In short
The section closing the suretyship chapter lists five grounds of extinction, and three of them turn not on what the debtor does but on what the creditor and the surety do. The suretyship is extinguished by payment or performance of the principal obligation; by novation of the principal obligation, even where the creditor reserves its rights against the surety, if the surety has not consented; by an extension given by the creditor without the surety’s consent; by the creditor’s fault or negligence in the excussion of the property pointed out by the surety; and by the passing of five years from the granting of the general suretyship guaranteeing future obligations, without any having arisen. Subsection (b) deserves two readings because it is emphatic: the reservation of rights the creditor makes does not save the suretyship if the surety did not consent to the novation. And subsection (c) is the one most people discover too late: if the creditor gives the debtor more time to pay and does not involve you, your suretyship ends. Subsection (d) closes the circle with the benefit of excussion: if you pointed out the debtor’s property and the creditor was negligent in pursuing it, the suretyship is extinguished. Article 1496 adds a closing rule that prevents resurrections: the eviction of the property the creditor has received in payment has no effect whatsoever on the extinguished suretyship. That is, if the creditor collected with an asset and later loses it to a third party with a better right, that loss does not revive your suretyship. What these articles do not do is define novation, extension or eviction — each is its own subject elsewhere in the Code — nor say how the surety’s consent is given or proved.
What is it?
They are Articles 1495 and 1496 of the Civil Code of 2020: the five grounds on which a suretyship is extinguished and the rule that later eviction does not revive it.
Who can do it?
Sureties and creditors under a suretyship contract governed by the Puerto Rico Civil Code. This is not criminal bail.
Requirements
- The suretyship is extinguished by payment or performance of the principal obligation.Verified against the official source
- It is extinguished by novation of the principal obligation if the surety did not consent, even where the creditor reserves its rights against it.Verified against the official source
- It is extinguished by an extension given by the creditor without the surety’s consent.Verified against the official source
- It is extinguished by the creditor’s fault or negligence in the excussion of the property pointed out by the surety.Verified against the official source
- It is extinguished by the passing of five years from the granting of the general suretyship guaranteeing future obligations, without any having arisen.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The obvious ground: that it be paid
Article 1495(a): payment or performance of the principal obligation. Once the guaranteed obligation is met, the suretyship ends with it.
Step 2: If they change the debt without involving you
Subsection (b): novation of the principal obligation, even where the creditor reserves its rights against the surety, if the surety has not consented. The creditor’s reservation is not enough: your consent is needed.
Step 3: If they give the debtor more time
Subsection (c): an extension given by the creditor without the surety’s consent. A deadline extension agreed between creditor and debtor behind your back extinguishes your suretyship. It is one of the chapter’s most useful and least known rules.
Step 4: If the creditor was negligent with the property you pointed out
Subsection (d): the creditor’s fault or negligence in the excussion of the property pointed out by the surety. This subsection presupposes you pointed property out, so doing it in writing and dated matters. The Code does not say what counts as fault or negligence here.
Step 5: If five years passed and nothing ever arose
Subsection (e): the passing of five years from the granting of the general suretyship guaranteeing future obligations, without any having arisen. Both conditions go together: a general suretyship of future obligations, and none having arisen.
Step 6: Do not confuse it with the other two clocks
This chapter measures three periods from the granting and each does something different: four years for the surety to attach or demand guarantees; five for the general suretyship to stop extending to what is new; and these five to extinguish it where no future obligation arose. The Code does not relate them, and this guide does not merge them.
Step 7: Once extinguished, it does not revive
Article 1496: the eviction of the property the creditor has received in payment has no effect whatsoever on the extinguished suretyship. If the creditor collected with an asset and then loses it to someone with a better right, that loss is its own: it does not restore your status as surety.
Step 8: What these articles do not define
They do not define novation, extension or eviction here — each is its own subject elsewhere in the Code — do not say how the surety’s consent is given or proved, and describe no procedure or fee. This guide fills none of that in.
Where to do it
The extinction is raised against the creditor that claims, and disputes are decided by the Court of First Instance. The Code names no agency for this chapter.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If the suretyship is still alive and you want out, the duration section allows retracting an indeterminate-time one, with its own guide. If they claim from you before the debtor, see the benefit of excussion. If you already paid, the section on effects between surety and debtor says what you recover. If your case is criminal bail, that is another subject. These articles do not define novation, extension or eviction, do not say how your consent is proved, and describe no procedure. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Not learning of an extension granted to the debtor: without your consent, it extinguishes the suretyship.
- Accepting that the creditor’s reservation of rights saves the suretyship after an unconsented novation: subsection (b) says it does not.
- Consenting in writing to a novation or extension without weighing that this keeps your suretyship alive.
- Pointing out the debtor’s property verbally and undated, then being unable to prove subsection (d).
- Counting the period of subsection (e) from a date other than the granting of the general suretyship.
- Applying subsection (e) to a general suretyship where obligations did arise: it requires that none arose.
- Confusing those five years with the other two periods the chapter counts from the granting.
- Believing the suretyship revives if the creditor later loses the asset it received in payment.
Frequently asked questions
The creditor gave the debtor more time without telling me. Am I still a surety?
Article 1495(c) extinguishes the suretyship on an extension given by the creditor without the surety’s consent.
They changed the debt but the creditor said it reserved its rights against me.
Article 1495(b) extinguishes the suretyship on novation of the principal obligation even where the creditor makes that reservation, if the surety has not consented.
I pointed out the debtor’s property and the creditor did nothing. Does that free me?
Article 1495(d) extinguishes the suretyship on the creditor’s fault or negligence in the excussion of the property pointed out by the surety. The Code does not define here what counts as negligence.
The creditor collected with a house and later lost it. Does my suretyship revive?
No. Article 1496 says the eviction of the property the creditor has received in payment has no effect whatsoever on the extinguished suretyship.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 10, 2026
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Did you find out-of-date information?
Standing surety: never more than the debtor, but costs are included
Article 1475 bars the surety from owing more than the debtor, and 1474 folds accessories, costs and fees into the suretyship.
Getting out of a suretyship: retract by notice, but only going forward
Article 1478 lets an indeterminate-time suretyship be retracted at any moment; from the notice it stops covering new obligations.
They come at you as surety: the debtor’s property goes first
Article 1483 makes the creditor exhaust the debtor’s property before turning to the surety. Article 1484 lists five exceptions.
Sued as a surety: you also get to raise the debtor’s defences
Article 1485 lets the surety raise the debtor’s defences even if waived, and 1486 strips force from a judgement it was never notified of.
You overpaid as co-surety: you recover from the others, but share the loss
Article 1493 subrogates the overpaying co-surety against the others, and 1494 spreads the insolvent one’s loss among all — including it.
Swapping the debt for another: when the old one is really extinguished
Changing the deal is not enough: it must be declared categorically or both obligations must be totally incompatible.