Puerto Rico changed its public-records process in December 2025

Puerto Rico's Law 156-2025, approved December 13, 2025, amended the territory's transparency and public-records procedures. The official English text identifies the provisions of Law 141-2019 that were changed and is the primary reference for the amended framework.

Why the procedure matters

A right to request records depends in practice on how requests are submitted, processed and answered. Longer response periods or additional procedural steps can affect how quickly a journalist or resident obtains material, even when access remains available in law.

JURIST's December reporting described concerns about the changes and noted longer response deadlines. The enacted text, rather than a summary headline, should control any calculation for a particular request.

Make a request easier to track

Identify the records and the agency likely to hold them. Keep the submitted request, its date, any acknowledgment and the agency's response. Those records help clarify what was requested and whether an answer addresses it.

Puerto Rico's Department of Justice publishes information about its own transparency process and designated access arrangements. An individual agency's page is useful for contact details, but requesters should also check the amended statute and any applicable current rules before relying on a deadline.

Create a simple request log

A useful log contains the agency, records sought, submission date, acknowledgment and latest response. Save the correspondence alongside it. The log helps identify the next procedural question while leaving the calculation of an applicable legal deadline to the relevant current rules.

A JournoPulse blog post, prepared with AI assistance from the linked sources. Our methodology · Suggest a correction.