In short
Prescription is the defense you can raise against someone who lets time pass without exercising their right. Under the 2020 Civil Code personal actions of every kind prescribe in 4 years — the old Code gave 15, and many people still quote that number. A claim for extracontractual liability, which is the damages claim, prescribes in 1 year counted from when the aggrieved person learns of the damage and who caused it, not from the accident. Actions to recover possession are also 1 year; disciplinary actions against professionals, 2 years; the mortgage action, 20 years; and real actions over immovables, 30 years. Three things change the count: the term is interrupted by a lawsuit, by an extrajudicial claim from the creditor, or by the debtor acknowledging the obligation — and then the term starts over from zero. It is also suspended in listed situations, such as minority or incapacity, or between spouses while the marriage lasts. And prescription does not operate by itself: it must be alleged.
What is it?
The Code defines it as a defense raised against someone who does not exercise a right or action within the term the law sets for invoking it, adding that actions prescribe by the mere lapse of the legally fixed time. All actions are subject to prescription unless the law provides otherwise. Do not confuse it with caducidad, a different figure: caducidad extinguishes the right itself, is of public order and cannot be waived, admits no interruption or suspension by the parties’ acts, and the court may determine it at any procedural stage. The Code itself commands that any doubt about the nature of a term be resolved in favor of prescription and not caducidad.
Who can do it?
Prescription operates against natural and juridical persons alike. It does not run against persons who cannot contract or bring actions against each other. And there is a rule worth knowing before signing anything: prescription terms cannot be extended by agreement of the parties, and any advance waiver of the right to invoke the defense is ineffective. You may waive, expressly or tacitly, a prescription already earned — and it is deemed tacitly waived when you act in a way that suggests you abandoned the defense.
Requirements
- That the term the law fixes for that particular action has elapsed.Verified against the official source
- That whoever wants to benefit from it alleges it: once the term has run, prescription operates only if raised.Verified against the official source
- That there has been no interruption — a lawsuit, an extrajudicial claim by the creditor or acknowledgment of the obligation by the debtor — because each interruption restarts the count.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Identify what kind of action it is
The term depends on the type. If it is a debt, a breached contract, wages or professional fees — what the Code calls personal actions — the general term is 4 years. If it is damage someone caused you without a contract between you — a crash, a fall, an assault — it is extracontractual liability and the term is 1 year. To recover or retain possession of something, 1 year. A disciplinary complaint against a professional for violating ethics canons, 2 years. The mortgage action, 20 years. A real action over an immovable, 30 years. And note: both the personal-actions article and the special-terms article yield to any special law that fixes a different term for that kind of claim, so if your case falls under a labor, insurance, tax or consumer statute the term may be different.
Step 2: Fix the day it started running
The Code’s general rule: terms begin to run when the person entitled to claim knows or should know of the existence of the right to claim and the identity of the person they can act against. Not knowing the responsible party’s name does not bar the action. For specific cases the Code gives its own rules: in an obligation of capital with interest or rent, from the last payment of interest or rent; in an obligation declared by judgment, from when the judgment becomes final; in obligations of successive performance, from the date each of the acts should have been carried out; in repeated unlawful acts or omissions, from when the damage occurs on each occasion; in wages and professional fees, from the termination of services.
Step 3: Check whether anything interrupted the term
Three things interrupt prescription: filing the lawsuit or the administrative or arbitral claim by the creditor against the debtor — and in disciplinary actions, filing the complaint; an extrajudicial claim by the creditor addressed to the debtor; and acknowledgment of the obligation by the debtor. Once interrupted, the count begins again from the start. That is what turns a collection call answered with "yes, I know I owe that" into a problem: it is an acknowledgment, and it hands the creditor a whole new term.
