In short
Article 11 of Act 210-2015, the Property Registry Act, provides that foreign judgments or those issued by United States courts are recordable provided they are contained in a Court of First Instance resolution through an exequátur proceeding, and that the prosecution or the Family Procurator be given notice of that proceeding and may appear to protect the public interest. That article already excluded judgments and resolutions of the federal court system from the proceeding. Act 94 of 2026 added a second, more specific exclusion: judgments and resolutions of a United States state court are also excluded from exequátur when a certified copy is presented as a complementary document to the public instrument being examined. That exclusion applies solely for the purpose of proving the civil status of the appearing parties at the time the instrument was granted, when that civil status does not match what the Registry shows for the property. The same law added Rule 55.7 to the Rules of Civil Procedure to exclude those same cases from the Rule 55 procedures.
What is it?
It is a specific exception to an expensive step. If you divorced, married or otherwise had your civil status changed by a United States state court judgment, and you are now granting a deed over property in Puerto Rico where the Registry still shows the previous civil status, that judgment no longer needs an exequátur: a certified copy presented as a complementary document is enough, for that purpose alone.
Who can do it?
Anyone granting a public instrument over property in Puerto Rico who needs to prove their civil status at the time of granting through a judgment or resolution of a United States state court, when that civil status does not match what the Property Registry shows for that property. The exclusion does not apply to judgments from other countries, and those of the United States federal system were already excluded separately in the same article.
Requirements
- That the judgment or resolution be from a United States state court. The exclusion is written for those courts, not for those of other countries.Verified against the official source
- That a certified copy of that judgment be presented as a complementary document to the public instrument being examined.Verified against the official source
- That the purpose be to prove the appearing parties' civil status at the time the instrument was granted, and that this civil status not match what the Registry shows for the property. Outside that purpose, the exclusion does not apply.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Confirm your situation falls within the exclusion
Three conditions at once: a judgment from a United States state court; presented as a certified copy and as a complementary document to the public instrument being examined; and used solely to prove the appearing parties' civil status at the time of granting, when that status does not match what the Registry shows for the property. If one is missing, exequátur is still required.
Step 2: Know what still needs exequátur
Article 11 keeps the general rule: foreign judgments or those issued by United States courts are recordable provided they are contained in a Court of First Instance resolution through an exequátur proceeding, of which the prosecution or the Family Procurator, as the case may be, is given notice and may appear if they see fit to protect the public interest. What Act 94-2026 did was carve a specific piece out of that rule, not repeal it.
Step 3: Tell this exclusion apart from the federal one
The same article already excluded from exequátur the judgments and resolutions issued by the United States federal court system. That exclusion is different and broader: it is not limited to civil status or to the complementary-document route. The new one is for state courts, and it is the one that carries conditions.
Step 4: Expect the mirror in Rule 55
The same law added Rule 55.7 to the 2009 Rules of Civil Procedure, expressly excluding from the Rule 55 procedures those same judgments and resolutions of a United States state court when a certified copy is presented at the Property Registry as a complementary document to the public instrument being examined. The two pieces say the same thing from both sides.
Where to do it
At the Property Registry, when presenting the public instrument with its complementary document. Where the exclusion does not apply, exequátur is handled before the Court of First Instance.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
This guide describes Articles 11 and 280 of Act 210-2015 and the new Rule 55.7 as Act 94-2026 left them, which is what we read. We did not read the rest of Act 210-2015, the rest of Rule 55, or authority on exequátur, so this guide does not explain how an exequátur is handled when one is needed. The exclusion is narrow: if the judgment will be used for anything beyond proving the appearing parties' civil status — for example, to record the adjudication of an asset — this exclusion does not cover you. The law publishes no cost or time. The amendment to Article 280, updating the requirements to be appointed Registrar, is internal and we do not develop it. PRFácil does not file documents at the Registry or give legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Reading it as a general exemption for out-of-jurisdiction judgments: it covers only United States state courts, and only to prove civil status.
- Using the exclusion to record something beyond civil status: the text expressly limits it to that purpose.
- Confusing it with the federal-court exclusion, which already existed in the same article and carries none of those conditions.
- Presenting the judgment on its own: the law speaks of a certified copy presented as a complementary document to the public instrument being examined.
- Assuming it applies when the Registry already shows your current civil status: the condition is precisely that it does not match.
Frequently asked questions
I divorced in the United States. Do I need exequátur to sell my house here?
If the judgment is from a United States state court and you present a certified copy as a complementary document to the public instrument, solely to prove your civil status at the time of granting and because that status does not match what the Registry shows for the property, Act 94-2026 excludes it from the exequátur proceeding. Outside that use, the general rule still applies.
What if the judgment is from another country?
The exclusion this law added is written for judgments and resolutions of a United States state court. Foreign judgments remain under the general rule of Article 11, which requires the exequátur proceeding.
Why was it passed?
The law's own title says it: to facilitate legal traffic and minimise the cost of legal transactions for citizens. Exequátur is a lawsuit, with its cost and its time, and until now it was needed even when the only thing to be proven was that the person was already divorced.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico
Justicia
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 27, 2026
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