School vaccines: the certificate, provisional enrollment and exemptions

It is the law connecting vaccination with enrollment. It defines "school" broadly — any public or private institution offering kindergarten, primary, secondary and postsecondary courses without an associate degree, authorized by the Education Department, plus authorized colleges and universities — and it includes daycare centers (caring for more than six children) and the Family Department’s social treatment centers. The immunization certificate is a Health Department form, signed by whoever administered the vaccine, certifying immunization against a given disease. Which vaccines are required is not in the law: the law charges the Secretary of Health with publishing it annually, so the current list is checked with Health or your pediatrician.

It applies to every student under 21 who enrolls and is admitted in any of those institutions, and to every preschool child — under 5 — attending a daycare center. The responsibility to submit the certificate belongs to the student or their parents or guardians; requiring it belongs to the school registrar or the center’s director. It does not apply to minors whose admission to a social treatment center is ordered by the Court of First Instance, Juvenile Affairs.

• Presenting the immunization certificate: the Health Department form signed by the physician or professional who administered the vaccine.Verified against the official source
• Being immunized against the diseases the Secretary of Health requires in the annual publication; the law does not set the list, it delegates it.Verified against the official source
• For provisional enrollment: having received at least one dose of each required immunization.Verified against the official source

• The immunization certificate, on the form the Health Department provides.
• For the religious exemption: a sworn declaration that the student or their parents belong to a religious organization whose tenets conflict with immunization, or that they hold sincere religious beliefs or convictions in conflict with it.
• For the medical exemption: a certification signed by a physician licensed in Puerto Rico stating that one or more immunizations may be detrimental to the student’s health, with the specific reason and the likely duration of the contraindication.
• For the already-suffered-disease exemption: the corresponding medical certificate or a sworn declaration by the student, father, mother or guardian.

1. 1

   Step 1: Ask whoever vaccinated for the certificate

   The immunization certificate is signed by the physician or professional who administered the vaccine, on the Health Department’s form. If your child was vaccinated but you lost the paper, start with the pediatrician or clinic; the Health Department’s Vaccination Division guides at (787) 765-2929, extensions 3337 and 3338, and the Puerto Rico Immunization Registry (PREIS) is the system where administered vaccines are recorded.

2. 2

   Step 2: If school starts and you do not have it

   The school or center must notify you in writing that the certificate was not submitted, that the student will not be accepted without it, that they can be vaccinated by any authorized physician or professional, and how to arrange those services with the Health Department. Note: the law clarifies that the lack of that notice does not exempt you from presenting the certificate.

3. 3

   Step 3: Use provisional enrollment if you are on the way

   You do not need the complete schedule to get in: the law allows provisionally enrolling a student or preschool child who has received at least one dose of each immunization the Secretary of Health requires. It is the way out for families who started the process late.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you will not vaccinate: use the exemptions the law recognizes

   There are three. Religious: a sworn declaration of belonging to a religious organization whose tenets conflict with immunization, or of sincere religious beliefs or convictions in conflict. Medical: certification from a physician licensed in Puerto Rico, with the specific reason and likely duration. And for an already-suffered disease, evidenced by medical certificate or sworn declaration. The law adds protections: those exempt cannot be vaccinated during an epidemic without the parent’s or legal guardian’s written informed consent; religious liberty protections are not conditioned on receiving state or federal aid to study; and the State cannot impose fines or jail on a parent who decides not to vaccinate on religious liberty grounds.

5. 5

   Step 5: Ask for the information before deciding

   Since the 2025 amendment, in the vaccination process of every student the parent or legal guardian must be provided the data with each vaccine’s compounds, its benefits, and the short-, medium- and long-term side and adverse effects, so they can responsibly decide which vaccine their child will receive. It is your right to ask for it, and the law clarifies that those deciding not to vaccinate must use only Article 5’s exceptions.

The certificate is handed in at the school, daycare center or social treatment center where the student enrolls. Vaccines are administered by any authorized physician or professional; to coordinate services or ask questions, the Health Department’s Vaccination Division, (787) 765-2929 exts. 3337 and 3338, with regional offices in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Bayamón, Caguas, Fajardo, Mayagüez, Metropolitana and Ponce.

• Waiting for the first day of class: without a certificate, exemption or provisional enrollment, the student is not admitted and does not count in daily attendance.
• Not knowing provisional enrollment exists with one dose of each required immunization.
• Thinking the exemptions are informal: the religious one goes by sworn declaration and the medical one by a physician’s certification with specific reason and duration.
• Believing the law applies only to public schools: it covers public, private, daycare centers, social treatment centers, colleges and universities.
• Accepting requests for immigration status to vaccinate or enroll: the law prohibits it in both scenarios.
• Looking for the vaccine list in the law: the law delegates the annual list to the Secretary of Health, which is why it changes.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• Health Department Vaccination Division

  Salud

  www.salud.pr.gov