2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 2 - Uniform Signs and Advertisment Act of Puerto Rico of 1999 (§§ 51 — 56g) › Subchapter I - General Provisions (§§ 51 — 51l) › § 51f - Signs and advertisements that do not require permits

The following types of signs and advertisements may be installed on any zoning district or non-zoning area without requiring a permit subject to the compliance of the norms established in this chapter and those of this section:
(a) Signs indicating danger. — Shall be erected and maintained for the time the danger exits.
(b) Temporary signs and advertisements for a period not greater than ninety (90) days with the purpose of calling the attention to an activity, campaign, idea or message, be it governmental, civic, political, commercial, religious, charitable, artistic, sporting, or of any similar nature, on any zoning district or non-zoning area, pursuant to the following:
(1) An authorization issued by the Department of Transportation and Public Works or municipal authorities, depending on the case, when proposed to be erected on the right of way of public roads, sidewalks and posts or structures used for public utilities, parallel or perpendicular to the public road.
(2) An authorization by the property owner, tenant or possessor of the property in public or private lots.
(3) The height, measurement from the ground level to the highest part, shall not exceed thirty (30) feet.
(4) Its size shall be not greater than two hundred (200) square feet.
(5) They may have non-intermittent illumination.
(6) In the case of commercial signs or advertisements, they shall only be erected in connection with a carnival, fair, festival, patron’s feast, commemorative of typical feast, or folkloric activity. In these cases, the sign or advertisement may not be installed thirty (30) days prior to the date of the activity.
(7) Once the activity or campaign ends, the sign or advertisement shall be removed within a term of five (5) days.
(c) Banners on any zoning district or non-zoning area, pursuant to the following:
(1) An authorization issued by the Department of Transportation and Public Works or municipal authorities, depending on the case. Comply with the parameters established by the Department of Transportation and Public Works for these advertisements.
(2) Notification to ARPE of the installation date of the banner through the form provided for said purposes.
(3) Its installation shall be limited to a period not greater than thirty (30) days, or five (5) days after the date of the advertised event, after which the sign shall be removed by the owner, the owner of the commercial lot where it was installed, the advertiser, the manufacturer or the operator. These shall be severally liable responsible for the removal of the banner.
(4) Its size shall not exceed fifty (50) square feet.
(5) Any banner made with fabric or any other combustible material shall be installed with ropes that provide a secure support.
(6) The banner shall not be located at a distance less than one hundred (100) feet from a traffic light.
(d) Signs of construction works and residential property projects or developments, as well as commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental and any other type during the original promotional, selling and leasing period pursuant to the following:
(1) Size. — The sum of the sizes of the signs, separately or together, shall not exceed two hundred (200) square feet in area.
(2) Illumination. — Signs may have non-intermittent illumination.
(3) Situation or location. — Signs shall be placed or located on the ground, on temporary buildings used as offices or for storage, or on the provisional fences of the construction projects, on the sales office or on the houses or model units. The signs to be located on the ground may be placed parallel or perpendicular to the street; and their height, measured from the ground level to the highest part of the sign shall not exceed thirty (30) feet. The signs to be situated on temporary buildings, sales offices, model houses or units, and on provisional fences shall be placed flat against these, on the wall or part of the fence facing the street, and parallel or perpendicular to such street, but never projecting over it.
(4) Terms of installation. — The signs shall only be installed within a term not greater than three (3) months before the beginning of the works, and may remain installed as long as the works are in real and effective construction process, or the promotion, sale or lease of the property. After concluding these processes, the signs shall be removed by their owners.
(5) ARPE shall be notified of the installation date of the sign of the construction work, or the promotion, sale or lease of the property through the form provided for said purposes.
(e) Signs or advertisements on windows or show windows of buildings destined for commercial purposes, as well as industrial, institutional, tourist, or any other non-residential use with a size not greater than thirty percent (30%) of the total area of windows or show window on any of the building frontages.
(f) Signs or advertisements in the shape of balloons calling the attention of an activity, campaign, idea or message, be it governmental, civic, political, commercial, religious, charitable, artistic, sporting, or of any similar nature, in commercial and industrial districts, marketing centers and parks of intense active recreation, previously implemented by ARPE pursuant to the following:
(1) An authorization by the property owner, tenant or possessor of the property in public or private lots.
(2) Its installation shall be limited to a period not greater than sixty (60) days, after which its owner, the owner of the commercial lot where it was installed, the advertiser, the manufacturer or the installer shall remove the sign.
(3) ARPE shall be notified of the installation date of the sign of the construction work, or the promotion, sale or lease of the property through the form provided for said purposes, which shall include information regarding its dimensions and fastening for ARPE’s approval.
(4) Every balloon shall be installed with ropes that provide a secure support.
(5) The installation of three (3) balloons for a marketing center or park of intense active recreation, if its size and fastening are approved by ARPE.
(g) Flags representing non-profit commercial companies or entities established in the premises where they are located, limited to one (1) flag per lot, and to a maximum size of one hundred (100) square feet. The maximum height of the flag post, from the ground level to its highest part, shall not be greater than fifty (50) feet. The flag post shall be installed on the front yard of the lot, and shall have a distance of no less than twelve (12) feet, measured from the right of way limits to the public road.
(h) In the case of gas service stations and drive-in businesses, directional and safety signs, signs stating the price of the gasoline and diesel oil, the menu or service panel, and any other sign required by federal or local regulations. Nevertheless, they these [sic] shall be installed pursuant to any provision of law or applicable regulation.
History —Dec. 22, 1999, No. 355, § 10, eff. 60 days after Dec. 22, 1999.