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Child abuse in Puerto Rico: where to report it and how to get a protection order

Last reviewed: August 14, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

Anyone who knows or suspects a minor is being abused or neglected must immediately call the Department of the Family’s Child Abuse Hotline at (787) 749-1333, or 9-1-1. The line is toll-free, operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and every referral is investigated at any hour of any day. You do have to give your name, but the line is confidential and so is the identity of whoever reported, and the law protects reporters: the information they give cannot be used against them in any civil or criminal action brought as a result of that report. Beyond reporting, Ley 57-2023 allows requesting a protection order on the minor’s behalf, and the list of who can request one is long: besides parents and relatives, it includes teachers, school principals, school social workers, recreational leaders, spiritual leaders and neighbours from the community.

External link

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What is it?

Ley 57-2023, the “Act for the prevention of abuse, preservation of family unity and for the safety, wellbeing and protection of minors”, repealed and replaced Ley 246-2011. It defines abuse as any intentional act or omission by the father, mother or person responsible for the minor that causes, or places at risk of, harm to their physical, mental or emotional health and integrity. Also abuse: engaging in obscene conduct before the minor or using them for it, allowing another person to harm or endanger them, voluntarily abandoning them, exploiting them or letting another exploit them, engaging in conduct that if prosecuted would be a crime against their integrity — including sexual abuse and human trafficking — and committing Ley 54-1989 domestic violence in front of the minor. Neglect is failing to adequately provide food, clothing, shelter, education or health care, poor supervision, or not visiting or keeping contact with the minor.

Who can do it?

To report: anyone who knows or suspects. For the Ley 57-2023 protection order, the statute lists who can request it on the minor’s behalf: father and mother, the person responsible for the minor, the guardian or caregiver, school principal, teacher, law-enforcement officer, minors’ prosecutor, family-affairs prosecutor, prosecutor, authorized Department of the Family staff, school social worker, the minor’s relatives, recreational leader or sports-activity organizer, spiritual leader and neighbours from the community. The Act protects minors under 18, and also people aged 18 to 20 in substitute care who meet the requirements it lists, such as attending secondary school, being enrolled in vocational or postsecondary education, working at least 80 hours a month, or receiving Special Education services.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Call: (787) 749-1333 or 9-1-1

    Anyone who knows or suspects a minor is being abused or neglected must immediately call the Department of the Family’s Child Abuse Hotline at (787) 749-1333 and make the referral, or the 9-1-1 Emergency System. It is a toll-free system attached to the State Center for the Protection of Minors, operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and also used to report institutional abuse, neglect and human trafficking.

  2. Step 2: You do give your name, and you are protected

    Reporting requires giving your name and personal circumstances. But the line is confidential, all information provided is confidential, and so is the identity of whoever provided it. And the consequence of reporting is none: the information given cannot be used against you in any civil or criminal action brought as a result of that act.

  3. Step 3: In a school, foster home or institution, it is institutional abuse

    When the minor is in the care of a foster home or a public or private institution — daycare, preschool, primary or secondary education, treatment or detention — and is harmed or put at risk, it is institutional abuse or neglect. Any relative or interested person, as well as physicians, teachers, institution staff, social workers or Family Services technicians, reports it to the Hotline, the Puerto Rico Police, or the local Department of the Family office.

  4. Step 4: Request the Ley 57-2023 protection order

    The order is requested through the Tribunal Electrónico remotely, or by visiting any Court of First Instance, where saying you want a protection order is enough: staff guide you and devices are available. Once the request is complete, court staff email the instructions for the videoconference hearing. Requests are handled Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 10:00 pm, and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

  5. Step 5: What the judge can order

    Among other measures: granting provisional custody of the minor to whoever requested the order or to a close relative who guarantees their safety and is not the responding party; ordering the responding party to vacate the residence shared with the minor, regardless of any claimed right over the property; not to bother, harass, pursue, intimidate or interfere with the provisional custody; to pay rent or mortgage on the property if ordered to vacate, or child support if that obligation exists; to attend programs and treatment to stop their abusive conduct; and to pay for the victim minor’s programs and treatment. Under no circumstance can custody of the minor be awarded to the Department of the Family as a remedy in a protection-order case.

