Who issues a construction permit in Puerto Rico, and in what order?

Authority

Ley 161-2009 — Arts. 1.5(14), 1.5(21), 1.5(22), 1.5(57A), 1.5(59A), 2.1, 6.1 and 9.9 · Ley 416-2004, known as the Ley sobre Política Pública Ambiental — Arts. 4(B)(3) and 9(A)(4) · Reglamento 8858 (2016), Reglamento para el Proceso de Evaluación Ambiental (RPEA) — Reglas 115(A)(1), 115(A)(3), 115(B)(1), 117(F), 123(A)(7), 137(F), 138(A), 138(D) and 138(E) · Reglamento Conjunto Núm. 9473, 16 June 2023 · Ley 171-2018 — Sección 92 · Verified against the sources below on 6 September 2026

Sources

7 sources

Ley 161-2009, full text (PDF, OGP virtual library) · Ley 416-2004, Ley sobre Política Pública Ambiental (PDF, OGP virtual library) · Reglamento 8858 (2016), Reglamento para el Proceso de Evaluación Ambiental (PDF, DRNA) · Reglamento Conjunto Núm. 9473, 16 June 2023 (PDF, Departamento de Estado) · Ley 171-2018 (PDF, OGP virtual library) · DRNA — Negociado de Permisos · Junta de Planificación — public hearings announcement on the Reglamento Conjunto, 30 April 2025 (PDF)

Verified

6 September 2026

Status

Current

Who is OGPe, and where does it sit in the government?

OGPe — the Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos — is the office Ley 161-2009 builds the permit system around, and Article 2.1 creates it as an Auxiliary Secretariat of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce.Verbatim¶

Autonomous municipalities of Hierarchy I to V exercise permit powers of their own where a transfer agreement delegates them. The delegation can be partial or total, so which powers a given municipality holds is a question about its own transfer agreement rather than a general rule.Our reading¶

Where OGPe sits matters, because older copies of the 2009 law still circulate with the office placed under the Junta de Planificación. Use the arrangement that exists today: the office inside the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, issuing the determinations and the permits.Our reading¶

The web address moved as well. As of 6 September 2026, ogpe.pr.gov redirects to permisos.pr.gov. An old link inside a filing or a proposal reads as an old document, and on a permit matter that costs credibility in a single line.Our reading¶

Se crea la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos como una Secretaría Auxiliar del Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio.

The Office of Permit Management is created as an Auxiliary Secretariat of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce.

What is a consulta de ubicación?

A consulta de ubicación is the proceeding in which OGPe — or an autonomous municipality of Hierarchy I to V holding the delegated authority — evaluates and decides on a proposed land use that is not permitted ministerially and that cannot be handled through any other mechanism.Verbatim¶

Read the definition backwards and it tells you when a project needs one. The use is discretionary, the district allows it only on a decision, and no other door exists. The definition adds a second road: in areas carrying no zoning designation it also covers proposed uses that, by their nature and complexity, call for a greater degree of analysis. What comes out the far end is a ruling on what the land may be used for.Our reading¶

Inside OGPe, discretionary applications land with the Junta Adjudicativa. Article 6.1 — the chapter added by Ley 19-2017 — creates it inside the office and delegates it the responsibility of evaluating and adjudicating discretionary applications. Article 1.5(22) names it alongside the Executive Director as an issuer of environmental compliance determinations, which are made as part of a final determination.Our reading¶

Es el procedimiento ante la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos o los Municipios Autónomos con Jerarquía de la I a la V, a los cuales se le haya delegado dicha facultad por medio del Convenio de Transferencia, para que evalúen, pasen juicio y tomen la determinación que estimen pertinente sobre propuestos usos de terrenos que no son permitidos ministerialmente y que no pueden considerarse mediante otro mecanismo. En áreas no calificadas incluye propuestos usos de terrenos que por su naturaleza y complejidad requieran un grado mayor de análisis.

It is the proceeding before the Office of Permit Management, or the Autonomous Municipalities of Hierarchy I to V to which said authority has been delegated by means of the Transfer Agreement, for them to evaluate, pass judgement and make the determination they deem pertinent on proposed uses of land that are not permitted ministerially and that cannot be considered through another mechanism. In areas carrying no zoning designation it includes proposed uses of land that by their nature and complexity require a greater degree of analysis.

