In short
Rule 2.1.8 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 defines, in six short sections, what each thing processed in the permit system is, and closes with a right worth knowing. A permit is the written approval authorizing the start of an action, activity or project, issued by OGPe, by an autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III or by an Authorized Professional. A licence is the final determination issued by OGPe’s Assistant Secretary, an Authorized Professional or a Concerned Governmental Entity to engage in the operation of any of the occupations established in the Regulation. The location consultation is the procedure for evaluating and judging land uses that are not ministerially permitted and cannot be considered through another mechanism. Public land transactions are the procedure before the Planning Board for the acquisition, sale, exchange, free transfer or lease of lands and structures between government bodies, or between them and the private sector. Administrative review is the request before OGPe’s Administrative Review Division by an adversely affected party. And complaints are the claim procedures alleging a violation of law or regulation. The closing is the right to copies: the SUI keeps an official digital file of all matters before it, and any interested person may obtain a copy or certified copy by filing the electronic request and paying the corresponding fees.
What is it?
It is Rule 2.1.8 of Chapter 2.1 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, defining the permit system’s services or processes, plus the final item of Section 2.1.8.7, recognizing any interested person’s right to obtain a copy of a file. It serves two purposes: understanding the system’s vocabulary and knowing how to request a case’s file.
Who can do it?
The copy or certified copy may be obtained by any interested person, by filing the electronic request and paying the corresponding fees, both of the documents in the SUI’s digital files and of the historic files. Administrative review is filed by the party adversely affected by an action or final determination. Complaints are brought by whoever alleges a violation of law or regulation.
Requirements
- To obtain a copy or certified copy: filing the electronic request and paying the corresponding fees.Verified against the official source
- For administrative review: being a party adversely affected by an action or final determination of OGPe, the Adjudicative Board, an autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III or an Authorized Professional, and filing it before the Administrative Review Division attached to OGPe.Verified against the official source
- For a complaint: alleging non-compliance with the provisions or conditions of permits issued, the absence of a required permit, or non-compliance with Law No. 75 of 1975, Law 161-2009, the enabling laws of the Concerned Governmental Entities, the Municipal Code, the Joint Regulation or other applicable regulations.Verified against the official source
- For a location consultation: that it be a land use not ministerially permitted and that cannot be considered through another mechanism.Verified against the official source
- For a public land transaction: that the acquisition, sale, exchange, free transfer or lease of lands and structures between government bodies, or between them and the private sector, not be exempt by law or JP resolution.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Permit and licence are not the same
A permit is the written approval authorizing the start of an action, activity or project, issued by OGPe, by an autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III or by an Authorized Professional, per Law 161-2009. A licence is the final determination issued by OGPe’s Assistant Secretary, an Authorized Professional or a Concerned Governmental Entity to engage in the operation of any of the occupations established in the Regulation. One authorizes starting something; the other authorizes engaging in an occupation.
Step 2: When a location consultation is needed
It is the procedure before OGPe or the autonomous municipalities with hierarchy I to III to which that power was delegated by the Transfer Agreement, for them to evaluate, judge and take the determination they deem pertinent on proposed land uses that are not ministerially permitted and that cannot be considered through another mechanism. The section adds that non-calificated areas include proposed land uses that by their nature and complexity require a greater degree of analysis.
Step 3: Public land transactions
They are the procedure before the Planning Board for the acquisition, sale, exchange, free transfer or lease of lands and structures between government bodies, or between government bodies and the private sector, that are not exempt by law or JP resolution. It is the route by which the government moves land and buildings.
Step 4: Administrative review: who and before whom
It is the request filed before the Administrative Review Division attached to OGPe, by a party adversely affected by an action or final determination of OGPe, the Adjudicative Board, the autonomous municipalities with hierarchy I to III or an Authorized Professional. Two elements define access: having been adversely affected, and there being an action or final determination.
Step 5: Complaints and permit audits
Complaints are claim procedures alleging a violation of law or regulation before the JP or the autonomous municipalities with hierarchy I to III, for non-compliance with the provisions or conditions of permits issued, the alleged absence of a required permit, or non-compliance with Law No. 75 of 1975, Law 161-2009, the enabling laws of the Concerned Governmental Entities, the Municipal Code, the Joint Regulation or other applicable regulations. The audit, in turn, is the JP’s enforcement over compliance with the final determinations and permits granted, and over the certifications issued by the Authorized Inspectors.
