2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO Appendix (§§ 1 — 39.4) › Appendix III - Rules of Civil Procedure for the General Court of Justice, 1979 (§§ 39.2 — 39.4) › Part II - COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION › Rule 4 - Process › Rule 4.4 - Personal service

In those cases in which it is applicable, if the defendant does not [waive] the summons by means of the mechanism set forth in Rule 4.3.1, the summons and the claim shall be processed jointly. The defendant shall forward the necessary copies to the person who performs the processing. Said person, when delivering the copy of the summons, shall sign the back of same, stating the date and the location of the delivery, and the name of the person to whom same was delivered. The processing shall be performed as follows:
(a) Upon a person of legal age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to him personally or to an agent authorized by him or appointed by law to receive service of process.
(b) Upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to his father or mother with patria potestas or to a guardian, in case they are outside Puerto Rico, service shall be made, instead, upon any of the persons having the care of the minor or upon the person with whom the minor lives. In case the father, mother or guardian lives in Puerto Rico but the minor does not live with him or her, any of the persons named above shall also be served with process.
Upon a minor fourteen (14) years or older, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to him personally and to his father or mother with patria potestas or to his guardian. In case the father, mother or guardian are outside Puerto Rico, any of the persons having the care of the minor or the person with whom he lives shall be served with process in their stead.
(c) Upon a person declared incompetent by a court and for whom a guardian has been appointed, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said person and to his guardian. In the case of a person not declared incompetent by a court but confined in an institution for the treatment of mental illness, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said person and to the director of the institution. In all other cases where the plaintiff, his attorney or the person making service may have reasonable grounds to believe that the person upon whom service is to be made is mentally incompetent, he shall notify the court so that it may proceed pursuant to Rule 15.2 (b).
(d) Upon a person confined in a correctional institution, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint personally to him and to the director of the institution.
(e) Upon a corporation, company, partnership, association or any other artificial person, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an officer, managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or designated by law to receive service of process.
(f) Upon the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the Secretary of Justice or to a person designated by him.
(g) Upon an officer or agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico other than a public corporation by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said officer or to the chief executive of said agency. Furthermore, it shall be an indispensable requirement that in all suits filed against an officer or agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico other than a public corporation, the plaintiff shall deliver a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the Secretary of Justice or to the person designated by him. If the agency is a public corporation, copies shall be delivered pursuant to the provisions in Rule 4.4(e).
(h) Upon a municipal corporation or agency thereof with standing to sue and be sued, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the chief executive officer thereof or to a person designated by him.
History —Amended on Aug. 4, 1979, No. 197, p. 575, § 1; July 21, 1988, No. 125, p. 523, § 1; Jan. 2, 2003, § 1.