In short
When a court enters judgment for a sum of money, that sum earns interest, and the rate is certified by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. OCIF publishes a table of the interest rate payable on judgment amounts, certified under Regulation 78-1 of 25 October 1988. The table has two columns: one for government and one for everyone else, and the rate is set half-yearly, 1 January to 30 June and 1 July to 31 December. In the half-year current when this guide was verified — 1 July to 31 December 2026 — the rate is 4.00% for government and 7.75% for others; in the preceding half-year it was 4.00% and 8.00%. The table is not only about the present: it begins in 1985 and carries a row for every half-year, so it can be used to locate the rate that applied when an older judgment was entered.
What is it?
It is the official table of interest rates applicable to court judgments published by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. Its own page describes it thus: the interest rate payable on the amount of judgments, as certified by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, under Regulation 78-1 of 25 October 1988.
Who can do it?
It matters to anyone with a money judgment in their favour or against them, and to anyone computing what is owed in an old case. The table distinguishes two rates per half-year, one under the heading GOBIERNO% and the other under OTROS%; those headings are the only guide the table itself gives as to which column fits which case, and we go no further than that.
Requirements
- Knowing the date that places your case in the table: the rate is set half-yearly, 1 January to 30 June and 1 July to 31 December.Verified against the official source
- Knowing which of the two columns applies: the table heads them GOBIERNO% and OTROS%.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The rate in force
In the table as OCIF publishes it, the last row is the period 1 July to 31 December 2026: 4.00% in the government column and 7.75% in the others column. The previous row, 1 January to 30 June 2026, reads 4.00% and 8.00%. Since the rate is certified half-yearly, it is worth looking at the table directly before computing anything: the one we read runs to December 2026.
Step 2: Two columns, not one
For each period the table carries two different rates, under the headings GOBIERNO% and OTROS%. It was not always so: up to 5 July 1985 both columns read 6.00, and from 6 July 1985 to 31 December 1988 both read 12.00. The two columns part company from 1 January 1989, when the government one drops to 8.50 and the others column stays at 11.50.
Step 3: To place an old judgment
The table starts in 1985 and carries a row for every half-year without skipping any, so it can be followed year by year. Some stretches help you orient: there is a long plateau of 0.50 for government and 4.25 for others running from the first half of 2009 to the first half of 2016, reappearing from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2022. The jump comes in the second half of 2022, at 2.00 and 5.00, and continues in 2023 with 4.50 and 8.00 in the first half and 5.50 and 9.25 in the second.
Step 4: Where the authority comes from
OCIF’s page cites Regulation 78-1 of 25 October 1988: the rates it publishes are those certified by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions under that regulation. It is the only legal basis the page mentions.
Step 5: What this table does not tell you
And it is a lot, so it is worth bearing in mind before doing sums. It does not say from what date interest runs in your case, nor whether it is simple or compound, nor which of the two columns fits a particular suit beyond their headings, nor how it relates to pre-judgment interest. We did not read Regulation 78-1 — the page cites it but does not link it — and we will not reconstruct what it says from memory. For a live case, your lawyer or the court itself answers that.
Where to do it
There is nothing to apply for: the table is public information OCIF publishes on its Interest Applicable to Court Judgments page. OCIF is at 1492 Ave. Ponce de León, Suite 600, Centro Europa Building, San Juan, and its telephone is 787-723-3131. It is the court, not OCIF, that enforces a judgment and collects the interest.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If someone tells you judgments in Puerto Rico pay a fixed rate, they do not: it is certified half-yearly and it changes. If you are computing an old judgment, do not use today’s rate — find the row for your half-year, because the difference between 0.50% and 8.00% is not small. If the debtor is the government, the table has a separate column. And if you need to know from when interest runs or how it is computed, this table does not say and this guide will not invent it: ask your lawyer or the court. Two honest caveats: the table we read runs to December 2026, so check the current one before computing; and we did not read Regulation 78-1, the legal basis the page itself cites, partly because OGP’s virtual library is still serving an expired certificate.
Common mistakes
- Applying today’s rate to a judgment entered years ago, when the table carries a row for every half-year since 1985.
- Using the wrong column: the table separates GOBIERNO% from OTROS%.
- Believing judgment interest is fixed, when it is certified every six months.
- Taking the table as if it explained from when interest runs or how it is computed: it does not.
- Going to OCIF to collect on the judgment: OCIF certifies the rate, the court enforces.
- Keeping an old copy of the table instead of looking at the one OCIF publishes at the moment of computing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current interest on judgments?
In the table we read, for the period 1 July to 31 December 2026: 4.00% for government and 7.75% for others. Check the current table before computing.
Why are there two percentages?
The table carries a column headed GOBIERNO% and another OTROS%. Those headings are the only guide it gives as to which fits which case.
Who sets that rate?
The Commissioner of Financial Institutions certifies it, under Regulation 78-1 of 25 October 1988, and OCIF publishes it.
I have a 2012 judgment. What rate applies?
In the table, both halves of 2012 appear at 0.50% for government and 4.25% for others. From when interest runs in your case is another question, and the table does not answer it.
Where do I get the table?
On OCIF’s Interest Applicable to Court Judgments page, which links the PDF with every row since 1985.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF)
OCIF
docs.pr.gov
- OCIF — Interest applicable to court judgments
ocif
www.ocif.pr.gov
Last verified
September 2, 2026
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