2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TEN - Commerce (§§ 1 — 4196) › Subtitle 1 - Regulation of Business Generally (§§ 1 — 998q) › Chapter 32 - Pawnbroking Business and Operations Regulatory Act (§§ 634 — 654) › § 637 - License—Application

(a) Any person who wishes to obtain a license to engage in the pawnbroking business shall file an application, under oath, with the OCFI using the form provided by the Commissioner. It shall be necessary to submit a license application for every Office to be established.
(b) The application shall contain all the information prescribed by the Commissioner through regulations, circular letter, or any other general determination or administrative communication.
(c) The license application shall include the license and investigation fees, as provided below:
(1) A certified or manager's check, bank draft, or money order in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each office, payable to the Secretary of the Treasury on account of annual license fees. If the license is applied for or issued after June 30 of any year, the annual license fee for that year shall only be five hundred dollars ($500), and
(2) a certified or manager's check, bank draft, or money order in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500) for each office, payable to the Secretary of the Treasury to cover the cost of the investigation required by this chapter.
(d) The application shall include the required bond as provided in this chapter.
(e) The license application shall state the exact location where business shall be conducted, as well as any other information requested by the Commissioner, including the names and addresses of the owners, partners, directors, and principal officers of the applying entity, in order to set a basis for the investigations provided in this section. Every year, the OCFI shall submit an updated list of the pawnshops existing in Puerto Rico, including the names and addresses of the owners, partners, directors, or officers of the applying entity, to the Police Department and the Department of the Treasury. Any changes in the information provided shall be informed to the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Department of the Treasury within five (5) days of filing such changes with the OCFI.
(f) Any investigation regarding an application to engage in a pawnbroking business filed with the OCFI shall be completed within ninety (90) calendar days from the date the applicant submitted all the documents required to process the license to operate a pawnbroking business. The Commissioner, for just cause, may initiate and/or require any additional investigation that he/she may deem appropriate and necessary to determine if the petitioner or its partners, directors, or executive officers, in the case of a juridical person, meet the requirements established by this chapter.
(g) The Commissioner may extend the term provided by law or regulations to consider the application only if the investigation described in subsection (f) of this section shows just cause, and notify the applicant in writing within five (5) days before the expiration of such term, as described in subsection (f) of this section.
(h) The application for a license shall contain the NAICS number that has been assigned to the applicant.
History —Feb. 24, 2011, No. 23, § 5, eff. 60 days after Feb. 24, 2011.