Does an approved consulta de ubicación authorize construction?

No. An approved consulta de ubicación decides the use of the land, and Article 1.5(21) of Ley 161-2009 states in its own words that in the case of consultas de ubicación a final determination does not constitute the granting of a permit.Verbatim¶

One sentence in a statute settles an argument that otherwise runs on opinion. The authorization to build is a separate filing, later, carrying its own number and its own date.Our reading¶

It is also the sentence to say when the question comes up in a meeting. It states the law and it names the article, so the room hears the statute rather than an opinion.Our reading¶

For anyone documenting a site, the stage tells you what the record ought to be. Where the consulta is the newest paper on file, the ground is still the ground, and the record worth building is the baseline — the site as it stands before the first machine arrives.Our reading¶

En el caso de las consultas de ubicación, una determinación final no constituye la otorgación de un permiso.

In the case of consultas de ubicación, a final determination does not constitute the granting of a permit.

When does a project need an environmental impact statement, and who is on the hook for it?

Ley 416-2004 requires a written, detailed statement before any government action or decision that significantly affects the quality of the environment — the trigger is significance, and the timing is before. The agency in the proponent chair is a government one, even where a private owner pays for the document and writes it.Verbatim¶

Two words in that article carry it. "Significativamente" sets a threshold about effect, not about acreage. "Antes" puts the statement ahead of the decision it informs, which is why the environmental paperwork on a large project is older than any of its permits.Our reading¶

The same law requires OGPe to publish the finished statement electronically, through a medium of easy access and free of cost, such as the Internet.Verbatim¶

On a privately funded project, the proponent agency before the law is still the government. Rule 115(A)(1) of Reglamento 8858 puts OGPe in that chair for the environmental planning process, except where an autonomous municipality of Hierarchy I to V holds the delegated authority. Rule 115(B)(1) is the half that covers private money: where the environmental document is prepared in whole or in part by the private proponent, the proponent agency makes its own evaluation of the environmental impacts, keeps an independent criterion, and answers for the content of the document. Rule 115(A) leaves one more door: a concerned government entity may serve as proponent agency where OGPe is not empowered to issue final determinations and the authority has not been delegated to the municipality.Verbatim¶

Those two facts explain each other. The government carries the environmental document, so the document is government record, and the statute requires OGPe to publish it. A contractor pricing the work can download the statement at no cost, the same as anyone else.Our reading¶

Incluir en toda recomendación o informe sobre una propuesta de legislación y emitir, antes de efectuar cualquier acción o promulgar cualquier decisión gubernamental que afecte significativamente la calidad del medioambiente, una declaración escrita y detallada sobre:

To include in every recommendation or report on proposed legislation and to issue, before taking any action or promulgating any government decision that significantly affects the quality of the environment, a written and detailed statement on:

La Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos publicará electrónicamente dicha declaración de impacto ambiental a través de un medio de fácil acceso y libre de costo, tal como la Internet.

The Office of Permit Management shall publish said environmental impact statement electronically through a medium of easy access and free of cost, such as the Internet.

OGPe -fungirá como agencia proponente con relación al proceso de planificación ambiental, excepto en aquellos casos en los que a los Municipios Autónomos con Jerarquía de la I a la V, se les haya delegado esta facultad como consecuencia del convenio de transferencia establecido en la Ley 81-1991, supra

OGPe — shall serve as proponent agency in relation to the environmental planning process, except in those cases in which the Autonomous Municipalities of Hierarchy I to V have been delegated this authority as a consequence of the transfer agreement established in Ley 81-1991, supra

Si el documento ambiental es preparado, en todo o en parte, por el proponente de la acción privada, la agencia proponente deberá hacer su propia evaluación de los impactos ambientales, manteniendo un criterio independiente, y se hará responsable del contenido del documento ambiental.

If the environmental document is prepared, in whole or in part, by the proponent of the private action, the proponent agency must make its own evaluation of the environmental impacts, maintaining an independent criterion, and shall be responsible for the content of the environmental document.

What is a determinación de cumplimiento ambiental, and how long does it last?