Step 6: The file is digital and official
The SUI keeps an official digital file of all matters before it and of those handled before the Authorized Professionals. That means the file of a case processed by an Authorized Professional also lives in the system, not only in their office.
Step 7: How the copy is requested
Any interested person may obtain a copy or certified copy of the documents in the SUI’s digital files and in the historic files, by filing the electronic request and paying the corresponding fees. One need not be a party to the case: being an interested person suffices. A note on the source: the Regulation publishes no tariff for those fees, so we give no figure here.
Where to do it
The copy request is filed electronically in the SUI, which keeps the official digital file, including the historic files. Administrative review is filed before the Administrative Review Division attached to OGPe. Complaints are filed before the Planning Board or the autonomous municipality with hierarchy I to III. Public land transactions are processed before the Planning Board.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If what is needed is to see a file — the neighbour’s work, an old permit, a case handled by an Authorized Professional — the route is short: an electronic request in the SUI and payment of the corresponding fees, and either a plain copy or a certified copy may be requested. One need not be a party: the Regulation speaks of any interested person, and it covers both the digital files and the historic ones. If what is needed is to understand what one is looking at, having the vocabulary clear helps: a permit is the approval to start something; a licence is the final determination to engage in an occupation; a location consultation is the route for uses that are not ministerial and do not fit another mechanism; a public land transaction is the process before the Board when the government buys, sells, exchanges, transfers or leases; administrative review is what someone adversely affected by an action or final determination files; and a complaint is the claim for a violation of law or regulation, including the absence of a required permit. Confusing review with complaint is the commonest error: the first attacks a decision, the second reports a breach.
Common mistakes
- Believing one must be a party to the case to request a copy, when any interested person may.
- Requesting the copy without filing the electronic request or without paying the corresponding fees.
- Assuming the files of cases handled before an Authorized Professional are not in the SUI.
- Filing a complaint when what is wanted is to attack a determination, which is administrative review.
- Filing an administrative review without being a party adversely affected by an action or final determination.
- Requesting a location consultation for a use that is ministerially permitted or that fits another mechanism.
- Confusing the permit, which authorizes starting an action or project, with the licence, which authorizes engaging in an occupation.
- Forgetting that the permit audit also reaches the certifications issued by the Authorized Inspectors.
Frequently asked questions
How do I request a copy of a permit file?
Any interested person may obtain a copy or certified copy of the documents in the SUI’s digital files and in the historic files, by filing the electronic request and paying the corresponding fees.
What is the difference between a permit and a licence?
The permit is the written approval authorizing the start of an action, activity or project. The licence is the final determination to engage in the operation of any of the occupations established in the Joint Regulation.
When is a location consultation used?
For proposed land uses that are not ministerially permitted and cannot be considered through another mechanism. Non-calificated areas include uses that by their nature and complexity require a greater degree of analysis.
Complaint or administrative review?
The complaint is the claim alleging a violation of law or regulation, including non-compliance with a permit’s conditions or the absence of a required permit. Administrative review is filed before OGPe’s Administrative Review Division by the party adversely affected by an action or final determination.
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 7, 2026
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Filing a permit in the SUI: 10% on submission, five days to validate and the remaining 90%
The application is not deemed filed and no term runs until it is validated, and it is archived if not cured within thirty days.
The Pre-Consultation: asking OGPe for the list of permits before starting
Anyone may request a written orientation identifying the applicable laws and the permits that will be needed.
Reviewing a permit: twenty days and forty-eight hours
The term to challenge an OGPe determination is jurisdictional, and notifying the other parties is too.
Complaint about unpermitted work or a business
Only someone with a proprietary interest or an abutter may file, and if the place cannot be found, it is filed away.
Planning Board permit audit: what it reviews and how it ends
The Board audits final determinations and permits already issued; it can end in a fine, a stoppage or revocation.
Location consultation: which projects need one and what is filed
The seven situations requiring a location consultation, the commercial categories by square feet, and the process’s fifteen- and ten-day terms.
Public land transactions before the Planning Board
Who may promote one, what is filed, the four-year term, the single extension and how revocation is sought.