Full treatise. This guide is a summary. The complete treatment, with history, case law and a table of authorities, is in Service of Process in Puerto Rico (PDF, 44 pages), free to download.
This guide summarizes the provisions governing service of process in the courts of Puerto Rico and in the federal District Court. It is general guidance for attorneys, not legal advice, and it does not replace reading the current text published by the Puerto Rico Judiciary. Citations to the Puerto Rico rules use their Spanish designations.
The constitutional nature of the summons
The summons is the mechanism by which the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the defendant. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has repeatedly held that the provisions of Rule 4 are strictly enforced because they answer to the constitutional imperative of due process: no one may be deprived of property or rights without adequate notice of the claim. Until service is complete, the person named in the complaint is only a nominal party, and any judgment against a defendant not served in accordance with law is void.
Rule 4.1: issuance
Omitting a defendant from the form, or using one form for several defendants, has produced void summonses. Rivera Marrero v. Santiago Martínez, 203 DPR 462 (2019). Check that the caption on the summons matches the complaint and that the party's name is complete.
Rule 4.2: form
The summons must bear the seal of the court, the signature of the Clerk, the name of the court and of the parties, the name and address of plaintiff's counsel, the time to appear and the warning that failure to appear will result in a default judgment. A summons missing the seal or the signature should not be served; return it to the Clerk before more of the term runs.
Rule 4.3: who serves and within what time
This is the source of the private process server. Counsel for a party should not serve personally, because counsel has an interest in the action. Our servers have no relationship to the parties and so state under penalty of perjury.
Points the Supreme Court has settled on this subsection:
- The term cannot be extended. The trial court has no discretion to enlarge it, not even for good cause. Bernier González v. Rodríguez Becerra, 200 DPR 637 (2018).
- It runs from the date the Clerk issues the summons, whether on the day of filing or later, with no further condition. Pérez Quiles v. Santiago Cintrón, 2021 TSPR 22.
- When the plaintiff moves from personal service to publication, the 120 days run from the issuance of the publication summons, and Rule 68.2 (enlargement of time) does not apply. Sánchez Ruiz v. Higuera Pérez, 203 DPR 982 (2020).
- A party cannot avoid dismissal by filing a voluntary dismissal after the term has expired. Ross Valedón v. Hospital Dr. Susoni, 2024 TSPR 10.
- Substitution of a party after the defendant's death neither reopens nor suspends the term. Bonilla Sánchez v. Orta, 2026 TSPR 32.
Rule 4.4: manner of service
| Party | How served |
|---|---|
| Adult individual | Personal delivery of a copy of the summons and complaint, or delivery to an agent authorized by the individual or designated by law to receive process. No substituted abode service. |
| Minor under 14 | Delivery to the parent, guardian or person having custody, and to the minor if 14 or older. |
| Incapacitated person | Delivery to the guardian and to the incapacitated person. |
| Commonwealth, agencies and officials | Delivery to the Secretary of Justice or designee, and to the agency or official, under the rule and the special statutes. |
| Municipality | Delivery to the mayor or the person designated by ordinance. |
| Corporation, LLC, partnership, association | Delivery to an officer, managing agent, general agent or agent authorized by appointment or designated by law to receive process. |
| Conjugal partnership | Delivery to both spouses, by two summonses, each individually and on behalf of the partnership. |
Rule 4.5: notice of the complaint and waiver of service
The plaintiff may notify the complaint by mail with a request for waiver of service (form OAT 1579). If the defendant waives, personal service is unnecessary; if the defendant does not respond, the court may tax the costs of service. Caution: the waiver request does not stop the 120-day term. If the defendant does not sign promptly, assign personal service without waiting.
Rule 4.6: service by publication
Available when the person is outside Puerto Rico or, being here, cannot be located after pertinent attempts, shown to the court's satisfaction by affidavit, and when a claim exists that justifies relief. The order directs publication of the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation and mailing of a copy of the summons and complaint by certified mail with return receipt to the last known address within the term the rule sets. The omission of the publication date and amendments to the notice have consequences the Supreme Court defined in Caribbean Orthopedics v. Medshape, 207 DPR 994 (2021).
The affidavit of attempts must be specific. It must describe concrete efforts: addresses visited, dates, persons interviewed, records searched. An affidavit that merely states the defendant could not be located does not satisfy the rule and exposes the judgment to a motion to vacate.
Persons outside Puerto Rico
Rule 4 allows service outside Puerto Rico on persons subject to the jurisdiction of its courts, including non-domiciliaries who perform the acts listed in the long-arm provision. Service in another state may be made in the manner the Puerto Rico rules prescribe for personal service or under the law of the place of service. For the operating detail, including the Dominican Republic, see the guide to service outside Puerto Rico.
Proof of service
Service is proved by the marshal's certificate or by the affidavit of the private server, which must state the date, place and manner of delivery and the person served. Our return, executed under penalty of perjury, adds the physical description of the person served, the server's badge number and a reference to the photographic record, elements that have proved decisive when a defendant later claims never to have been served.
Computing the term (Rule 68.1)
The day of the act that starts the term is excluded and the last day is included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, in which case the term runs to the next business day. Our calculator applies this rule approximately; the definitive computation belongs to counsel on the record.
Federal Rule 4 in the District of Puerto Rico
- Rule 4(c): any person who is at least 18 and not a party may serve.
- Rule 4(e): on an individual, following the law of the state where the court sits or where service is made (that is, Puerto Rico Rule 4.4), or by personal delivery, delivery at the dwelling to a person of suitable age and discretion who resides there, or delivery to an authorized agent.
- Rule 4(h): on corporations and associations, under state law or by delivery to an officer, managing or general agent, or authorized agent.
- Rule 4(m): 90 days from filing, with mandatory extension on a showing of good cause and discretionary extension otherwise.
- Rule 4(l): proof by the server's declaration (form AO 440), except when the U.S. Marshal serves.
- 48 U.S.C. § 864: all pleadings and proceedings in the District Court for Puerto Rico are conducted in English.
Language of the documents
Act 1 of 1993 declares Spanish and English the official languages of the Government of Puerto Rico. In the Court of First Instance ordinary proceedings are in Spanish and documents in English are accepted. In the federal forum English is mandatory. When a court in another state sends documents for service in Puerto Rico, we recommend attaching a Spanish translation for the person served where there is a risk of a later claim of non-comprehension, even if the rule of the issuing forum does not require it.
Sources
Puerto Rico Rules of Civil Procedure of 2009, as amended, 32 LPRA Ap. V, text published by the Secretariat of the Judicial and Notarial Conference (Spanish). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4. 48 U.S.C. § 864. Cases cited in the case law guide.