The determinación de cumplimiento ambiental is the paper in which OGPe's Executive Director or its Junta Adjudicativa attests, as part of a final determination, that the proponent agency met the substantive and procedural requirements of Article 4(B)(3) of Ley 416-2004 and the applicable regulations. Its term is five years, or the deadline to start the proposed action, whichever comes first.Verbatim¶

That paper is where the obligations live. The environmental statement describes the project; the compliance determination is the document that attaches conditions to the approval — what gets monitored, what gets documented, what gets reported and to whom. When somebody asks where a photography requirement came from, this is usually the document to open.Our reading¶

It also has a life span, and Rule 138(A) of Reglamento 8858 sets it.Verbatim¶

Count five years from the date on the determination, then look for a deadline to start the proposed action. The earlier of the two governs. Rule 138(E) says what happens past it: the compliance determination is void, and neither the proponent agency nor the proponent of the action may carry out the proposed action until a new compliance determination is obtained under Article 4(B) of Ley 416-2004 and the regulation. Rule 138(D) adds a second road to the same place — substantial variations to the project that call for environmental impact evaluation, or extraordinary changes in the concept and context on which the project was proposed.Our reading¶

That clock pushes in one direction: toward breaking ground. Any record of the site as it stands before construction has to be made before that happens, because the same picture cannot be taken afterwards.Our reading¶

Para propósitos de esta Ley, es toda determinación que realiza el Director Ejecutivo de la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos o la Junta Adjudicativa, como parte de una determinación final, en donde certifica que la agencia proponente ha cumplido con los requisitos sustantivos y procesales del Artículo 4(B)(3) de la Ley 416-2004, según enmendada, conocida como la “Ley sobre Política Pública Ambiental”, y con los reglamentos aplicables.

For purposes of this Act, it is any determination made by the Executive Director of the Office of Permit Management or the Junta Adjudicativa, as part of a final determination, in which it attests that the proponent agency has complied with the substantive and procedural requirements of Article 4(B)(3) of Ley 416-2004, as amended, known as the "Environmental Public Policy Act", and with the applicable regulations.

La vigencia de la determinación de cumplimiento ambiental para la EA y para la DIA será de cinco (5) años o hasta la fecha límite para el comienzo de la acción propuesta, lo que ocurra primero.

The term of the environmental compliance determination for the EA and for the DIA shall be five (5) years or until the deadline for the start of the proposed action, whichever occurs first.

What does DRNA do, and what happened to the Junta de Calidad Ambiental?

DRNA's Negociado de Permisos handles five things: materials of the earth's crust, the public waters of Puerto Rico, the maritime-terrestrial public domain, trees on public and private property, and land inside the Karst Special Restricted Planning Area and the protection zone around it. The Junta de Calidad Ambiental is its predecessor: Ley 171-2018 makes DRNA its successor for all legal purposes.Verbatim¶

The bureau runs four divisions under one director. A project that touches water, the shoreline, earth extraction, trees or the karst area carries a filing in each line that applies.Our reading¶

On the environmental document itself, Rule 117(F) of Reglamento 8858 sets the general position on what agency comments are worth.Verbatim¶

The same rule then departs from that position for three agencies: recommendations from DRNA, from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and from the JCA bind OGPe. That half of the rule was read in the OCR layer of a scanned copy, and the OCR carries typographical errors, so it is set out here as our reading rather than as a quotation.Our reading¶

The practical use of knowing which comments bind is forecasting. Rule 137(F) requires the compliance determination to state the applicable conditions, including those recommended by the agencies whose comments bind. Reading what one of those agencies recommended tells you the shape of what the determination will be built to require.Our reading¶

DRNA also carries out investigations, studies, inspections and analyses to verify compliance with Ley 416-2004 and the regulations approved under it.Verbatim¶

Two consequences follow for anyone holding a camera on a job site. An inspection can arrive on any day, so evidence is worth having in hand before it does. And verification work performed for the agency is work for the agency — a different chair from work performed for the owner.Our reading¶

And the agency to name is DRNA. Section 92 of Ley 171-2018 rewrites every reference to the Junta de Calidad Ambiental contained in any law, regulation or official document of the Government of Puerto Rico.Verbatim¶

The Junta de Calidad Ambiental was dissolved by Ley 171-2018, approved on 2 August 2018, and its functions passed to DRNA. The RPEA and half a dozen environmental regulations still print "JCA" in their text; they are current, because Section 92 does the translation automatically. Saying "the JCA handles that" in a 2026 meeting tells the room the speaker has not opened the paperwork.Our reading¶

El Negociado de Permisos tiene la responsabilidad de manejar el uso y aprovechamiento de los materiales de la corteza terrestre, las aguas públicas de Puerto Rico, los bienes de dominio público marítimo terrestre y los árboles ubicados en propiedades públicas y privadas a través de los estatutos legales establecidos para así lograrlo. Además, maneja el uso de los terrenos ubicados en el Área de Planificación Especial Restringida del Carso y su zona de amortiguamiento.

