In short
In Puerto Rico no one may run a collection agency without a license from the Department of Consumer Affairs, and that license requires a five thousand ($5,000) dollar bond guaranteeing the handling of money collected. On that base, Article 17 lists fifteen prohibited practices. Among them: pursuing collection of an account without prior written authorization from the client; using or threatening physical violence; publishing or threatening to publish a list of debtors or disclosing information about the debt; intimidating with documents that mimic the form and appearance of court papers; operating under a name or in a way implying it is a branch of a government agency; charging additional fees on top of the amount owed, including the agency’s own collection costs and attorney fees never agreed to, unless a final judgment authorizes it; and requiring the debtor to sign a promissory note for more than the debt. Number 13 is the most practical of all: no collection suit may be filed without first demanding payment from the debtor in writing, by certified mail with return receipt, and no court may take jurisdiction unless that requirement is pleaded and proven. Since the 2026 amendment there are two new prohibitions on medical debt, and the law is interpreted in harmony with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
What is it?
The law defines "collection agency" broadly: anyone in the business of collecting for another any account, bill or debt, and it expressly includes those who, operating under a name that mimics a collection agency, supply their clients with collection systems and form letters urging the debtor to pay, whether directly to the creditor or to the fictitious agency. That said, Article 3 takes out of the term those who collect as part of another business or profession: attorneys, banks, real estate brokers, public officers or people acting under court order, construction and finance companies, savings and loan associations, loan and finance companies, and insurance companies. Knowing which side the caller falls on changes what you can demand under this law.
Who can do it?
Anyone whose debt a collection agency is pursuing in Puerto Rico. The law imposes no requirements on the debtor to invoke it: these are duties and prohibitions borne by the agency. Article 17-B adds a useful procedural option: actions seeking compensation for violations of this law, under the Civil Code articles on obligations and damages, may be brought in the Court of First Instance or at the Department of Consumer Affairs, at the claimant’s option.
Requirements
Information pending verification.
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Confirm the caller is a collection agency
The law covers whoever is in the business of collecting for another. It does not cover, under Article 3, attorneys, banks, real estate brokers, public officers, people acting under court order, construction and finance companies, savings and loan associations, loan and finance companies or insurance companies, when the collection is directly related to that other business or profession. And it does cover whoever operates under a name mimicking a collection agency without being one.
Step 2: Ask for the license
No one may run a collection agency without first obtaining a license, one license is required per office, and the license must be posted in a visible place at the authorized premises and is non-transferable. Every license expires 31 December each year and is renewed by paying three hundred (300) dollars, with the renewal application filed no later than 1 December. No license is issued without a five thousand ($5,000) dollar bond in the Government’s favour, answering for the handling of collected money and for any loss or damage caused by breaching this law.
Step 3: Compare the call against the list of fifteen
No collection agency may: pursue collection without prior written authorization from the client; institute court proceedings on the client’s behalf without prior written authorization; fail to remit collected money to the client within 30 days of request; refuse to return documents deposited with an account; operate in a way implying it is a branch of a government agency or use seals and insignia mimicking one; retain money beyond the agreed fee; use or threaten physical violence; publish or threaten to publish a list of debtors or disclose information about the debt; require signing a promissory note for more than the debt; charge additional fees, its own collection costs or attorney fees never agreed to, absent a final judgment; intimidate with documents mimicking court papers; commingle client money with operating funds; and file a collection suit without first demanding payment in writing by certified mail with return receipt.
Step 4: If it is medical debt, look at the two new prohibitions
The 2026 amendment added two items to Article 17. No collection agency may obtain information about a consumer in connection with an attempt to collect a medical-expense debt, as that debt is defined in Article 3 of Act 364-2000. And none may make a false, deceptive or misleading representation that a medical-expense debt will be included in a consumer report or taken into account in their credit score.
Step 5: If they sue you, check the certified letter
Prohibition number 13 carries a procedural consequence most people do not know: no court may take jurisdiction over a money-collection action pursued by a collection agency unless compliance with the requirement of having demanded payment in writing, by certified mail with return receipt, is pleaded and proven. If a collection suit arrives and there was never such a letter, that is exactly what to raise.
Where to do it
The Department of Consumer Affairs administers this law: it issues and revokes licenses, investigates, subpoenas witnesses and may issue comply-or-desist orders after notice and hearing. Article 17-B lets you pick the forum to claim compensation: the Court of First Instance or DACO itself. You can file through serviciosenlinea.daco.pr.gov or see services and offices at daco.pr.gov.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
Two things this law does not do, worth knowing before you call. It does not erase the debt: it regulates how collection may happen, not whether you owe. And it does not cover everyone who collects: Article 3 excludes attorneys, banks, finance companies, insurers and others when collection is part of their own business or profession. On penalties: the Secretary may impose administrative fines between fifty (50) and five hundred (500) dollars per violation, and when the nature of the infraction warrants it may pursue criminal action instead of the fine; any violation is a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of no more than one thousand (1,000) dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both, at the Court’s discretion. A useful bridge for anyone looking for the federal standard: Article 17-A orders this law interpreted in harmony with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692 et seq. And if the debt is old, the separate question — whether it can still be claimed in court — is one of prescription, not of this law.
Common mistakes
- Paying collection costs or attorney fees never agreed to: item 10 forbids them absent a final, enforceable judgment.
- Signing a promissory note for more than what is owed, which the law expressly forbids.
- Being frightened by a paper that looks like a court document without being one: mimicking court papers is a prohibited practice.
- Believing an agency that presents itself as a government office; operating that way is prohibited.
- Not checking whether there was a certified letter with return receipt before a collection suit.
- Assuming the law covers the bank or finance company calling directly: Article 3 excludes them.
- Thinking the law erases the debt; it regulates collection, not the obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Can they publish my name over a debt?
No. Item 8 of Article 17 prohibits publishing or threatening to publish a list of debtors, as well as disclosing information about the debt.
Can they charge me an extra fee for the collection effort?
Item 10 forbids it: they may not charge or demand additional fees on top of the amount owed, nor the agency’s own costs of normal collection work, nor any other expense including attorney fees never agreed to, except where authorized by a final, enforceable judgment.
What if they sue me without ever writing to me?
Item 13 forbids filing a collection suit without first demanding payment from the debtor in writing, by certified mail with return receipt, and adds that no court may take jurisdiction unless compliance with that requirement is pleaded and proven.
Where do I claim if they broke the law?
Article 17-B lets you choose: actions seeking compensation for violations of this law, under the Civil Code articles on obligations and damages, may be filed in the Court of First Instance or at the Department of Consumer Affairs, at the claimant’s option.
And medical debts?
Since the 2026 amendment, no collection agency may obtain information about a consumer in connection with an attempt to collect a medical-expense debt as defined by Act 364-2000, nor make false, deceptive or misleading representations that such debt will be included in a consumer report or taken into account in their credit score.
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
- DACO online services
DACO
serviciosenlinea.daco.pr.gov
Last verified
August 23, 2026
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