Clearing your criminal record in Puerto Rico to get hired

First things first: the certificate reports convictions only

The document is called the **Criminal Record Certificate**, and Act 254 of 1974 itself notes it is 'mistakenly known by many as a Good Conduct Certificate.' The name matters less than what is inside: a list of the **convictions** on file in your record, whether from a Puerto Rico court or any other local, state or federal jurisdiction of the United States.

It was not always this way, and the statute's statement of motives tells the story: certificates used to also mention **any complaint pending final disposition**, and citizens' certificates were stained by cases in which they were later acquitted. The Legislature settled it by declaring that **the certificate's mission is to report convictions, not mere accusations**.

The certificate must carry your full name, the case number and the court that entered judgment, the date, the offense and the jurisdiction where the judgment is filed, the sentence imposed, whether it is on appeal, the certificate's date and the issuing officer's signature.

And by law it carries **a printed warning**: that it may **not include** misdemeanor convictions if more than **six months** have passed since the sentence was served, nor felony convictions if more than **five years** have passed. That warning exists because the certificate is not a complete X-ray of your past, and the employer reading it ought to know that.

If no file appears under your name, a **negative certificate** is issued. That is the one most people obtain for a job.

Misdemeanor: it drops off automatically, at 30 days

This is the fact almost nobody knows and it changes entire job searches. Article 3 of the statute directs the Commissioner of the Police Bureau to **automatically eliminate** from the certificate any misdemeanor conviction if two circumstances concur:

Read it slowly: **automatically**. No petition to file, no court appearance, no fees. Thirty calendar days from serving the sentence or resolution, without committing another offense in that time, and not being on those three registries.

If you pulled a certificate and a misdemeanor conviction appears that already cleared those thirty days, what you have is not a legal problem but an administrative one: ask for it to be corrected, with the statute in hand. And if you are about to apply for a job, **pull the certificate after the thirty days have passed**, not before.

• That **thirty (30) calendar days** have passed since you served the sentence or resolution and that during that time you **committed no other offense**.
• That you are **not** on the Registry of Persons Convicted of Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse, the Registry of Persons Convicted of Corruption Offenses, or the Registry of Persons Convicted of Violations of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention Act.

Felony: you petition the court, at five years

There is no automatic route here: there is a petition. Article 4 provides that any person convicted of a felony who is **not** subject to the Registry of Persons Convicted of Violent Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse nor to the Registry of Persons Convicted of Corruption **may request from the Court of First Instance an order eliminating the conviction** from the Criminal Record Certificate, provided three circumstances concur.

The petitioner **shall attach the documents necessary to prove the allegations of the petition**. And there is a procedural detail that can save months: **the prosecution may oppose or consent to the petition, and if it consents, no hearing is necessary**. In other words, if the prosecutor does not object, the case may resolve without a hearing.

The Court of First Instance's decision **may be appealed to the Court of Appeals**, and the judgment may be reviewed by certiorari before the Supreme Court. On the administrative side, the Superintendent's decision may be reviewed by the Court of Appeals under the uniform administrative procedure act.

'Good reputation in the community' is the requirement most often prepared for and least often explained. In practice it is supported with documents: letters from employers, community or religious leaders, evidence of studies, steady work, volunteer service. Start collecting them before filing, not after they are requested.

• That **five (5) years** have passed since you served the sentence and that during that time you **committed no offense**.
• That you have **good reputation in the community**.
• That you have **submitted the sample required by the DNA Data Bank Act**, if subject to it.

If you do not meet the terms: the rehabilitation certificate for work

This is the least known piece of the statute and the one that speaks most directly to employment. Article 1 provides that **persons with a criminal history who do not meet the five-year term for felonies or the six-month term for misdemeanors may obtain a rehabilitation and work-readiness certificate, which may substitute for the good conduct certificate**.

Who evaluates it? Not the Police: **the evaluation process is determined by the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation**, under Article 10-B of that Department's Reorganization Plan 2-2011.

Two warnings the statute puts in black and white, and that must be said plainly:

Even so, for those within its reach it is a real path: an official document you can hand an employer while the criminal record certificate would still show the conviction. If you are in that situation, the right place to ask is not the Police but the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, which does the evaluating.

• **The employer reserves the right to also request the criminal record certificate.** The rehabilitation certificate may substitute for the good conduct one, but it does not bar an employer from asking for both.
• **It does not apply** to persons on the Registry of Persons Convicted of Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse, the Registry of Persons Convicted of Corruption and Related Offenses, or the Registry of Persons Convicted of Elder Abuse.

The other five ways a judgment does not appear

Article 6 lists the judgments that **shall not be included** in the certificate issued. Worth knowing, because more than one person carries something on their record that legally should no longer be there.

If your case falls under one of these and the certificate still shows it, the remedy is not resignation: it is requesting correction with the document that proves it, the court's resolution, the elimination order, the Department of Correction's certification.

• A judgment that has been **reversed**.
• One **eliminated under this statute's procedure** (Articles 3 and 4 above).
• One a court **deems served** under the Puerto Rico Penal Code (Act 146-2012) or Article 10-B of the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation's Reorganization Plan 2-2011.
• One **rehabilitated** under the procedure of Act 8-2017.
• One **removed** from the Registry of Persons Convicted of Violent Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse or the Registry of Persons Convicted of Elder Abuse.

Who can request your certificate

Worth knowing before an interview. Article 8 says **any person may request a Criminal Record Certificate for a given person**, provided they pay the fees set by law. It is not a sealed document.

And there is an exception favoring the government: **any entity of the Government of Puerto Rico is authorized to request, free of fees**, information from the Police Bureau (including the certificate) **for the purpose of resolving an application or official matter of an applicant to practice a profession regulated** by the Government of Puerto Rico. Those requests may be processed electronically under Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS) procedures.

Translated: if you are applying for a license in a regulated profession, the relevant board can request your certificate directly and at no cost. One more reason to deal with the record before starting the process, not during it.

What to do, in order

Four steps, cheapest first. The first two cost nothing but time.

A note on tone with employers: this guide covers what the statute says about the certificate, not what an employer may or may not do with the information once it has it. If you believe you were passed over because of a record that legally should not have appeared, that is legal-advice territory, and it is a conversation for a lawyer or community legal services.

• **Pull your own certificate and read it.** Do not apply for a job blind about what it says. Compare what appears against the Article 6 list.
• **Count the terms.** A misdemeanor more than 30 days past completion? It should have dropped off; if it is still there, request the correction. A felony more than 5 years past with no new offenses? You already qualify to file the petition.
• **If you qualify under Article 4, prepare the evidence before filing:** proof you served the sentence, of the five years without an offense, the DNA sample if applicable, and letters supporting good reputation in the community.
• **If you do not meet the terms, ask about the rehabilitation and work-readiness certificate** at the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, which determines the evaluation process.