The Bureau of Permits has the responsibility of managing the use and exploitation of the materials of the earth's crust, the public waters of Puerto Rico, the goods of the maritime-terrestrial public domain and the trees located on public and private properties, through the legal statutes established to achieve it. In addition, it manages the use of the lands located in the Karst Special Restricted Planning Area and the protection zone around it.

Las recomendaciones o comentarios de las entidades gubernamentales deberán ser consideradas dentro de sus áreas particulares de peritaje, pero no serán obligatorias para efectos de la evaluación y determinación de cumplimiento ambiental de la OGPe.

The recommendations or comments of governmental entities shall be considered within their particular areas of expertise, but shall not be binding for purposes of OGPe's evaluation and environmental compliance determination.

Llevar a cabo investigaciones, estudios, inspecciones y análisis para la verificación del cumplimiento con las disposiciones de esta Ley y la reglamentación aprobada al amparo de las mismas por el Departamento.

To carry out investigations, studies, inspections and analyses for the verification of compliance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations approved thereunder by the Department.

Cualquier referencia a la Junta de Calidad Ambiental, contenida en cualquier ley, reglamento o documento oficial del Gobierno de Puerto Rico, se entenderá enmendada a los efectos de referirse al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales que se entenderá como su sucesor para todos los fines legales correspondientes.

Any reference to the Environmental Quality Board, contained in any law, regulation or official document of the Government of Puerto Rico, shall be understood as amended so as to refer to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, which shall be understood as its successor for all corresponding legal purposes.

Which rulebook governs permits today, and is it settled?

The rulebook for permits related to development, land use and the operation of businesses is Reglamento Conjunto Núm. 9473, dated 16 June 2023 — the one everyone calls the Reglamento Conjunto 2023. That number and that date are printed on its own cover page.Verbatim¶

It was adopted through an emergency mechanism, without public hearings. On 30 April 2025, in compliance with a court judgment issued on 21 April 2025, the Junta de Planificación announced a calendar of public hearings on it — stating, in the same announcement, where the regulation stood in the meantime.Our reading¶

The Junta set those hearings for 25 June, 16 July, 20 August and 3 September 2025, and those dates have passed. What we have not confirmed is whether the hearings were held, whether the rulemaking closed, or what number the rulebook carries today — and the statement quoted below that the regulation is valid and in force is itself dated 30 April 2025. Before citing any rule of the Reglamento Conjunto in a document, check the number and the status of that process on the day you cite it. The spelling "trasacciones" below is in the original.Unverified¶

One warning about the document itself. The regulation runs 967 scanned pages and its OCR text carries errors, so the cover page quoted below was read as an image. Quote the interior of that regulation only against a clean copy, and quote the article number with it.Our reading¶

REGLAMENTO CONJUNTO PARA LA EVALUACIÓN Y EXPEDICIÓN DE PERMISOS RELACIONADOS AL DESARROLLO, USO DE TERRENOS Y OPERACIÓN DE NEGOCIOS

JOINT REGULATION FOR THE EVALUATION AND ISSUANCE OF PERMITS RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT, USE OF LAND AND OPERATION OF BUSINESSES

el Reglamento Conjunto 2023, es válido y está vigente, así como todas las trasacciones aprobadas desde el 2021, según la determinación del tribunal

the 2023 Reglamento Conjunto is valid and in force, as are all the transactions approved since 2021, according to the court's determination

What is a construction permit, and what comes after it?

