2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter XI - Inspection of Vehicles (§§ 5351 — 5359) › § 5355 - Designation of official inspection stations

With regard to the designation of official inspection stations, the following rules shall apply:
(a) The Secretary may authorize private entities or persons to operate official motor vehicle inspection stations as provided in this chapter, and to issue any of the official certificates provided in this chapter, upon said inspection and the adequate mechanical condition of the inspected vehicles, as well as the license stickers that are issued once the renewal fees of the motor vehicle permits are collected. In such case, the Secretary shall provide the pertinent instructions on how to perform the inspection to the persons that operate said stations, and shall furnish them with the forms and any other materials he/she deems is necessary for the issuing of said certificates and the license-stickers that shall be issued in the name of the Secretary of the Treasury once the renewal fees of the permits of the motor vehicles are paid. The authorization to operate an official inspection station shall be valid for a term of one (1) year from the date it is granted, and may subsequently be renewed for the same term.
(b) The application to operate an inspection station shall be made in writing on an official form and shall not be granted by the Secretary unless the applicant has proven to have the proper equipment and the inspection mechanics needed to perform said inspections in a competent and responsible manner. The Secretary shall require the payment of an annual fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) as a condition to grant the permit for an Official Inspection Station Certificate and of five dollars ($5) a year for a Mechanics Certificate, and the posting of a bond to answer for the damages that any motor vehicle may suffer as a result of the fault or negligence of the applicant, his/her agents or employees when submitting the vehicle to inspection. The amounts thus collected shall be covered into a special fund in the Department of the Treasury destined to the improvement of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Programs, Drivers Examination, Mechanization of the License File, and Traffic Safety Operations Programs.
(c) The Secretary shall supervise and inspect the inspection stations as often as necessary, in order to ensure that they are operating properly and meet the provisions of this chapter and the corresponding regulations.
(d) The Secretary may revoke the authorization granted to operate an inspection station, upon prior notice and an administrative hearing at any time that, in his/her judgment, said station fails to meet the necessary conditions to perform said inspections adequately. In those cases in which it is necessary to guarantee the public safety, the Secretary may provisionally suspend an authorization, subject to the subsequent granting of the corresponding administrative hearing.
(e) No permit to operate of a motor vehicle inspection station may be ceded or transferred without the prior authorization of the Secretary. Said permit shall not give the right to operate an inspection station except in the site designated in the permit. Said permits shall be visibly displayed in the place where the inspection station is established.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 12.05; Feb. 19, 2002, No. 37, § 1; June 3, 2004, No. 132, § 12, eff. 8 months after June 3, 2004.