2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter I - Definitions; Registry of Motor Vehicles, Trailers or Semi-Trailers, and Authorization to Operate on Public Roads (§§ 5001 — 5044) › § 5015 - Licenses for dealers, distributors of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers

(a) Every person who wishes to devote him/herself, in whole or in part, to the retail sale of motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers and sells motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers for profit, as part of an enterprise, dealership, or business, shall request and obtain from the Secretary a certificate that shall be known as the “motor vehicle, trailer and semi-trailer dealer’s license”. Every application to such effects shall be made on the form authorized by the Secretary for such a purpose, and only those special dealers referred to in § 5016 of this title shall be expressly excluded from this classification.
Once the application is approved, the Secretary shall issue the motor vehicle, trailer and semi-trailer dealer’s license, and shall assign to the same a number that identifies the dealer.
(b) Any person who wishes to import motor vehicles, trailers, or semi-trailers directly from the manufacturer or producer, to be sold at wholesale to dealers, shall request and obtain a certificate from the Secretary which shall be known as the “motor vehicle, trailer and semi-trailer distributor’s license”. Every application to such effect shall be made on the form that is authorized for such a purpose by the Secretary.
Once the application is approved, the Secretary shall issue the motor vehicle and trailer distributor’s license and shall assign it a number that identifies the distributor.
(c) According to the public safety needs and the provisions of this chapter, and so that the Secretary may have knowledge of all the transactions made by motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer distributors and dealers, the Secretary is hereby authorized to establish, by regulations, the requirements needed to obtain, renew, and conserve the licenses of distributors and dealers for motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers which can be revoked or suspended by the Secretary after the holding of a hearing.
(d) Every dealer or distributor of motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers who owns vehicles which would otherwise be subject to registration in the motor vehicle, trailer and semi-trailer registry, may operate or move said vehicles on the public highways solely for the purpose of transporting them from the place of arrival in Puerto Rico to the place of business of the dealer or distributor, or for repairs or improvements, without being bound to register said vehicles, subject to the conditions provided by the Secretary, by regulations. It shall be the duty of the person that is operating a vehicle under these circumstances to bear a copy of the authorization issued by the Secretary, as provided by regulations.
It shall be the duty of every distributor or dealer, as required by the Secretary, to offer the information that describes every motor vehicle introduced to Puerto Rico, without prejudice to the provisions of § 3207 of this title, part of the Act to Protect Vehicular Property.
(e) The Secretary or his/her authorized representative shall determine the number of special license plates to be assigned to every motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer dealer, to ensure the proper and responsible conduct of his/her affairs. Every motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer dealer, shall keep a register of the vehicles to which said special license plates have been assigned, as well as the period in which said license plates were used, clearly indicating the pertinent dates. Said register shall be open for inspection by officials of the Department or by police officers.
(f) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section, or the regulations approved by virtue thereof, shall incur a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be penalized by imprisonment which shall not exceed six (6) months, or a fine that shall not be greater than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both penalties, at the discretion of the court.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 2.14; Sept. 17, 2003, No. 276, § 1; Aug. 13, 2004, No. 213, § 7; Aug. 19, 2005, No. 57, § 2.