Buenos Dias!
Welcome to Puerto Rico – La Isla Del Encanto.
There are 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico and 13 regional courts. All criminal record searches are conducted at the Policia de Puerto Rico. This is the only recognizable and acceptable method of “criminal background check” in Puerto Rico. The police department issues a clearance document (Certificado Negativo de Antecedentes Penales) for every clear search.
The government of Puerto Rico has assigned the responsibility of criminal background searches to the Policia de Puerto Rico – not the courts. Effective May 2015, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice took over as the repository of criminal records.
All Puerto Rico criminal background searches produce documentation regardless of search results. If there is No Record, the Policia de Puerto Rico issues a Certificado Negativo de Antecedentes Penales (Certificate of No Penal Record). If records are found, the Policia de Puerto Rico issue Certificados de Antecedentes Penales (Certificate of Penal Record). Each certificado contains a reference number and the police department maintains a permanent record of the date and location of each criminal background request.
The only acceptable and recognizable procedure for obtaining a criminal background search in Puerto Rico is the search conducted at the Policia de Puerto Rico. This is the method used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, law enforcement agencies worldwide, as well as companies and individuals.
Be careful of online search companies offering “county” criminal searches in Puerto Rico. There are no “counties” in Puerto Rico. Anyone offering a “county” search of records in Puerto Rico is simply not familiar with Puerto Rico. There is no “hand searching” of records – there are no public computer terminals in the courts. All record searches are conducted by government personnel. There are no seven (7) or ten (10) year criminal searches. Criminal searches are historical and include all reportable felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic convictions from age 18 to present.
Puerto Rico law (Ley 314) prohibits reporting dismissed and legally eliminated criminal records.
We provide the Certificado Negativo de Antecedentes Penales (Certificate of No Penal Record) for all clear searches AND Certificado de Antecedentes Penales (Certificate of Penal Record) when records are found. Upon request, we will also translate record information from Spanish to English.
Additional search criteria required for Puerto Rico criminal searches:
- Full name, including Mother’s Maiden Name
- Address
- Date of Birth
- Social Security Number
- City of Birth (if born in Puerto Rico)
- Driver’s license / Passport #
Please contact us for pricing, turnaround and any questions.
Additional services:
- Driving Records
We do not conduct searches pertaining to family court, real estate or UCC filings.
Click on the links below to learn more about the magnificent island of Puerto Rico; it’s warm and welcoming people and unique cultural diversity.