What happens if your Puerto Rico LLC doesn’t pay its annual fee (derecho anual), and how to restore it
Puerto Rico’s own word for it: “Dejará de estar en cumplimiento” (not in compliance), then certificate “se entenderá cancelado” (deemed cancelled). Time limit to get back: None. Tax clearance: No.
Checked against the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades, September 2026.
- What Puerto Rico calls it
- “Dejará de estar en cumplimiento” (not in compliance), then certificate “se entenderá cancelado” (deemed cancelled)
- Tax clearance
- No
- Time limit to get back
- None
How it unfolds in Puerto Rico
- MissedAnnual fee (derecho anual)
- Status“Dejará de estar en cumplimiento” (not in compliance), then certificate “se entenderá cancelado” (deemed cancelled)
- The way backNot confirmed
Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Department of State), Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades
Draft. Some answers on this page are not yet confirmed against a primary source, and each one says so in place. Everything else was read on the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades’s or the legislature’s own pages.
What does Puerto Rico call a company that missed its filings?
Two stages under Ley 164-2009 (Ley General de Corporaciones), Chapter XXI. (1) A domestic LLC (“CRLD”, compañía de responsabilidad limitada doméstica) that does not pay its annual fee (“derecho anual”) “dejará de estar en cumplimiento” (“ceases to be in compliance”, i.e. not in good standing). It still exists as a CRLD, but the Department accepts no filings and issues no “certificado de cumplimiento” (certificate of good standing) for it. (2) If the annual fee goes unpaid for three consecutive years, its “certificado de organización” (certificate of organization) “se entenderá cancelado” (“is deemed cancelled”). Separately, under Chapter III (applied to LLCs by Art. 19.04), if the resident agent (“agente residente”) resigns and no successor is named within 30 days, the Secretary cancels the certificate.
What triggers it in Puerto Rico?
(1) Not paying the LLC annual fee (derecho anual) to the Secretary of State. LLCs do NOT file an annual report with the Department of State; they only pay the annual fee, due on or before April 15 each year according to the Department. (2) Three consecutive years of non-payment trigger deemed cancellation. (3) Resident agent resignation with no successor designated within 30 days.
Before it happens
Ley 164 gives no notice or cure period before an LLC falls out of compliance or before the three-year deemed cancellation; cancellation happens by operation of law (“se entenderá cancelado”). For resident-agent resignation, the LLC has 30 days after the resignation certificate is filed to name a new agent. (By contrast, corporations get at least 60 days’ mailed notice to the resident agent before revocation for two years of missing annual reports, Art. 15.02.)
How do you restore a Puerto Rico LLC?
Not yet confirmed against the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades — check with the office.
Where to file
Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades (online at prcorpfiling.estado.pr.gov).
Missed filings and fees
Yes: all overdue annual fees plus penalties and interest for each year or part of a year of non-payment (Art. 21.03(H)). For a cancelled certificate, Art. 11.02(F) requires payment of all annual fees and penalties owed. If the certificate has been cancelled for five years or more, a different statutory charge based on the current annual fee replaces the back fees and penalties. The Department’s form CORPOTR11 notes the same five-year split.
Is there a deadline in Puerto Rico?
No statutory deadline. Art. 11.02 allows restoration of a cancelled or ineffective certificate without a time limit, and Art. 21.03(H) allows restoring compliance by payment at any time. Waiting five years or more changes only how the back fees are calculated.
Do you need tax clearance in Puerto Rico?
No
Ley 164 does not require a tax clearance from the Departamento de Hacienda (PR Treasury) to restore an LLC. The requirement is paying the Department of State’s annual fees, penalties and interest. The Secretary of State notifies the Secretary of Hacienda when a corporation’s certificate is cancelled (Art. 15.02).
What happens to the company name meanwhile?
Not protected after cancellation. If another entity has adopted the same or an indistinguishable name while the certificate was cancelled, the restored entity may not keep its old name; it must adopt a new available name and state both the old and new names in the restoration certificate (Art. 11.02(E), applied to LLCs via Art. 19.12).
What changes once it is fixed?
On filing the restoration certificate the entity is renewed “con la misma fuerza y vigor” (with the same force and effect) as if it had never been cancelled. This validates contracts and acts done during the cancellation, and its property returns to it as before. While not in compliance, a CRLD still exists but cannot file documents, obtain a certificate of good standing, or bring any action in Puerto Rico courts until restored. Its contracts stay valid and it may defend itself in court. Members and managers are not personally liable merely because the fees were unpaid.
