In short
Article 1381 of the Civil Code of 2020 defines: by the contract of services, the provider binds itself to supply, without being subordinate to the principal, a service for the payment of a price. The phrase "without being subordinate" is the same the Code uses for the contract for works, and the difference between the two lies in what is promised: a service in this chapter, a work in the other. Article 1382 develops that independence just as the works chapter does: save where otherwise agreed, the provider freely chooses the means and may use, under its direction and responsibility, assistants for the execution of the contract. Article 1383 carries a rule of its own that is little known: the contract of services is agreed for a determined time, and where the time is indeterminate, the pertinent provisions of the supply contract apply. That cross-reference matters, because the supply chapter carries a ten-year ceiling from the first delivery and an exit by effective notice never shorter than thirty days; but the Code does not say which of those provisions are the "pertinent" ones, and this guide does not choose for it. Nor does it define what a service is, or decide anybody’s employment status: that is governed by labour statutes, which we did not read here.
What is it?
They are Articles 1381 to 1383 of the Civil Code of 2020, opening the services chapter: what the contract is, how the provider picks its means and assistants, and what happens with duration.
Who can do it?
Anyone contracting a service and anyone binding themselves to provide it, under a contract governed by the Puerto Rico Civil Code.
Requirements
- That the provider bind itself to supply a service for the payment of a price.Verified against the official source
- That the provider not be subordinate to the principal: that is the word the article uses.Verified against the official source
- That the contract be agreed for a determined time; if the time is indeterminate, the pertinent provisions of the supply contract step in.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The definition
Article 1381: by the contract of services, the provider binds itself to supply, without being subordinate to the principal, a service for the payment of a price.
Step 2: A service, not a work
The Code devotes two consecutive chapters to very similar figures. The works one speaks of carrying out a material or intellectual work; this one speaks of supplying a service. Both definitions repeat "without being subordinate to the principal", so what separates them is what is promised.
Step 3: Why it matters which of the two it is
Because the two chapters diverge afterwards: the works one carries the ten-year warranty against ruin and rescission for variations raising the price twenty per cent; this chapter carries neither, and instead does require paying the profit the provider could have obtained when the principal rescinds. This guide flags the difference and does not decide for you which governs your contract.
Step 4: The provider chooses how to do it
Article 1382: save where otherwise agreed, the provider freely chooses the means. If the principal wants to impose a method, equipment or a schedule, it must be agreed.
Step 5: And may bring assistants
The same article: it may use, under its direction and responsibility, assistants for the execution of the contract. The assistants remain under the provider’s direction and responsibility, not the principal’s.
Step 6: The contract is agreed for a determined time
Article 1383, first sentence: the contract of services is agreed for a determined time. That is the chapter’s starting rule.
Step 7: If the time is indeterminate, look at supply
Second sentence: where the time is indeterminate, the pertinent provisions of the supply contract apply. That chapter has its own guide here, and carries, among other things, a maximum term of ten years from the first delivery and an exit by notice effectively served within a reasonable term never less than thirty days.
Step 8: Which ones are "pertinent" it does not say
The article refers without listing. Neither does this guide: it says which chapter it points to and what that chapter contains, without asserting which of its rules apply to a given services contract.
Step 9: This classifies nobody as an employee
A contract fitting Article 1381 does not decide the employment status of the person providing the service. Labour statutes decide that with their own tests, which we did not read for this guide.
Where to do it
A services contract is agreed between the parties; the Code orders no trip to any agency. If the service requires a professional licence, the statute of that profession governs, and we did not read it here. Contract disputes are decided by the Court of First Instance.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If what you commissioned is a work — a concrete material or intellectual result — the works chapter applies, with its four guides. If you want to know who pays what in this chapter, or how the price is fixed, that is the obligations guide. If you want to end the contract, that is this chapter’s third guide. If your contract is a consumer one, consumer statutes may give you more than the Code says. These articles do not define "service", do not say which supply provisions are the pertinent ones, and classify nobody as an employee. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Treating the provider as an employee: the article describes them as not subordinate to the principal.
- Imposing means or methods without having agreed it.
- Believing the principal answers for the provider’s assistants: they are under the provider’s direction and responsibility.
- Leaving the contract without a term and then not looking at the supply chapter Article 1383 points to.
- Assuming every supply rule applies: the article speaks of the pertinent provisions and does not list them.
- Confusing this chapter with the works one, which carries the ten-year warranty and the twenty per cent threshold.
- Assuming this chapter carries result guarantees: it writes none.
- Using Article 1381 to decide whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor for labour purposes.
Frequently asked questions
How does it differ from a contract for works?
In what is promised: here a service, there a material or intellectual work. Both definitions say "without being subordinate to the principal", but the chapters diverge afterwards — works carries the ten-year warranty against ruin; services, the duty to pay the profit the provider could have obtained if the principal rescinds.
May the provider send someone else to do the work?
Save agreement to the contrary, yes: Article 1382 lets them use assistants for the execution of the contract, under their direction and responsibility.
We set no end date. What happens?
Article 1383 says the contract is agreed for a determined time and that, where the time is indeterminate, the pertinent provisions of the supply contract apply. It does not specify which those provisions are.
Does this contract make me an employee?
The Code describes the provider as someone not subordinate to the principal, but employment status is decided by labour statutes with their own tests, which we did not read for this guide.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 9, 2026
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