In short
Act 162-2007 creates an Online Directory, within the website of the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, listing the participating gas concessions that offer gas-dispensing assistance to persons with disabilities who request it. Every participating gas concession shall have available to a person with disabilities, upon request, a gas-dispensing assistance service, and the owner is authorized to use signs identifying it as a member of the programme. The participating concession may not charge any fee for this service: the person is charged the gasoline rate corresponding to self service. The Act applies to all gas concessions dispensing gasoline and diesel that voluntarily agree to be part of the Online Directory, and it also applies to persons with disabilities duly identified by a removable placard or licence plate. The Directory must contain the physical address and telephone number of participating concessions, so the person may call ahead and be assisted upon arriving at the station. The Advocate shall develop periodic promotions of the service and shall publish every six (6) months, in a newspaper of general circulation and in Spanish and English, orientation notices about this Act.
What is it?
It is a voluntary programme of gas stations that commit to assisting anyone who asks for help pumping gas because of a disability. What matters is not only that the help exists: the law forbids charging you for it and orders that you be charged the self-service rate, not the full-service one.
Who can do it?
The Act defines a “person with disabilities” as any person who has a physical, mental or sensory impairment that substantially limits one or more essential life activities; has a history or medical record of a physical, mental or sensory impairment; or is regarded as having a physical, mental or sensory impairment. The applicability article adds that the Act shall apply to persons with disabilities duly identified by a removable placard or licence plate.
Requirements
- That the station be a participant: the Act applies to concessions that voluntarily agree to join the Online Directory.Verified against the official source
- That the person with disabilities be duly identified by a removable placard or licence plate.Verified against the official source
- That the person request the assistance: the service is provided “upon request.”Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Ask for it: the service is provided on request
The law does not require the station to guess. “Every participating gas concession shall have available to a person with disabilities, upon request, a gas-dispensing assistance service.” The request is part of the mechanism.
Step 2: They cannot charge you for the help
This is the point that saves the most money and that fewest people know: “The participating gas concession may not charge any fee for this service. The person shall be charged the gasoline rate corresponding to self service.” The statement of motives explains where the rule comes from: people with disabilities used full service and paid more for it because they had no alternative.
Step 3: It is a voluntary programme, and worth knowing
We say it plainly so nobody arrives with the wrong expectation: the Act applies “to all gas concessions dispensing gasoline and diesel that voluntarily agree to be part of the Online Directory.” A station that did not enroll is not under this Act. That is why the Directory exists: so you know which ones did.
Step 4: Call before you arrive
The law designed the Directory with that use in mind. It must contain participating concessions’ physical address and telephone number, “so the person may call ahead and be assisted upon arriving at the station.” That is the difference between waiting at the pump and being expected.
Step 5: Look for the programme sign
The law authorizes the concession owner “to use signs identifying it as a member of the gas-dispensing assistance programme for persons with disabilities.” It is an authorization, not a duty: some participating stations may have no sign, which is why the Directory and calling ahead remain the surest route.
Step 6: The semiannual notices
A verifiable detail that helps you find information: the Advocate is ordered to develop periodic promotions of the service and to publish every six (6) months, in a newspaper of general circulation, in Spanish and English, orientation notices about this Act.
Where to do it
The Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities administers this Act’s Online Directory and must promote it. The Act orders the Directory created within that Office’s existing website but does not publish its address, and we do not guess government addresses: ask the Office for the Directory directly. The Act also orders the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Veterans Advocate Office to collaborate in publicizing the Directory, including through their websites. If your issue is parking rather than the pump, that is the disability placard guide.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
What this Act does not do, said before it disappoints you. It does not bind every gas station: the programme is voluntary and applies only to those that agreed to join the Directory. It sets no penalty for a participating concession that charges for the assistance — we read all seven articles and there is no penalties article — so we publish no fine the law does not have. And we do not publish the Online Directory’s address: the Act orders it created within the Advocate’s Office page but does not say what that address is, and we never guess government URLs. What we also did not read: Public Law 101-336 (ADA) and the Advocate Office’s organic act. So we publish no ADA obligations and no Office procedures beyond what this Act provides. Processing time is left unverified because the Act sets no deadlines. The three thousand dollar ($3,000) appropriation the Act makes is to establish the Directory in fiscal year 2007-2008, not a benefit to the citizen.
Common mistakes
- Paying the full-service rate for the assistance: the law orders you charged the self-service rate.
- Assuming every station is bound: only those that voluntarily joined the Directory.
- Expecting the service without asking: the law conditions it on the person requesting it.
- Going without the removable placard or licence plate: applicability is defined by that identification.
- Looking only for the programme sign: using it is authorized, not required.
- Not calling ahead: the Directory includes the phone number precisely for that.
Frequently asked questions
Can they charge me for helping me pump gas?
No, if the station is a participant. The participating gas concession may not charge any fee for this service, and you are charged the gasoline rate corresponding to self service.
Does every gas station have to give me this service?
No. The Act applies to all gas concessions dispensing gasoline and diesel that voluntarily agree to be part of the Online Directory. It is a voluntary programme.
How do I know which stations participate?
Through the Online Directory the Act orders created within the website of the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities, with each participating concession’s physical address and telephone number. The Act does not publish that Directory’s address, so it is best to ask the Office for it.
Does it also apply to diesel?
Yes. The applicability article says the Act applies to all gas concessions “dispensing gasoline and diesel” that voluntarily agree to join the Directory.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Oficina del Procurador del Paciente (OPP)
Procurador del Paciente
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 24, 2026
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