P.R. Laws tit. 4, § 2107
The territory of the Commonwealth shall be divided into the following comprehensive notarial districts of the demarcation corresponding to the Parts of the Court of First Instance with seats in San Juan, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Mayagüez, Ponce, Guayama, Humacao, Caguas, Bayamón, Aibonito, Utuado, Carolina and Fajardo. The respective General Custodian of notarial protocols shall reside in each of these seats. He shall be a notary appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, except as provided below with respect to the Notarial Archives Custodian for San Juan. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall pass upon all matters concerning said notarial archives and the resignations and vacancies of the custodians of protocols and shall take such measures he deems proper in connection with the general archives. The Chief Justice may delegate on the Director of Notarial Inspection whatever relevant powers he deems convenient.
General District Custodians, and, in the case of the San Juan Notarial District, the Director of Notarial Inspection may issue literal, full or partial, handwritten, typewritten, photographic or photostatic copies reproduced by any other electronic means designed to obtain an exact reproduction of an original, of the notarial deeds in his custody through payment of the costs of reproducing said copies plus the scheduled fees prescribed for issuing copies, and payment of the corresponding Internal Revenue stamps required by law. In the San Juan General Archives, the fees shall be paid by receipts issued by the Collector of Internal Revenue, in addition to the Internal Revenue stamps that shall be canceled on the copies of the notarial deeds.
The copies thus issued of any deed duly certified by the General Custodian of the District, or by the Director of the Office Notarial Inspection in the case of the San Juan Notarial District Archives, shall be admissible in evidence.
Present incumbents as General Custodians of notarial protocols shall continue to hold office as long as they observe good conduct, or until they resign or are removed for any reason.
The Director of Notarial Inspection shall be in charge of the functioning of the Notarial Archives of San Juan as Custodian. All the operating expenses of the San Juan Notarial Archives and the expenses of supervising the other District Notarial Archives shall be included in the annual expense budget of the Supreme Court.
History —July 2, 1987, No. 75, p. 242, § 67; Sept. 26, 1995, No. 209, § 1, eff. July 1, 1996.