Exequátur: making an out-of-state or foreign judgment valid in Puerto Rico

Exequátur validates and recognizes a judgment issued in another jurisdiction in Puerto Rico. For a US state court judgment to be valid here, it must have been issued by a court with jurisdiction over the person and the subject matter, by a court that observed due process of law, and not have been obtained by fraud. If the judgment comes from a foreign court, beyond all of the above the system under which it was issued must be distinguished by impartiality and by the absence of prejudice against a foreign person, it must have come from a competent court, the system must not be contrary to public order, and the judgment must not be contrary to basic principles of justice.

A party with an interest can start an exequátur proceeding, filing the action themselves or through legal representation. If you have a lawyer, they must be admitted to practise by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico; a lawyer authorized to practise in a US jurisdiction can request a courtesy admission from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, and the Judiciary recommends consulting Rule 12 of the Supreme Court Regulations for that process. Anyone litigating on their own can receive all case notifications by email, if they register it in the request.

• The judgment must have been issued by a court with jurisdiction over the person and the subject matter, that observed due process of law, and must not have been obtained by fraud.Verified against the official source
• If it comes from a foreign court, additionally: that the system be distinguished by impartiality and the absence of prejudice against a foreign person, that a competent court issued it, that the system not be contrary to public order, and that the judgment not be contrary to basic principles of justice.Verified against the official source
• Filing before the court of the place where the validation of the judgment will take effect.Verified against the official source
• For the ex parte petition: that it be sworn by all persons affected by the judgment whose validation is sought.Verified against the official source
• If the oath is taken by a notary from a US jurisdiction, it must be accompanied by a certification from a competent official — that jurisdiction’s Secretary of State, County Clerk, among others — validating that the notary is authorized to take oaths. It can also be sworn before a notary admitted in Puerto Rico or at the Clerk’s Office of the Court of First Instance where the petition will be filed.Verified against the official source
• Serving a copy of the complaint or petition and all documents on everyone affected by the judgment; on the family-affairs prosecutor of the Department of Justice in every case that may affect the interests of minors or incapacitated persons; on the prosecution in every case where, to achieve registration in the Property Registry, validation of judgments related to judicial claims is sought; and on the Secretary of Justice in any case the court considers of the highest public interest.Verified against the official source

• A certified, legible and complete copy of the judgment whose validation and recognition is sought.
• A faithful and exact Spanish translation of the judgment, if it was not originally written in Spanish or English. If it is in English, it can be filed in English.
• For divorce: the marriage certificate.
• For adoption: the minor’s birth record or certificate; the adopters’ marriage certificate if married; and the certification of the official’s authority to take oaths — Secretary of State, County Clerk — where applicable.
• For a change of first name, surname or gender marker: the birth record and the certification of the official’s authority to take oaths, where applicable.
• The model forms, by case: OAT 1847 (Complaint) and OAT 1846 (Petition) for adoption exequátur, and OAT 1968 (Petition) for name, surname or gender-marker change cases.

1. 1

   Step 1: Check the judgment meets the requirements

   From a US state court: that it was issued by a court with jurisdiction over the person and the subject matter, that the court observed due process of law, and that it was not obtained by fraud. From a foreign court: all of the above, plus that the system under which it was issued be distinguished by impartiality and the absence of prejudice against a foreign person, that a competent court issued it, that the system not be contrary to public order, and that the judgment not be contrary to basic principles of justice.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose the route: $90.00 complaint or $78.00 ex parte petition

   The interested party has two options. File a complaint against all other persons affected by the judgment whose validation and recognition is sought, with $90.00 in internal revenue stamps. Or file an ex parte request sworn by all persons affected by that judgment, with $78.00 in stamps. The second is cheaper but requires all of them to sign under oath.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get the oath right: that is where most filings fail

   Petitions can be sworn before a notary from a US jurisdiction, but in that case the notarization must come with a certification from a competent official — that jurisdiction’s Secretary of State, the County Clerk, among others — validating that the notary is authorized to take oaths. They can also be sworn before a notary admitted in Puerto Rico, or at the Clerk’s Offices of the Courts of First Instance where the petition will be filed.

4. 4

   Step 4: File in the right court, which is not where you live

   The complaint is filed before the court of the place where the validation will take effect. The Judiciary’s own examples: to validate the adoption of a minor born in Puerto Rico but adopted elsewhere, the court is that of the municipality where the minor was born; to validate a change of first name, surname or gender marker, that of the municipality where the person was born; and to validate a divorce granted elsewhere that will liquidate the conjugal partnership, the competent court is that of the municipality where the assets are. The Judiciary directory is organized by judicial region.

5. 5

   Step 5: Assemble the file

   A certified, legible and complete copy of the judgment, and a faithful and exact Spanish translation if it was not originally written in Spanish or English — if it is in English, it can be filed in English. Then whatever the case calls for: divorce, the marriage certificate; adoption, the minor’s birth record or certificate, the adopters’ marriage certificate if married, and the certification of the official who took the oath where applicable; name, surname or gender-marker change, the birth record and that same certification where applicable. The court can request any other documentation it considers necessary.

6. 6

   Step 6: Serve everyone who must be served

   A copy of the complaint or ex parte petition and all documents is served on: everyone affected by the judgment; the Department of Justice’s family-affairs prosecutor, in every case that may affect the interests of minors or incapacitated persons — you can ask Clerk’s Office staff for the email so they make the initial notification; the prosecution, in every case where, to achieve registration in the Property Registry, validation of judgments related to judicial claims is sought; and the Secretary of Justice, in any case the court considers of the highest public interest.

7. 7

   Step 7: Serve process, and if the party lives away there are two routes

   In an exequátur complaint the opposing party must be served. If they live in Puerto Rico, service can go through the Marshals’ Office of the court where you filed, paying $30.00 in internal revenue stamps plus mileage at $3.00 per mile; contact that office first to learn how many miles. If they live outside Puerto Rico, service can be by waiver, which happens when you ask the other party to agree not to be formally served. If they refuse, you must ask the court for authorization to serve by publication: the court orders and authorizes publication of a notice of the complaint in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico, you handle the publication, and afterwards that notice, with a copy of the complaint and the summons, is mailed with return receipt to the affected party.

8. 8

   Step 8: The hearing, which can be by videoconference

   If a hearing is needed, the interested person can request in the complaint or ex parte petition that it be held by videoconference; granting it is at the court’s discretion. On the day of the hearing you must present the documents that accompanied the complaint or petition. After the hearing, the judge will issue a resolution validating the other jurisdiction’s judgment.

At the Clerk’s Office of the Court of First Instance of the place where the validation will take effect: where the adopted minor was born, where the person was born for a name or gender-marker change, or where the assets are for a divorce that will liquidate the conjugal partnership. The Judiciary directory is organized by judicial region.

• Filing in the court where you live: it is filed where the validation will take effect, which may be where the minor was born, where you were born, or where the assets are.
• Swearing before a US notary without the official’s certification — Secretary of State, County Clerk — validating that the notary can take oaths.
• Filing a plain copy of the judgment: it must be a certified, legible and complete copy.
• Translating a judgment that is in English: only one not written in Spanish or English needs translating.
• Forgetting to serve the family-affairs prosecutor when the case may affect the interests of minors or incapacitated persons.
• Choosing the $78.00 ex parte petition without being able to get every affected person to sign it under oath.
• Relying on an out-of-state lawyer without admission or courtesy admission from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Judiciary forms catalog (OAT 1846, 1847, 1968)

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Judiciary directory (judicial regions)

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr