In short
Rule 8.7.2 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 imposes an obligation few know: persons engaged in installing advertisements shall provide space on them to be used for publishing public service advertisements. The amount goes by scale. Whoever holds from one to thirty advertising spaces shall make one space available; from thirty-one to one hundred, two spaces; from one hundred and one to one hundred and fifty, three; from one hundred and fifty-one to two hundred, four; and whoever holds more than two hundred spaces, five. And there is accounting: all persons engaged in installing advertisements shall certify annually to OGPe the number of spaces they have available and the number they made available for public service advertisements. The rule’s second part is for digital boards. At the request of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, whoever holds digital advertising boards shall provide a specific space, identified and selected by the Bureau, for sketches and information on wanted criminals, Plan Rosa, the Amber Alert, emergency situations, and Police information and contact number. The Bureau provides the advertisement in the appropriate format and the board owner’s only responsibility is its faithful transmission without changes to the design; altering it carries a five-hundred-dollar fine. That space may not be of smaller size nor shorter duration than the other advertisements projected on the board. And refusal to provide the service results in an initial administrative fine of ten thousand dollars, rising to twelve thousand five hundred after thirty days and then five thousand more for every thirty days of non-compliance.
What is it?
It is Rule 8.7.2 of Chapter 8.7 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, within the signs and advertisements chapter. It does not govern a billboard’s size or permit, but a public service obligation falling on whoever is engaged in installing advertisements: giving up part of their spaces for public service advertisements, certifying it annually to OGPe, and — if the board is digital — reserving a space for the Police for alerts and public safety notices. The rule also carries the regime of fines for failing that obligation.
Who can do it?
The obligation to provide space for public service advertisements falls on persons engaged in installing advertisements, and the number of spaces is determined by the number of advertising spaces they hold. The annual certification to OGPe is rendered by all persons engaged in installing advertisements. And the obligation to provide space to the Police falls on persons holding digital advertising boards, at the request of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.
Requirements
- Providing space on the advertisements to be used for publishing public service advertisements.Verified against the official source
- Whoever holds from one to thirty advertising spaces: making one space available for a public service advertisement.Verified against the official source
- Whoever holds from thirty-one to one hundred spaces: making two spaces available for public service advertisements.Verified against the official source
- Whoever holds from one hundred and one to one hundred and fifty spaces: making three spaces available; from one hundred and fifty-one to two hundred: four spaces; and more than two hundred spaces: five spaces.Verified against the official source
- Certifying annually to OGPe the number of advertising spaces available and the number of spaces made available for placing public service advertisements.Verified against the official source
- On digital advertising boards, at the Police Bureau’s request: providing a specific space, identified and selected by the Bureau, for sketches and information on wanted criminals, Plan Rosa, Amber Alert, emergency situations, and Police information and contact number.Verified against the official source
- Faithfully transmitting the advertisement the Police Bureau provides, without changes to the design supplied.Verified against the official source
- That the space provided to the Police Bureau for broadcasting public safety advertisements not be of smaller size nor shorter duration than the other advertisements projected on each digital board.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The underlying obligation
The rule fits in one sentence and applies to the whole industry: persons engaged in installing advertisements shall provide space on them to be used for publishing public service advertisements. It is neither voluntary nor dependent on a request: it is a condition of operating in that business, and the concrete amount is set by the next section’s scale.
Step 2: The scale of spaces
There are five tiers, counted by the advertising spaces the person holds. From one to thirty spaces: one space made available for a public service advertisement. From thirty-one to one hundred: two spaces. From one hundred and one to one hundred and fifty: three spaces. From one hundred and fifty-one to two hundred: four spaces. And whoever holds more than two hundred advertising spaces: five spaces. Note the scale flattens quickly: going from thirty to a hundred spaces adds only one public service space, and from two hundred up the figure no longer rises.
Step 3: The annual certification to OGPe
Section 8.7.2.2 puts the accounting for that obligation in the industry’s own hands: all persons engaged in installing advertisements shall certify annually to OGPe the number of advertising spaces they have available and the number of spaces they made available for placing public service advertisements. That is two figures, not one: how many spaces are held and how many were given up.
Step 4: The five contents the Police may request
At the request of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, persons holding digital advertising boards shall provide a specific space, identified and selected by the Bureau, for publishing five things: sketches and information on wanted criminals; Plan Rosa; the Amber Alert; emergency situations; and Police information and contact number. The space is not chosen by the board’s owner: the Bureau identifies and selects it.
Step 5: Transmitting without changing anything
The division of responsibility is explicit: the Bureau shall provide the advertisement in the appropriate format, and the digital board owner’s only responsibility is its faithful transmission without changes to the design provided. And there is a concrete penalty for touching it: altering the advertisement provided carries a five-hundred-dollar fine. Besides, the space provided to the Bureau for broadcasting public safety advertisements may not be of smaller size nor shorter duration than the other advertisements projected on each digital board. A note on the source: that last sentence appears twice word for word, inside Section 8.7.2.3 and again as the whole content of Section 8.7.2.4; we publish it once and record the duplication.
