2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter XXIII - Collection of Fees (§§ 5681 — 5687) › § 5687 - Removal, impounding and custody of vehicles

The authorized officials or employees are hereby empowered by the Secretary to remove vehicles that are parked in such a way that they obstruct or impede the traffic flow, that due to exceptional circumstances hinder its flow, or that violate any of the provisions mentioned in § 5686(c) of this title, pursuant to the following rules:
(a) The removal of said vehicles shall be performed according to the procedure established below:
(1) The official or employee authorized by the Department shall make any reasonable effort to locate the driver in the immediate area to where the vehicle is parked and request him/her to remove it. If the driver cannot be located, or if, having located him/her, the person is unable to drive the vehicle for any reason, or refuses to do so, the authorized official may remove said vehicle by towing it or by the use of other mechanical device or any other adequate means.
(2) The vehicle shall be removed, taking every precaution to prevent damage to it and shall be taken to a site previously designated by the Secretary for said purpose.
(3) After a vehicle is removed, the Department shall notify the Puerto Rico Police of said action within a term of not more than twenty-four (24) hours after said removal has taken place.
(4) The vehicle shall remain in the custody of the Department until its owner or person in charge is allowed to remove it upon adequate identification, through presenting the voucher of the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, in payment of the amount of ten dollars ($10) for the impounding and custody of the vehicle. He/she must also pay the corresponding towing service charges before removing the vehicle or motor vehicle. The Secretary shall establish the charges to be paid for said service through regulations. To such ends, he/she shall take into consideration, among others, the size and weight of the vehicle, the distance between the place of removal and the closest available impounding area. The payment of expenses related to the removal, impounding, and custody of the vehicle shall not prevent the driver or owner from being sanctioned for violating the provisions on parking found in this chapter or its regulations.
(5) The Department shall require the payment of an additional charge of five dollars ($5) for each day or fraction thereof that the impounded vehicle is in its custody, counted after twenty-four (24) hours have elapsed from the time the vehicle was removed.
(6) In the case of stolen vehicles, payment for the removal, impounding, custody and any other related charge is exempted. Provided, that once the owner of the stolen vehicle, or the person who appears in the motor vehicles and trailers registry of the Department is notified, he/she shall have a term of ten (10) days to claim and remove the vehicle without being required to pay for the impounding and custody thereof. Once this term has elapsed without the vehicle being claimed and removed, he/she must pay a charge of five dollars ($5) a day through a voucher to the Secretary of the Treasury, for the impounding and custody of the vehicle.
(7) The owner of registry of the removed vehicle shall be notified of the removal by the Department, by certified mail with receipt of acknowledgment to his/her address as it appears in the Department’s records, with the warning that if the vehicle is not claimed, nor the charges for removal, impounding and custody, as well as any other additional related charges, are paid after six (6) months have elapsed from the date of the notification, the vehicle shall be sold at public auction to pay all expenses, including the charge for the removal, impounding, custody, any additional charges and expenses incurred in the auction, from the amount derived.
(8) The Department is hereby empowered to sell at public auction any unclaimed vehicle that has been removed, and for which the removal, impounding and custody charges as well as any other additional related charges have not been paid, after six (6) months have elapsed counting from the date of the notice. The impounded vehicles that cannot be sold at public auction due to their condition may be decommissioned.
(9) In pertinent cases, the Department shall publish a notice of auction in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico, sixty (60) days prior to the event. Said notice shall include the make, and the year the vehicle was manufactured, the license number, if any, and the name of the owner of the vehicle as it appears in the Register of the Department. The date, hour and place that the public auction will be held shall also be provided.
(10) The public auction shall be held to pay all the expenses incurred for the removal, impounding, custody, and any additional charges and the expenses incurred in the auction. Any remaining funds after said expenses have been deducted, shall be handed to the owner of the vehicle.
(11) If the registered owner of the vehicle does not appear to claim the remaining amount within the term of thirty (30) days after the auction is held, the Department shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico with regard to said matter. The notice shall state the name of the person to whom the remainder belongs, and the amount thereof. If the owner of the vehicle does not claim the remainder within thirty (30) days counting from the publishing of said notice, the remainder shall be covered into the General Fund, after the cost of publishing said notice has been deducted.
(b) The Department is hereby empowered to contract the services of wreckers, tow-trucks, or other mechanical device authorized by the Commission that is needed for the removal of vehicles, pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(c) It shall be presumed that every person who drives a vehicle and every registered owner of a vehicle licensed to travel on the public roads of Puerto Rico has given his/her consent for the Department to remove and impound their vehicle in those cases and in the manner established in this section.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 24.07, renumbered as § 23.07 and amended on June 3, 2004, No. 132, §§ 17, 24, eff. 8 months after June 3, 2004.