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How a youth cooperative is organised

Last reviewed: September 2, 2026 — VerifiedCOSSEC

In short

Act 220-2002 creates youth cooperatives — school, community and university ones: organisations of young people under 29 who incorporate to carry out educational and socio-economic activities and which serve, in the Act’s own words, as a laboratory of cooperative practice. Five or more persons may organise one by filing articles of incorporation and general bylaws. A share’s par value may not be less than one dollar. The articles are sworn before a notary, except where the members are under twenty-one: in that case a certification by the incorporators themselves suffices. A member may be any young person aged 29 or under enrolled at the school or university, or resident in the community where it is organised. The Board may not deny admission on grounds of race, creed, social condition or political affiliation, and if it does deny, there is reconsideration, review before the Supervision Committee and, ultimately, the assembly. Every youth cooperative must hold an annual assembly within six months of its fiscal year’s close.

External link

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docs.pr.gov

What is it?

They are organisations of young people under 29 in a public or private school, a community or a university. They incorporate to carry out educational and socio-economic activities meeting the needs of the school or residential community and also providing a workshop for cooperative practice. The Act sets them five purposes: to promote youth participation in the cooperative experience; to establish a laboratory of cooperative practice through collective work; to offer services to members and non-members according to their community’s common needs; to promote workshops for developing creative, artistic and sporting skills; and to provide a workshop for developing leadership skills.

Who can do it?

To be a member of a school youth cooperative you must be twenty-nine (29) years of age or under, be a student of the public or private school or a resident of the place where the cooperative is organised, and meet the requirements of the Act, the articles and the cooperative’s bylaws. To organise one, five or more persons are needed. And to serve on the Board or committees: be an active member showing interest in the cooperative’s affairs, have no interests or business in conflict or in competition with it, and be current in shares and obligations.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Gather five people

    Article 4.0 fixes it: five (5) or more persons may organise a school youth cooperative for this Act’s purposes, by filing articles of incorporation and general bylaws. And it adds a duty worth using: every group interested in organising cooperatively shall receive guidance and assistance from the Cooperative Development Commission of Puerto Rico, which gathers the organisational and operational information and files the required documents with the corresponding agencies, and with the Department of Education where it is a school cooperative.

  2. Step 2: The articles, and the notary you may not need

    The articles of incorporation are sworn by all incorporators before a notary public, with an exception that solves the obvious practical problem: where the members of the school, community or university youth cooperative are under twenty-one (21), a certification of the articles’ content by the incorporators suffices. The articles must include the official name — which must carry the words Cooperativa Juvenil Escolar, Comunal or Universitaria, and may be abbreviated so long as the word "Coop" is used, without repeating the name of an existing cooperative — the exact address, the purposes, the shares’ par value and the amount it will begin operating with, the incorporators’ names and addresses with the shares each subscribed, the initial capital and the number of members it starts with.

  3. Step 3: A dollar a share

    The shares’ par value shall be not less than one dollar ($1.00). That is the floor Article 4.1(d) sets, alongside the amount it will begin operating with and the rights attaching to the shares. The Act publishes no filing fee or processing cost, so we state none here.

  4. Step 4: Who may join, and who may not be turned away

    Any young person under 29 enrolled at a school or university, or resident in the community where the cooperative is organised, who meets the admission requirements of the articles and bylaws, may be a member. And there is a hard limit on the Board’s discretion: it may not deny admission to any person on grounds of race, creed, social condition or political affiliation. It may deny it to someone who, to its best understanding, does not meet the requirements or would not contribute to achieving the cooperative’s purposes.

  5. Step 5: If you are rejected

    Article 6.3 builds a three-rung ladder. First, the applicant may ask the Board to reconsider. If the Board stands by its refusal and the applicant believes the decision is contrary to the Act or the articles, they may file a petition for review before the Supervision Committee. If the Committee upholds the Board, the decision is final. If it does not, the matter must be taken to the next members’ assembly, which decides.