What changes for corporations in Puerto Rico?
Yes, material differences. Corporations must file an annual report (“informe anual”) with the Department of State by April 15 (Art. 15.01); LLCs file none and only pay the annual fee. A corporation that fails to file the report faces administrative fines. After two consecutive years without a report, the Secretary may “revocar” (revoke) the certificate of incorporation, after at least 60 days’ mailed notice to the resident agent (Art. 15.02). An LLC’s certificate is instead deemed cancelled after three consecutive years of unpaid annual fees, with no notice step. Both restore through the Art. 11.02 certificate (form CORPOTR11 for corporations), with no time limit and a different fee basis after five years.
What should you file first?
There is no separate tax clearance step for a Puerto Rico LLC, so the filing comes first, with the missed filings and fees described above.
The filing
Not confirmedNot yet confirmed against the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades — check with the office.
Where it goes
Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades (online at prcorpfiling.estado.pr.gov).
What does Puerto Rico ask you to file, so it does not happen again?
| Obligation | Form | Due | If late |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporation formation | Certificado de Incorporación (Certificate of Incorporation) | At formation | N/A |
| LLC formation | Certificado de Organización (Certificate of Formation of a Limited Liability Company) | At formation | N/A |
| Annual report (corporations) | Informe Anual, filed electronically in the Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades | On or before April 15 each year; an extension can be requested through the Registro. Religious nonprofit corporations are excepted | A penalty applies plus interest accruing monthly, and continued default can lead to cancellation of the corporation |
| Annual fee (limited liability companies) | Derecho Anual (Annual Fee) for a Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada | On or before April 15 of each calendar year (Art. 21.03(c) of Ley 164-2009) | A penalty applies on top of the overdue fee, and both accrue monthly interest until paid in full |
| Change of resident agent | Certificado de Cambio del Agente Residente de una Corporación | When the resident agent changes | N/A |
| Registration of a limited liability partnership (sociedad de responsabilidad limitada) | Solicitud de renovación de una sociedad de responsabilidad limitada | Registration lasts one year and must be renewed before that term expires | Failure to renew on time causes the partnership registration to lapse |
From the same Puerto Rico record as the Puerto Rico resident agent page. State fees change; we confirm current amounts with you before anything is filed.
Put every recurring Puerto Rico deadline in your calendar with the compliance calendar, or see what Puerto Rico requires of your resident agent.
Which Puerto Rico laws govern it?
Ley Núm. 164 de 16 de diciembre de 2009, Ley General de Corporaciones: Art. 21.02 (cancellation for non-payment of annual fees, 14 L.P.R.A. § 4042); Art. 21.03 (annual fee, loss of compliance and restoration by payment, § 4043); Art. 19.12 (the LLC certificate’s cancellation and the restoration of its legal personality follow the rules for corporations, § 3962); Art. 11.02 (renewal, reinstatement and restoration of the certificate, § 3762); Art. 21.01(A)(3) (filing fee for a “certificado de restablecimiento” and for “la puesta en cumplimiento” of a CRLD).
Sources, checked September 2026:
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 11.02, 19.12, 21.01, 21.02, 21.03
- Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (official compilation of Ley 164-2009, rev. July 31, 2025)— Ley 164-2009 Arts. 21.02(A), 21.03(G), (J); Art. 19.04; Art. 3.06(B) (14 L.P.R.A. §§ 4042, 4043, 3954, 3546)
- Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico; OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Registro de Corporaciones page (‘Las compañías de Responsabilidad Limitada (LLC) no tendrán que radicar un Informe Anual...’); Ley 164 Arts. 21.02, 21.03, 3.06(B), 19.04; Form CORPLLC06 ‘Derecho Anual’
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 21.02, 21.03, 3.06(B), 15.02
- Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico— Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 11.02, 21.03(H), 15.02
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009; Departamento de Estado— Arts. 21.03(H), 11.02(F); Form CORPOTR11 ‘Nota’
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 11.02(E), 19.12
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 11.02(A), (F); 21.03(H)
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009— Arts. 11.02(D), 21.03(J)-(M)
- OGP compilation of Ley 164-2009; Departamento de Estado— Arts. 11.02, 15.01, 15.02, 21.02; Form CORPOTR11
Draft, partly checked against the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Department of State), Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades and the statutes above · Last checked September 2026. Not legal advice: the filing office has the final word on your entity.
Puerto Rico
Behind on a Puerto Rico filing?
Send us the entity and any notice you received. A compliance check shows where it stands with the Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades, and state fees are confirmed with you before anything is filed.