Step 4: Check whether anything suspended it
Suspending is not the same as interrupting: suspension stops the clock while it lasts but preserves the time already elapsed, and when it ends the remaining count resumes. The Code suspends prescription during minority or incapacity; between spouses while the marriage lasts; between minors and their parents or guardians during patria potestad or guardianship; between incapacitated persons and their guardians during guardianship; in certain cases of disciplinary actions against professionals; and while it is impossible to claim the right before a court. Additionally, the count may be suspended by express mandate of a special law or if the competent authority decrees it by reason of natural catastrophe or another extraordinary cause.
Step 5: If you are going to raise it, raise it
The Code is clear: once the term has run, prescription operates if alleged by whoever wants to benefit from it. The court does not apply it on its own, as it may with caducidad. And beware the reverse: a prescription already earned can be tacitly waived, when the waiver results from acts suggesting you abandoned the defense. Paying something toward a prescribed debt, or signing a payment plan, are exactly that kind of act.
Where to do it
There is no office or form: prescription is raised against whoever is claiming — in the answer to a complaint, before the administrative or arbitral forum handling the case, or in writing to whoever is collecting. If the matter is already in court, it is raised there.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you are told they have 15 years to collect, that is the old Code: under the 2020 one, personal actions prescribe in 4 years. If you were hit more than a year ago but only just found out who was responsible or how bad the damage was, do not give the case up: the extracontractual term runs from when you learn of the damage and who caused it. If you have an old debt and get a collection call, answer carefully: acknowledging the obligation interrupts prescription and the term starts over. If your claim is about an inheritance or a jointly owned property, check the imprescriptible list before giving up. And if the term being raised against you comes from a special law — labor, insurance, tax, consumer — the Code yields to it: that law governs.
Common mistakes
- Quoting the 1930 Code’s 15 years: personal actions prescribe in 4 years under the 2020 Code.
- Counting the damages year from the accident: it runs from when you learn of the damage and who caused it.
- Acknowledging the debt by phone or making a partial payment: either interrupts prescription and restarts the whole term.
- Expecting the court to apply prescription on its own: it must be alleged.
- Signing a contract that "extends" the prescription term: terms cannot be extended by agreement, and an advance waiver of the defense is ineffective.
- Giving up on a claim for an inheritance, a partition or the division of common property: those do not prescribe.
- Treating a caducidad term as if it were prescription: caducidad is not interrupted or suspended by the parties’ acts.
Frequently asked questions
How long do they have to collect a debt from me?
The 2020 Civil Code’s general rule is 4 years for personal actions of every kind, unless the law fixes a different term. And it counts from when the creditor knows or should know they can claim and against whom; if the obligation is capital with interest or rent, from the last payment of interest or rent. Any extrajudicial claim by them or any acknowledgment by you restarts the term.
How long do I have to sue over an accident?
One year. The Code provides that a claim for extracontractual liability prescribes after one year counted from when the aggrieved person learns of the existence of the damage and who caused it. The starting point is not the accident date but that knowledge, and not knowing the responsible party’s name does not bar the action.
Are there claims that never prescribe?
Yes. The Code declares imprescriptible the action to claim an inheritance or its partition, the division of common property, and the marking of boundaries between adjoining properties. In addition, actions related to real rights subsist as long as the right of whoever invokes them subsists, unless the law provides otherwise.
What is the difference between prescription and caducidad?
Prescription is a defense that must be raised and that is interrupted and suspended by the acts the Code lists. Caducidad extinguishes the right itself, exists only where the law clearly says so, is of public order and cannot be waived, may be raised by any party or determined by the court at any stage, and admits no interruption or suspension by the parties’ acts. The Code adds that any doubt about a term’s nature is resolved in favor of prescription, and that any agreement purporting to convert a prescription term into a caducidad term is void.
Can I agree with the creditor to a longer term?
No. Prescription terms cannot be extended by agreement of the parties, and any waiver of the right to invoke the defense in the future is ineffective. What you can do, if you have capacity to dispose, is waive a prescription already earned, expressly or tacitly.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 16, 2026
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