  6. Step 6: The order is hand-delivered and breaching it is a felony

    Every protection order is served personally, hand-delivered to the party it was issued against, by a marshal, a law-enforcement officer or any person over 18 who is not a party to the case. Breaching it is a felony carrying a prison term of no less than six months and a day and no more than three years. It is a civil, not criminal, proceeding, and it does not exempt the responding party from any criminal or other civil process over the same conduct.

Where to do it

Reports go to the Department of the Family’s Child Abuse Hotline at (787) 749-1333, to 9-1-1, to the Puerto Rico Police, or to the local Department of the Family office. The protection order goes through the Tribunal Electrónico or any Court of First Instance.

How long it takes

The terms the Judiciary publishes are the court’s, not the investigation’s: the judge cites the parties within 48 hours of the filing, and the citation is served on the responding party within 24 hours. If an ex parte order is granted, a final hearing is set within the following two days, unless the responding party asks to postpone it; and that party has the chance to oppose at the hearing the court sets within five days of the ex parte order being issued. Once granted, the order is notified within 24 hours to all the people and places the statute lists. The Hotline investigates referrals at any hour of the day or night, any day of the week.

Verified against the official source · August 14, 2026

What to do if something goes wrong

If what you saw was a child being hit, or a neighbour’s kid left neglected, without food or not going to school, that is exactly what the Hotline receives: call (787) 749-1333. If you hesitate because you are not sure: the law asks anyone who knows or suspects to call, not anyone who has proof. The Department of the Family does the investigating. If you worry about the minor being removed from home, current public policy is early intervention and family preservation: the State must provide evidence-based, trauma-informed services — counselling, treatment, education — so that removal is the last alternative, and if removal is needed, placement with a qualified relative is considered first and, failing that, the most family-like and least restrictive setting possible. This guide gives no cost because the Judiciary’s page publishes none for this request, and it reproduces the indicators of possible sexual abuse as what the page says they are — indications — not as a checklist for diagnosis. PRFácil does not receive reports and does not represent anyone in court.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting until you have proof: the law asks anyone who knows or suspects to call.
  • Staying quiet for fear of retaliation: the reporter’s identity is confidential and what they report cannot be used against them.
  • Believing only family can request the order: the list includes teachers, principals, recreational leaders, spiritual leaders and neighbours.
  • Thinking a Department of the Family report is needed before the initial hearing: the court does not require one.
  • Confusing this order with the Ley 54-1989 domestic-violence order or the Ley 284-1999 stalking order: they are three separate remedies.
  • Assuming the remedy can hand custody to the Department of the Family: the statute expressly forbids it in this proceeding.

Frequently asked questions

What number do I call if I suspect child abuse?

The Department of the Family’s Child Abuse Hotline, (787) 749-1333, or 9-1-1. The line is toll-free, operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and every referral for abuse, institutional abuse, neglect, institutional neglect and human trafficking is investigated at any hour of any day.

Can I report without giving my name?

The Judiciary’s page says you do have to give your name and personal circumstances. That said, the line is confidential, all information provided is confidential and so is the reporter’s identity. On top of that, what you report cannot be used against you in any civil or criminal action brought as a result of the report.

Can a teacher or a neighbour request the protection order?

Yes. Ley 57-2023 lists among those who can request it on the minor’s behalf: father and mother, the responsible person, the guardian or caregiver, school principal, teacher, law-enforcement officer, minors’ prosecutor, family-affairs prosecutor, prosecutor, authorized Department of the Family staff, school social worker, relatives, recreational leader or sports organizer, spiritual leader and community neighbours.

What happens if the order is breached?

Breaching a protection order issued under Ley 57-2023 is a felony carrying a prison term of no less than six months and a day and no more than three years. The order itself must carry that warning in writing.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

August 14, 2026

MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.

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