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) › § 5035 - Transfer of motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers

Every transfer of registered motor vehicles, trailers or semi-trailers shall be conducted according to the following procedures:
(a) The transfer shall be authorized by the signature or mark of the owner of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer and of the acquirer, on the back of the certificate of title of the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer stating the will of the owner to transfer the ownership thereof to the acquirer, and that of the acquirer to accept said property, and that the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer be registered in the registry in his/her name, its license number and the number of his/her driver’s license. It shall also state the address of the acquirer, and in the event the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer does not have a license plate, he/she shall petition the Secretary for the same at the time of the transfer.
(b) The transfer and acceptance shall be made under oath, or statement before a notary public, the Internal Revenue Collector or employee on whom he/she expressly delegates in writing, or an official expressly authorized by the Secretary for said purpose, within ten (10) days following the sale or transfer of the rights.
(c) In those cases that a concessionaire for the sale of motor vehicles takes in used units as part of the down payment of the price of other motor vehicles, the transfer may be made through a sworn statement signed by the concessionaire or seller, provided that the owner of the vehicle has previously stated his will to cede or transfer it to him/her by signing the back of the certificate of title of the vehicle. In such cases, the sworn statement of the concessionaire shall specify the date on which the unit was ceded or transferred, the name and address of the owner, as well as the medium used for the proper identification of said person. It shall also include a detailed description of the motor vehicle, which shall include the following data: make, year, color, model or type, license plate number, registration number of the motor vehicle, vehicle identification number, type of motor, effective horsepower, sticker number, number of doors and any other numbers or identification marks of the unit or its parts.
(d) If it were not possible to execute the transfer, because the owner of registry disappears or refuses to sign before the transfer is executed, the Secretary shall proceed to handle the transfer provided the event was stated in a reliable document, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, requiring a sworn statement by the applicant to such effect.
(e) Once the transfer document is executed, the same must be filed with the Department by the new acquirer within ten (10) days following the execution thereof. The Secretary shall issue to the acquirer the corresponding provisional motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer permit until the final process for the transfer is completed. The acquirer shall return said provisional permit to the Secretary as soon the certificate of title and the motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer permit is issued in his/her name. When the new acquirer files the transfer with the Department after ten (10) days from the execution thereof, but not later than thirty (30) days after said act took place, he/she shall be bound to pay the sum of ten dollars ($10). If this is done after said term, he/she must then pay an additional amount equal to five dollars ($5) for each month or fraction thereof that has elapsed. The date that said transfer was executed shall be taken as the base to compute said charge. This charge shall be paid through an Internal Revenue voucher. An amount equal to twenty percent (20%) of the penalty provided herein shall be covered into a special fund under the custody of the Department of the Treasury of Puerto Rico, destined for the operations and programs of DISCO.
(f) Once the transfer is completed as stated, the Secretary shall proceed to register it and take note of all those modifications resulting from the transaction.
(g) Every motor vehicle whose transfer has not been executed on the certificate of title and is made through a sworn statement before a notary, shall require the prior checking of the file in the Department by an official of DISCO, in which the name of the owner of registry is registered, in addition to submitting the vehicle to an inspection, and verifying the description thereof with what is indicated in said sworn statement. The Secretary shall establish, by regulations, the norms and procedures needed to perform the inspection and verification, as well as the amount the petitioner shall pay for said checking.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 2.34; June 3, 2004, No. 132, § 2; Aug. 19, 2005, No. 57, § 2.