In short
Filing the complaint is the beginning. Article 15 of Act 76-2013 says what comes next. The Procurador shall notify you of the decision to investigate the facts denounced and, on the same date, must notify the agency or the private person or entity, stating the facts alleged and citing the law conferring the power to investigate. And if they decide not to investigate, they must tell you that too, stating the reasons and warning you of your right to request reconsideration and review of the determination. There are only three grounds for not investigating: the matter falls outside their jurisdiction, the complaint lacks merit, or the petitioner lacks standing. Where there is no adjudicable controversy or the matter is outside their scope, the Procurador orients you and refers you to the agency concerned. And here is what almost nobody knows: in exercising their adjudicative powers they may designate examining officers to preside over administrative hearings, impose and collect administrative fines of up to ten thousand dollars, and impose compensation for the damages caused, including emotional damages.
What is it?
It is the procedure Act 76-2013 sets for the Office of the Elderly Ombudsman for petitions and complaints. The Act empowers the Procurador to establish the systems needed for access to, receipt of and channelling of the claims and grievances older adults bring when alleging any act or omission by agencies and private entities that harms the rights recognised to them by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Puerto Rico, and the laws and regulations in force.
Who can do it?
It reaches complaints brought by older adults over acts or omissions of agencies and private entities harming their rights. The Act sets three grounds for the Procurador not to investigate, and one of them is the standing of whoever brings the complaint, so it is worth bearing in mind if you are filing on someone else’s behalf.
Requirements
- That the complaint allege an act or omission by an agency or a private entity harming rights recognised by the Constitution, the laws or the regulations in force.Verified against the official source
- That the matter fall within the Office’s jurisdiction: it is the first of the three grounds on which the Procurador does not investigate.Verified against the official source
- That whoever brings the complaint have standing to do so.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: They notify you, and the other side
Article 15 orders it precisely: the Procurador shall notify the petitioner of the decision to investigate the facts denounced and, on the same date that notification is processed, must notify the agency or the private person or entity, as the case may be, stating the facts alleged in the complaint and citing the law conferring the power to conduct that investigation. It is not a vague notice: the respondent receives the facts and the legal basis.
Step 2: If they decide not to investigate, they must tell you
And a mere notice is not enough. The Act requires the Procurador also to notify the decision not to investigate the complaint where appropriate, stating the reasons for it and warning you of your right to request reconsideration and review of the determination. A refusal without reasons and without that warning does not meet what the article requires.
Step 3: The three grounds for not investigating
The Act lists them and there is no fourth. The Procurador shall not investigate complaints where (a) they concern a matter outside their jurisdiction; (b) they lack merit; or (c) the petitioner lacks standing to bring it. If the refusal you received fits none of the three, there is your argument for reconsideration.
Step 4: If it is not their matter, they orient and refer you
It is not a door slammed. Where the complaint filed raises no adjudicable controversy, or concerns a matter outside the Office’s jurisdiction, the Procurador shall orient the petitioner and refer them to the agency concerned, if necessary. It is worth asking for that referral in writing.
Step 5: The hearings and who presides
In exercising the adjudicative powers this Act confers, the Procurador may designate examining officers to preside over the administrative hearings held. The adjudicative proceedings are governed by the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act — the compilation notes that Act 170-1988 was repealed and replaced by Act 38-2017 — and by the regulations the Office adopts, including those concerning reconsideration and review of an adverse determination.
Step 6: Up to ten thousand dollars, and emotional damages
This is the part with teeth, and it is in the same sentence of the article: the Procurador has the power to impose and collect administrative fines of up to ten thousand (10,000) dollars, and may also impose compensation for the damages caused, including, among others, emotional damages. It is not just a reprimand or a referral: the Office may fine and order the affected person compensated, and the Act expressly mentions emotional harm.
Step 7: Obstructing the Office is a crime
Article 16 defines three offences, all misdemeanours. First: any person who wilfully disobeys, impedes or obstructs the performance of the Office’s functions, or those of any of its authorised agents in their duties, or who obstructs the holding of a hearing, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or a fine not exceeding five thousand (5,000) dollars, or both, at the court’s discretion. Second: whoever publicises, without the Procurador’s express consent, any evidence or testimony offered in an executive session, with the same penalty. The third repeats the publicity ban and sets a fine not exceeding five hundred (500) dollars or imprisonment of up to six months, or both. We report the three paragraphs as written: the last two describe overlapping conduct with different maximum fines, and the compilation carries them that way.
Where to do it
The complaint is filed with the Office of the Elderly Ombudsman; its Auxiliary Ombudsman for Protection and Defence receives, channels and resolves. The Act publishes no forms, addresses or phone numbers for the procedure, and we do not invent them here. The administrative hearings are held before the Procurador or the examining officers they designate.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If you filed and have heard nothing, the Act requires the Procurador to notify you of their decision — to investigate or not — and, where they investigate, to notify the other side on the same date. If you were told they will not investigate, check whether you were given the reasons and warned of your right to reconsideration and review: the article requires both. And check whether the reason fits one of the three the Act allows, because there are no others. If the matter is not within their jurisdiction, ask for the referral to the agency concerned. If what you want to know is what the Office can achieve, the short answer is administrative fines of up to ten thousand dollars and compensation for damages, emotional ones included. Two honest caveats: the Act fixes neither how long the Procurador takes to decide whether to investigate nor the reconsideration terms, which it refers to the Office’s regulation, and we did not read that regulation; and we read the OGP compilation as OPPEA publishes it on docs.pr.gov, revised to 20 October 2020, because bvirtualogp.pr.gov is still serving an expired certificate.
Common mistakes
- Accepting a refusal to investigate without reasons: the Act requires them to be stated.
- Not learning you may seek reconsideration and review: the notification itself must warn you of that right.
- Believing the Office only refers: it may impose fines of up to $10,000 and compensation for damages, emotional ones included.
- Filing on someone else’s behalf without thinking about standing, one of the three grounds for not investigating.
- Walking away empty-handed when the matter is not within their jurisdiction: the Act requires them to orient and refer you to the agency concerned.
- Publicising evidence or testimony from an executive session without the Procurador’s express consent: it is a misdemeanour.
Frequently asked questions
Must they tell me whether they will investigate?
Yes, either way. And if they decide not to investigate, they must state the reasons and warn you of your right to request reconsideration and review.
When may they refuse to investigate?
In only three cases: if the matter is outside their jurisdiction, if the complaint lacks merit, or if the petitioner lacks standing.
How much can OPPEA fine?
Up to ten thousand (10,000) dollars in administrative fines, and it may additionally impose compensation for the damages caused, emotional ones included.
Who presides over the hearing?
The Procurador may designate examining officers to preside over the administrative hearings, and the proceedings are governed by the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act.
What if someone obstructs the Office?
They commit a misdemeanour: imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Oficina del Procurador de las Personas de Edad Avanzada (OPPEA)
OPPEA
docs.pr.gov
- Office of the Elderly Ombudsman
oppea
www.oppea.pr.gov
Last verified
September 3, 2026
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