A permiso de construcción under Ley 161-2009 is a consolidated filing covering one or more of five activities: construction, reconstruction, remodeling, demolition, and urbanization works. What comes after it is the Permiso Único, the permit to operate.Verbatim¶

"Consolidated" is the operative word. One filing carries several activities, which is why a single permit number can cover work that looks like three different jobs from the fence line.Our reading¶

At the far end of the cycle sits the Permiso Único, which consolidates the permits and licences a business needs to start or continue operating.Verbatim¶

So the gates on a large project fall in this order: the discretionary ruling on the proposed use, carrying the environmental compliance determination on the same paper; then the construction permit; then the Permiso Único for operation. Article 1.5(22) puts the environmental determination inside a final determination, and Article 4(B)(3) of Ley 416-2004 puts the written statement ahead of the decision it informs. Each gate carries its own number and its own date, and the paper posted at the entrance names the filing the project is standing on.Our reading¶

The order also sets a documentation calendar. Progress documentation of an active work face begins once a construction permit exists for that phase. Before that, the useful record is the baseline. After the Permiso Único, the reason to fly moves from progress to condition over time.Our reading¶

“Permiso de Construcción” — Trámite consolidado que incluye una o más de las siguientes actividades: construcción, reconstrucción, remodelación, demolición u obras de urbanización.

"Construction Permit" — Consolidated filing that includes one or more of the following activities: construction, reconstruction, remodeling, demolition or urbanization works.

“Permiso Único” — Permiso para el inicio o continuación de la operación de un negocio, construcción y/o actividad incidental al mismo en el que se consolida permisos, licencias, autorizaciones o certificaciones, el cual será expedido por la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos, o los Municipios Autónomos con Jerarquía de la I a la V, conforme a lo dispuesto en el Capítulo VIII de esta Ley.

"Single Permit" — Permit for the start or continuation of the operation of a business, construction and/or activity incidental to it, in which permits, licences, authorizations or certifications are consolidated, which shall be issued by the Office of Permit Management, or the Autonomous Municipalities of Hierarchy I to V, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VIII of this Act.

1. Consulta de ubicación — the discretionary ruling on the proposed use. Art. 1.5(14).
2. Determinación de cumplimiento ambiental — issued as part of that same final determination, attesting the Art. 4(B)(3) requirements were met. The conditions attach here. Art. 1.5(22); Reglamento 8858 Regla 137(F).
3. Permiso de construcción — the consolidated filing for construction, reconstruction, remodeling, demolition or urbanization works. Art. 1.5(57A).
4. Permiso Único — the consolidated permit to start or continue operating. Art. 1.5(59A).

Where does the permit law already require a photograph?

Article 9.9 of Ley 161-2009 requires a photograph at the front gate. In discretionary cases, or where another law or regulation requires it, the notice sign must be installed within two days of the filing; during the next three days the applicant must attest the installation in a written document and must present that evidence by photo.Verbatim¶

Two clocks and a deliverable, written into the permit statute itself. The same article keeps the sign on the site until the authorized work or activity ends, and makes keeping it posted a condition of carrying out the work.Verbatim¶

The category exists already, and that changes how the conversation starts. A photograph is what the statute requires on a discretionary filing. A dated, georeferenced photograph carries its own date and its own position inside the file, which is what makes it worth something the second time somebody opens it.Our reading¶

The environmental regulation names aerial photography as well, and it names a scale.Verbatim¶

Be plain about what that scale is. 1:20,000 is regional imagery, and the rule requires it to illustrate existing conditions and adjoining elements for the environmental document itself. The layer that sits outside that requirement is the state of the site, dated, flight after flight, once the determination is granted and the ground begins to change.Our reading¶

En los casos discrecionales o cuando alguna ley o reglamento así lo requiera, dicho rótulo deberá ser instalado dentro de los dos (2) días siguientes a la radicación de la solicitud y una vez instalado, durante los próximos tres (3) días el solicitante acreditará dicha instalación mediante documento escrito en el cual certifique que el mismo se instaló conforme a lo dispuesto en esta Ley y presentará dicha evidencia mediante foto.

In discretionary cases, or where some law or regulation so requires, said sign must be installed within the two (2) days following the filing of the application and, once installed, during the next three (3) days the applicant shall evidence said installation by means of a written document in which it attests that the same was installed in accordance with what is provided in this Act, and shall present said evidence by photo.

Todo rótulo instalado permanecerá en dicho lugar hasta que culmine la obra o actividad autorizada. De no cumplirse con este requisito, no se podrá efectuar la obra.

Every sign installed shall remain in said place until the authorized work or activity is completed. Should this requirement not be met, the work may not be carried out.

