P.R. Laws tit. 9, § 5352
Every motor vehicle that travels on the public highways shall be submitted to periodic mechanical inspections when, and as provided by the Secretary by regulations. The following rules shall be followed with regard to said inspections:
(a) Inspections shall be performed with a frequency that shall not exceed once every six (6) months, nor less than once a year. The Secretary is also empowered to determine which vehicles shall be subject to inspection, taking into consideration the number of years since they were manufactured. The inspection shall be mandatory in the case of those vehicles of over two (2) years of being manufactured.
Every motor vehicle subject to regulation by the Commission under the provisions of this chapter, shall be submitted to periodic mechanical inspections. Said inspections shall be made with a frequency that shall not exceed once every six (6) months, nor shall be less than one (1) time a year. The inspection established by the transportation safety regulations promulgated by the Commission shall be compulsory when a commercial vehicle is used for any of the following functions:
(1) Transporting cargo weighing ten thousand and one (10,001) pounds or more.
(2) Transporting fifteen (15) or more passengers, including the driver.
(3) School transportation.
(4) The transporting of hazardous materials.
The provisions contained in this section that are applicable to any motor vehicle that travels on the public highways of Puerto Rico shall also apply to vehicles subject to inspection by the Commission, with regard to all matters that are not incompatible with the provisions of this chapter.
The Commission, in coordination with the Secretary shall promulgate the regulations needed for the adequate and effective execution of the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Any motor vehicle that travels on the public highways shall be submitted to an evaluation and diagnosis of the emission control systems as part of the periodic inspection provided by the Secretary through regulations.
(c) Every used motor vehicle imported to Puerto Rico, shall be inspected before the Department authorizes the license of said vehicle.
(d) In the event that a vehicle has been inspected and repairs are required, but is transferred or assigned, the new owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter. In every case, the vendor or assignor shall be bound to inform said buyer of the obligation imposed, and upon the failure to do so, shall incur an administrative fault and shall be sanctioned with a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
(e) The deadline for the inspection of a motor vehicle shall coincide with the date of the renewal of its license, and said inspection shall be a prior requirement for the renewal thereof. Exempted from this provision are those companies that are engaged in the business of leasing motor vehicles and are recognized by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. In those cases, the Secretary may issue the corresponding sticker to the title holder of the vehicle without the latter having to submit a certificate of inspection. Nevertheless, the title holder of the vehicle or the lessor shall not give the sticker to the lessee until the latter hands him/her the approved certificate of inspection. The companies that are engaged in the leasing of vehicles are under the obligation to submit to the Secretary every thirty (30) days, a certificate that shall include the originals of the inspection certificates that correspond to the vehicles whose stickers were handed to the lessors within the immediately preceding thirty (30) -day period.
The motor vehicles registered in Puerto Rico that are owned by personnel in active service in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, which they have brought with them to the state or country to which they have been assigned, are also exempted from complying with said provision.
(f) The inspection permit shall be denied to any applicant whose vehicle has a TV receiver installed in violation of the provisions of § 5284 of this title.
(g) [Failure to comply] with any of the provisions of this section shall be considered an administrative offense and shall entail the payment of a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 12.02; Sept. 18, 2003, No. 277, § 2; June 3, 2004, No. 132, § 12, eff. 8 months after June 3, 2004.