  6. Step 6: What the cooperative may do

    Article 3.2 allows them to be organised in various types according to the needs identified by the school or residential community, under the Cooperative Development Commission’s supervision, and lists some activities: taking part in seminars, training workshops and competitions sponsored by the Department of Education, the Commission, the League of Cooperatives and the Cooperative Movement; setting up school shops supplying cafeteria services, school supplies, a bookshop and other services providing for the development of the work workshop and business skills; and setting up workshops in artistic creation, work, sports and cooperative business administration.

  7. Step 7: The member’s rights and the assembly

    Article 7.0 lists them: to take part with voice and vote in every assembly on equal terms; to elect and be elected to positions on the Board, the Supervision Committee and other committees; to use the cooperative’s services; to request information on the cooperative’s situation from the Board or the Supervision Committee; and to decide how net surpluses are distributed, where there are any. The General Assembly is the supreme authority and its decisions bind the Board, the committees and all members, present or absent. Notice of every assembly is sent in writing to each member at their last known address ten (10) days ahead. And an annual assembly must be held, within six (6) months of the fiscal year’s close and on the date nearest to it.

  8. Step 8: Quorum, and when you stop being a member

    Article 9.5 fixes the general assembly’s quorum with two rules: where the roll exceeds one hundred (100) members, ten per cent of them plus five per cent of the excess over a thousand of the total; where the roll is under one hundred, a minimum of fifteen (15) persons or two thirds of the roll, whichever is less. And membership ends for six reasons Chapter 8 lists: death, resignation, expulsion, termination of the cooperative, school graduation, or exceeding the age limit. Any member may resign voluntarily at any time, on prior written notice to the Board.

Where to do it

Guidance and assistance in organising come from the Cooperative Development Commission of Puerto Rico, which also files the incorporation documents with the corresponding agencies and with the Department of Education where the cooperative is a school one. COSSEC is the entity that ensures cooperatives comply with the cooperative laws, their articles and bylaws, and it publishes the Act’s text.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If the group is high-school students, do not look for a notary: the Act waives swearing before a notary where the members are under twenty-one, and a certification by the incorporators themselves suffices. If you were told more people are needed, it is five. If you were refused entry on something sounding like race, creed, social condition or political affiliation, the Act expressly forbids that refusal and there is reconsideration, review before the Supervision Committee and, if the Committee does not uphold the Board, the assembly decides. If you graduate, your membership ends: it is one of the Act’s six causes. Three honest caveats: the Act publishes neither an incorporation cost nor a processing term, so we invent none; we did not read the reserves, accounting and liquidation chapters, so this guide says nothing about how surpluses are computed or what happens to your holdings on leaving; and we read the Act as COSSEC publishes it, because OGP’s virtual library is still serving an expired certificate.

Common mistakes

  • Looking for a notary when all the incorporators are under twenty-one: the Act accepts a certification by them.
  • Believing a large group is needed: five people suffice.
  • Setting a share par value below one dollar.
  • Using a name identical or similar to an existing cooperative’s, or omitting the words Cooperativa Juvenil Escolar, Comunal or Universitaria.
  • Calling the assembly with less than ten days’ notice or by a route other than in writing to the last known address.
  • Letting the fiscal year pass without an assembly: an annual one must be held within six months of the close.
  • Giving up on a rejected membership application without asking for reconsideration or going to the Supervision Committee.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are needed?

Five (5) or more, by filing articles of incorporation and general bylaws.

Up to what age can you be a member?

Twenty-nine (29) or under, while enrolled at the school or university, or resident in the community where the cooperative is organised.

Do you have to go to a notary?

As a rule yes, but not where the members are under twenty-one (21): then a certification of the articles’ content by the incorporators themselves suffices.

What is a share worth?

The par value may not be less than one dollar ($1.00). The Act publishes no other cost for the filing.

What happens when I graduate?

School graduation is one of the six causes ending membership, along with death, resignation, expulsion, termination of the cooperative and exceeding the age limit.

How often is there an assembly?

One a year, within six months of the fiscal year’s close and on the date nearest to it, called in writing ten days ahead.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 2, 2026

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