and attached a penalty.
Step 4: The fine rises with repetition
Non-compliance constitutes a misdemeanor, and a person convicted shall be punished as follows: for the first offense, a fine of one hundred (100) dollars; for the second, two hundred fifty (250) dollars; and for the third and subsequent offenses, five hundred (500) dollars. It is a scale aimed at the shop that does it habitually.
Step 5: Keep the invoice: it serves more than one purpose
The itemized invoice is the evidence of which part was installed and what you were charged to install it. Without that detail it is hard to claim a part warranty, dispute a charge or prove the work was done. Our guide on durable receipts and warranty documents explains the separate duty to preserve those documents.
Where to do it
The law names no agency in its text: it is a short penal statute whose sanction is a misdemeanor. For the administrative consumer route, the step by step is in our DACO complaint guide. Watch a name collision that confuses many people: DACO’s “Registered Mechanic” licence is not the car mechanic’s — it belongs to whoever repairs and certifies weighing and measuring instruments — and we explain that in its own guide.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
A defect in the text, stated as it is. OGP’s compilation numbers TWO articles as “Article 2”: the penalties one and the effective-date one (“This Act shall take effect thirty (30) days after its approval”). We do not renumber or choose: we cite both as they appear. What we did not read and therefore do not publish: Act 5-1973, DACO’s organic act; DACO’s regulations on deceptive practices and advertising; and any DACO regulation on repair shops. So this guide publishes no DACO administrative fine, no rule on pre-repair estimates, and no deadline to file a complaint: Act 161-1996 provides none of those three, and we will not borrow them from a source we did not read. Processing time is left unverified for the same reason.
Common mistakes
- Accepting a lump total: the law requires the exact cost of each part and labor separately.
- Believing it only applies to big shops: the text says “every shop.”
- Thinking a spoken price is enough: that is exactly what the law came to prohibit.
- Leaving without the invoice and claiming later: without the detail it is hard to prove what was installed.
- Confusing this duty with DACO’s “Registered Mechanic” licence, which is for weighing and measuring instruments.
- Assuming the law sets a price: it does not; it requires disclosure, not a cap.
Frequently asked questions
Is the shop required to give me an itemized invoice?
Yes. Act 161-1996 requires the owner, administrator or person in charge of every automotive technique or mechanics and electromechanics shop to provide clients with a complete invoice including all parts and/or accessories installed, detailing their exact cost, as well as the amount charged for labor performed.
What happens if the shop does not comply?
Non-compliance constitutes a misdemeanor. The fine is one hundred (100) dollars for the first offense, two hundred fifty (250) for the second, and five hundred (500) for the third and subsequent ones.
Does the law tell me how much the shop may charge me?
No. Act 161-1996 requires disclosing the breakdown — parts with their exact cost and labor separately — but it does not set or cap prices. What it gives you is the information to decide and to complain.
What does it cost to ask for the invoice?
Nothing. It is the shop’s duty to its client; the law authorizes no charge for handing it over.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO)
DACO
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
- DACO services
DACO
www.daco.pr.gov
Last verified
August 24, 2026
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