Step 6: The ladder of fines for refusing
Refusal to provide this public safety service results in the initial imposition of a ten-thousand-dollar administrative fine, which increases to twelve thousand five hundred dollars after thirty days; and in subsequent months the fine increases by five thousand dollars for every thirty days of non-compliance with what is requested. That is, the fine does not freeze: it grows for as long as the non-compliance lasts.
Step 7: What happens if the fine is not paid
The offender has a term of thirty days to pay the fine, after which the permits granted by OGPe for operating advertisements and signs are provisionally suspended until full payment is made. And there is a reporting route: where this chapter is not complied with, the Police Bureau or any governmental entity shall notify the Planning Board through the complaints procedure, and the Board may refer the permit’s suspension to OGPe.
Where to do it
The annual certification of the number of spaces available and given up is rendered to OGPe. The request for space on digital boards is made by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, which also provides the advertisement in the appropriate format. Non-compliance is reported to the Planning Board through the complaints procedure, by the Bureau or by any governmental entity, and the Board may refer the permit’s suspension to OGPe. The provisional suspension of the permits to operate advertisements and signs is applied by OGPe where the fine is not paid within thirty days.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
For a billboard operator, the count is done once a year and with two numbers: how many advertising spaces are held and how many were made available for public service. One alone suffices with up to thirty spaces, but the tier rises quickly past thirty and past one hundred. Both numbers are certified to OGPe, so keep them documented through the year rather than reconstructing them at the end. If there are digital boards in the fleet, be clear that the Police space is neither negotiated nor chosen: the Bureau identifies and selects it, it may not be smaller or shorter than the board’s other advertisements, and the artwork arrives finished — the only responsibility is transmitting it without changes. Retouching the design costs five hundred dollars. And refusing to give the service starts at ten thousand dollars and rises: twelve thousand five hundred after thirty days and five thousand more for every additional thirty days, with thirty days to pay before OGPe provisionally suspends the permits to operate advertisements and signs. For the public, the route when a billboard fails to comply is a complaint before the Planning Board, which may refer the permit’s suspension to OGPe.
Common mistakes
- Believing that giving space for public service advertisements is voluntary, when it is an obligation of whoever is engaged in installing advertisements.
- Making a single space available while holding more than thirty advertising spaces, when the scale rises to two, three, four and five spaces.
- Rendering the annual certification to OGPe with a single number, when both the spaces available and the spaces made available must be certified.
- Having the digital board’s owner choose the space given to the Police, when the Bureau identifies and selects it.
- Giving the Police a space of smaller size or shorter duration than the other advertisements projected on the board.
- Retouching, cropping or redesigning the artwork the Bureau provides, when the only responsibility is its faithful transmission without changes.
- Ignoring that altering the advertisement provided carries a five-hundred-dollar fine.
- Assuming the fine for refusing the service stays at ten thousand dollars, when it rises to twelve thousand five hundred after thirty days and then five thousand more for every thirty days.
- Letting the thirty days to pay the fine pass, after which OGPe provisionally suspends the permits to operate advertisements and signs.
Frequently asked questions
How many public service spaces must a billboard company give?
By how many advertising spaces it holds: from one to thirty spaces, one space; from thirty-one to one hundred, two; from one hundred and one to one hundred and fifty, three; from one hundred and fifty-one to two hundred, four; and more than two hundred spaces, five.
What may the Police request be put on a digital board?
Five things: sketches and information on wanted criminals, Plan Rosa, the Amber Alert, emergency situations, and Police information and contact number. The Bureau identifies and selects the specific space and provides the advertisement in the appropriate format.
Can I shrink or shorten the Police advertisement?
No. The space provided to the Bureau for broadcasting public safety advertisements may not be of smaller size nor shorter duration than the other advertisements projected on each digital board. And altering the advertisement provided carries a five-hundred-dollar fine.
What is the fine for refusing to post an Amber Alert?
Refusal to provide this public safety service results in the initial imposition of a ten-thousand-dollar administrative fine, which increases to twelve thousand five hundred dollars after thirty days; and in subsequent months the fine increases by five thousand dollars for every thirty days of non-compliance with what is requested.
What happens if that fine is not paid?
The offender has a term of thirty days to pay, after which the permits granted by OGPe for operating advertisements and signs are provisionally suspended until full payment is made.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)
OGPe
docs.pr.gov
- OGPe Single Business Portal
ogpe
www.permisos.pr.gov
- Planning Board
jp
jp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 6, 2026
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The ground sign depends on the lot’s frontage, and with under twenty-five feet of frontage none is permitted.