In short
After Irma and María, the Legislature fixed a detail that cost days: before, freezing prices meant waiting for DACO’s Secretary to publish an order. Act 52-2019 inverted it. When DACO’s Secretary has not issued a prior order freezing prices or profit margins, prices of essential goods are frozen automatically from the moment the President of the United States or the Governor of Puerto Rico declares a state of emergency or disaster, and stay frozen until that emergency or disaster ceases. The Secretary keeps full discretion: they may issue an order modifying the automatic freeze to address circumstances arising during the emergency, and may issue freeze orders for goods not covered by the automatic one. The penalty is strong and direct: natural or juridical persons who breach the law or the regulations may be fined by the Department of Consumer Affairs ten thousand (10,000) dollars per infraction. What the law does not list is which goods and at what prices: that lives in DACO’s regulation, which the law itself ordered brought into line within thirty (30) days, including the list of goods and services subject to the freeze with their minimum and maximum permitted prices.
What is it?
It is a short law setting public policy and a penalty. Its Article 2 declares as public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico the automatic freezing of prices of essential goods and services during emergencies, so that all residents of the island have a reasonable opportunity to access them. Its definitions are not its own: Article 3 points to Act 228 of 1942, known as the "Insular Supplies Act", and to DACO’s regulation on freezing and setting prices of essential goods in emergencies. And Article 5 clarifies this law does not limit the Secretary’s discretion nor repeal the Insular Supplies Act or Act 278-2000 that complements it.
Who can do it?
Nothing to apply for and no qualifying: the freeze is a duty borne by whoever sells, and it applies to essential goods and services during the state of emergency or disaster. The trigger is a declaration by the President of the United States or the Governor of Puerto Rico, and it runs from that moment until the declared state of emergency or disaster ceases.
Requirements
Information pending verification.
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Confirm there is an emergency declaration
The trigger is written precisely: the automatic freeze runs from the moment the President of the United States or the Governor of Puerto Rico declares a state of emergency or disaster, and until it ceases. DACO need publish nothing for prices to be frozen; the Secretary’s order is the exception, not the requirement.
Step 2: Save the evidence of the price
A receipt, a photo of the label or sign, the date, and the establishment’s name and address. The law does not describe the complaint procedure — that lives in DACO’s regulations — but any claim starts with being able to show what was charged, where and when, and comparing it with the price before the emergency.
Step 3: File the complaint with DACO
The Department of Consumer Affairs is the one that fines: the law authorizes it to impose ten thousand (10,000) dollars per infraction on juridical or natural persons who breach this law or the regulations published under it. Services and regional offices are at daco.pr.gov and online filing at serviciosenlinea.daco.pr.gov.
Step 4: Watch for goods the automatic freeze does not cover
The automatic freeze falls on essential goods. Article 4 itself anticipates the gap and closes it with a power: DACO’s Secretary may issue price freeze orders for essential goods covering goods not contemplated in the automatic freeze, and may issue an order modifying the automatic one to address any circumstance arising during the emergency.
Where to do it
Department of Consumer Affairs. It is the body the law empowers to fine and the one that maintains the regulation with the list of goods and services subject to the freeze. Check services and regional offices at daco.pr.gov, or file online at serviciosenlinea.daco.pr.gov.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The question this guide cannot answer, and why: exactly which goods are frozen and up to what price. Act 52-2019 does not list them. Article 6 ordered DACO’s Secretary to bring its regulations into line within thirty (30) days and to include in the amendments a list of the goods and services subject to the freeze, along with their minimum and maximum permitted prices; Article 3 points to the 1942 Insular Supplies Act and to DACO’s price-freeze regulation, identified in the compilation as Regulation 5876, repealed and replaced by Regulation 6811. We did not read that regulation, so we publish no lists or caps: they must be checked with DACO, which also updates them. One precision about what the law does preserve: Article 5 clarifies it does not limit the Secretary’s discretion to issue orders freezing prices or profit margins, nor to determine the strategy, and that it does not repeal the Insular Supplies Act or Act 278-2000, its complementary emergency law.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for DACO to publish an order: since 2019 the freeze is automatic once the emergency is declared.
- Believing only the Governor’s declaration counts: the President of the United States’ declaration also triggers the freeze.
- Claiming without a receipt or a photo of the price and date.
- Looking in the law for the list of frozen goods: it is in DACO’s regulation, not in the statute’s text.
- Thinking the freeze ends when the event passes: it runs until the declared state of emergency or disaster ceases.
- Assuming a good outside the automatic list cannot be frozen: the Secretary may issue additional orders.
Frequently asked questions
Does DACO need to publish an order?
Not for the freeze to exist. The law says that where DACO’s Secretary has not issued a prior order, prices of essential goods are frozen automatically from the emergency or disaster declaration by the President or the Governor, until it ceases.
How big is the fine?
Ten thousand (10,000) dollars per infraction, imposed by the Department of Consumer Affairs on juridical or natural persons who breach the law or the regulations published under it.
Which goods are frozen?
The "essential goods", but the concrete list is not in this law. Article 6 orders DACO to include in its regulations the list of goods and services subject to the freeze with their minimum and maximum permitted prices, and Article 3 points to the 1942 Insular Supplies Act and DACO’s regulation on the subject. That list must be checked with the Department.
How long does the freeze last?
Until the declared state of emergency or disaster ceases. The law ties it to the declaration, not to how long the weather event lasts.
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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