Mapas de localización y ubicación, o fotografía aérea a escala 1:20,000 del área que ilustre las condiciones existentes, las estructuras o elementos colindantes al predio del proyecto. Se deberán identificar los usos colindantes

Location and site maps, or aerial photograph at a scale of 1:20,000 of the area illustrating the existing conditions, the structures or elements adjoining the project site. The adjoining uses must be identified

1. File the discretionary application, or the application for which a law or regulation requires the sign.
2. Install the notice sign within two (2) days of filing.
3. During the next three (3) days, produce a written document attesting that the sign was installed as the Act provides.
4. Present that evidence by photo.
5. Keep the sign posted until the authorized work or activity ends — keeping it posted is a condition of carrying out the work.

What most people have wrong

Each of these is a thing said confidently in public that the rule does not support. The section number settles it.

1. "The consulta de ubicación came through, so the project is permitted."The statute says the opposite in its own words: on consultas de ubicación, a final determination does not constitute the granting of a permit. It rules on the use. The authorization to build is a separate filing, later, with its own number.Ley 161-2009 Art. 1.5(21)
2. "OGPe hangs off the Junta de Planificación."Article 2.1 creates it as an Auxiliary Secretariat of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. Older copies of the 2009 text still circulate with the earlier arrangement, which is why the mistake keeps travelling.Ley 161-2009 Art. 2.1
3. "That one goes to the Junta de Calidad Ambiental."The JCA stopped existing in 2018. Section 92 rewrites every reference to it — in any law, regulation or official document of the Government of Puerto Rico — as DRNA, which is its successor for all legal purposes. Saying JCA in a 2026 meeting dates the speaker.Ley 171-2018 Sección 92
4. "A private owner paid for the environmental document, so the owner is the proponent."Rule 115(A)(1) puts OGPe in the proponent agency chair for the environmental planning process, except where an autonomous municipality of Hierarchy I to V holds the delegated authority. Rule 115(B)(1) covers the private half: where the proponent of the private action prepares the document, the proponent agency still makes its own evaluation and answers for the content.Reglamento 8858 (RPEA) Reglas 115(A)(1) and 115(B)(1)
5. "The environmental document is private, so nobody outside the project can read it."Ley 416-2004 requires OGPe to publish the environmental impact statement electronically, through a medium of easy access and free of cost. It is public by operation of law, and it stays public.Ley 416-2004 Art. 4(B)(3)
6. "Agency comments on an environmental document are all advisory."Rule 117(F) sets that as the general position and then departs from it: recommendations from DRNA, the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and the JCA — read DRNA — bind OGPe. Rule 137(F) is where that lands on paper: the compliance determination must state the applicable conditions, including those recommended by the agencies whose comments bind.Reglamento 8858 (RPEA) Reglas 117(F) and 137(F)
7. "The environmental compliance determination holds until the project is built."Five years, or the deadline to start the proposed action, whichever occurs first. Count from the date printed on the determination and look for the earlier date.Reglamento 8858 (RPEA) Regla 138(A)
8. "The permit sign is a formality nobody checks."Article 9.9 gives it two days to go up, three more days to be evidenced by photo and by a written attestation, and keeps it on the site until the authorized work or activity ends. Keeping it posted is a condition of carrying out the work.Ley 161-2009 Art. 9.9
9. "Aerial photography is already covered by the environmental regulation."Rule 123(A)(7) names it at 1:20,000 — regional imagery of existing conditions and adjoining elements, for the document itself. The dated state of the site after the determination is a separate layer with a separate purpose.Reglamento 8858 (RPEA) Regla 123(A)(7)
10. "Send it to ogpe.pr.gov."That address redirects to permisos.pr.gov. An old link inside a filing or a proposal reads as an old document to the one reader who checks.permisos.pr.gov, verified 6 September 2026

Where this goes next

• What does the EPA construction permit require me to photograph?The federal water permit runs on its own clocks and asks for photographs by name. It is a separate track from the Commonwealth gates on this page, and it applies to the same site at the same time.
• Can I legally fly a drone over my job site in Puerto Rico?The airspace, altitude, hour and local-statute checks that come before any flight over a site in Puerto Rico.

Written by a FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot in western Puerto Rico, and verified on 6 September 2026. Something out of date or wrong on this page? Write and say so — corrections are read and dated.